Germicidal UV lights could be producing indoor air pollutants, study finds
While useful for killing pathogens including SARS-CoV-2, the lights may cause unwanted chemical reactions and should be used with ventilation, researchers say.
New technique helps robots pack objects into a tight space
Researchers coaxed a family of generative AI models to work together to solve multistep robot manipulation problems.
Designing a revolution
An MIT professor and students collaborate with Chilean partners for an exhibition marking 50 years since the Allende presidency.
A method to interpret AI might not be so interpretable after all
Some researchers see formal specifications as a way for autonomous systems to "explain themselves" to humans. But a new study finds that we aren't understanding.
Study: Deep neural networks don’t see the world the way we do
Images that humans perceive as completely unrelated can be classified as the same by computational models.
MIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun’s heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel
Conventional systems for producing hydrogen depend on fossil fuels, but the new system uses only solar energy.
Thousands of programmable DNA-cutters found in algae, snails, and other organisms
New research finds RNA-guided enzymes called Fanzors are widespread among eukaryotic organisms.
Targeting a coronavirus ion channel could yield new Covid-19 drugs
Chemists discover the structures of open and closed states of the channel, which could help the development of antiviral drugs to reduce inflammation.
Physicists coax superconductivity and more from quasicrystals
Flexible platform could produce enigmatic materials, lead to new studies of exotic phenomena.
Study advances understanding of visual recognition memory
Scientists have invested decades in piecing together how our vision is so good at recognizing what’s familiar. A new study overcomes an apparent discrepancy in data to reveal a new insight into how it works.
Practicing mindfulness with an app may improve children’s mental health
New research suggests daily mindfulness training at home helped reduce kids’ stress levels and negative emotions.
Making more magnetism possible with topology
MIT researchers show how topology can help create magnetism at higher temperatures.
Boom, crackle, pop: Sounds of Earth’s crust
MIT scientists find the sounds beneath our feet are fingerprints of rock stability.
Finger-shaped sensor enables more dexterous robots
MIT engineers develop a long, curved touch sensor that could enable a robot to grasp and manipulate objects in multiple ways.
How a single neuron’s parallel outputs can coordinate many aspects of behavior
Study finds that in worms, the HSN neuron uses multiple chemicals and connections to orchestrate egg-laying and locomotion over the course of several minutes.