School of Science

A collection of SHERLOCK paper test strips. (Left) Unused paper strips, (middle) paper tests displaying a negative SHERLOCK readout, and (right) paper tests displaying a positive SHERLOCK readout.

Researchers advance CRISPR-based tool for diagnosing disease

With SHERLOCK, a strip of paper can now indicate presence of pathogens, tumor DNA, or any genetic signature of interest.

February 15, 2018

Scientists at MIT, Harvard University, and elsewhere have now demonstrated that photons can be made to interact — an accomplishment that could open a path toward using photons in quantum computing, if not in light sabers.

Physicists create new form of light

Newly observed optical state could enable quantum computing with photons.

February 15, 2018

New Whitehead Institute research may prove to be a useful paradigm for targeting diseases caused by abnormal methylation.

Study: Fragile X syndrome neurons can be restored

Whitehead Institute researchers are using a modified CRISPR/Cas9-guided activation strategy to investigate the most frequent cause of intellectual disability in males.

February 15, 2018

Eight MIT researchers win 2018 Sloan Research Fellowships

Faculty from six MIT departments among 126 selected from across the U.S. and Canada.

February 15, 2018

Robert van der Hilst moderates the symposium's day-two panel consisting of Sir Brian Hoskins, Inez Fung, Kerry Emanuel, Allison Wing and John Bush.

Chaos and climate: Celebrating two pioneers of modern meteorology

Trailblazing scientists Jule Charney and Edward Lorenz gave us numerical weather prediction and chaos theory, highlighting the value of basic research.

February 14, 2018

MIT cognitive scientists have found that conversation between an adult and a child appears to change the child’s brain.

Back-and-forth exchanges boost children’s brain response to language

Study finds engaging young children in conversation is more important for brain development than “dumping words” on them.

February 13, 2018

In this image of a mouse visual cortex, astrocytes (stained red) appear about as abundant as neurons (green).

MIT neuroscientists give "invisible" cells a new look

With a new grant, a Picower Institute team is studying the role of astrocytes, which may partner with neurons to process information in the brain.

February 12, 2018

Our daily lives include hundreds of routine habits, made up of many smaller actions, such as picking up our toothbrush, squeezing toothpaste onto it, and then lifting the brush to our mouth. This process of grouping behaviors together into a single routine is known as “chunking.” MIT neuroscientists have now found that certain neurons in the brain are responsible for marking the beginning and ...

Distinctive brain pattern helps habits form

Study identifies neurons that fire at the beginning and end of a behavior as it becomes a habit.

February 8, 2018

This image shows neurons in the CA3 region of the hippocampus, which is important for memory encoding and retrieval. Nuclei of the CA3 neurons are labeled in green and their dendrites in red, and the smaller specks of green above represent axons projecting to the CA3 neurons from the dentate gyrus.

Study reveals molecular mechanisms of memory formation

Neuroscientists discover a cellular pathway that encodes memories by strengthening specific synapses.

February 8, 2018

Ian Wong’s work seeks to decipher the history of our solar system by studying its most primitive bodies.

EAPS welcomes Heising-Simons fellow Ian Wong

The 51 Pegasi b Postdoctoral Fellowship provides junior scientists the opportunity to conduct theoretical, observational, and experimental research in planetary astronomy.

February 7, 2018