After 16 years leading Picower Institute, Li-Huei Tsai will sharpen focus on research, teaching
Tsai, who has grown the MIT neuroscience institute, will increase focus on research including Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome.
New model predicts how mosquitoes will fly
Their flight patterns change in response to different sensory cues, a new study finds. The work could lead to more effective traps and mosquito control strategies.
Pursuing a passion for public health
MIT senior Srihitha Dasari reflects on the power of experiential learning through the PKG Center for Social Impact.
Brain circuit needed to incorporate new information may be linked to schizophrenia
Impairments of this circuit may help to explain why some people with schizophrenia lose touch with reality.
Three anesthesia drugs all have the same effect in the brain, MIT researchers find
Discovering this common mechanism could lead to a universal anesthesia-delivery system to monitor patients more effectively.
Scientists discover genetics behind leaky brain blood vessels in Rett syndrome
By showing the problem derives from genetic mutations that lead to overexpression of a microRNA, MIT researchers’ study points to potential treatment.
How the brain handles the “cocktail party problem”
Using a computational model, neuroscientists showed how the brain can selectively focus attention on one voice among others in a noisy environment.
3 Questions: Fortifying our planetary defenses
MIT astronomers are developing a new way to detect, monitor, and mitigate the threats posed by smaller asteroids to our critical space infrastructure.
3 Questions: On the future of AI and the mathematical and physical sciences
Professor Jesse Thaler describes a vision for a two-way bridge between artificial intelligence and the mathematical and physical sciences — one that promises to advance both.
Finding a nanoscale solution to safer spaceflight
Using boron nitride nanotubes, mechanical engineering doctoral student Palak Patel develops materials for space that block dangerous ionizing radiation.
3 Questions: Building predictive models to characterize tumor progression
Assistant Professor Matthew Jones is working to decode molecular processes on the genetic, epigenetic, and microenvironment levels to anticipate how and when tumors evolve to resist treatment.
How Joseph Paradiso’s sensing innovations bridge the arts, medicine, and ecology
From early motion-sensing platforms to environmental monitoring, the professor and head of the Program in Media Arts and Sciences has turned decades of cross-disciplinary research into real-world impact.
Understanding how “marine snow” acts as a carbon sink
A new study finds hitchhiking bacteria dissolve essential ballast in ubiquitous “snow” particles, which could counteract the ocean’s ability to sequester carbon.
Neurons receive precisely tailored teaching signals as we learn
New work suggests the brain can deliver neuron-specific feedback during learning — resembling the error signals that drive machine learning.
Studying the genetic basis of disease to explore fundamental biological questions
Eliezer Calo’s studies of craniofacial malformations have yielded insight into protein synthesis and embryonic development.