Institute for Data, Systems, and Society (IDSS)

Study: Global cancer risk from burning organic matter comes from unregulated chemicals

The researchers hope scientists and regulators will consider a broader class of compounds in evaluating cancer risk due to PAH exposure.

September 22, 2021

Overhead photo of grass, a very thin and long type of plant, growing in black plastic circular pots. There are about 54 pots in this view, in a 9 by 6 grid.

Research collaboration puts climate-resilient crops in sight

MIT professors Dave Des Marais and Caroline Uhler combine plant biology and machine learning to identify genetic roots of plant responses to environmental stress.

September 17, 2021

MIT appoints members of new faculty committee to drive climate action plan

Professors Noelle Selin and Anne White will co-chair the Climate Nucleus, charged with managing and implementing MIT’s new plan.

September 17, 2021

MIT welcomes nine MLK Visiting Professors and Scholars for 2021-22

Record number of honorees will engage in the life of the Institute through teaching, research, and other interactions with the MIT community.

September 8, 2021

3 Questions: Peko Hosoi on the data-driven reasoning behind MIT’s Covid-19 policies for the fall

“We have not played all our cards yet,” says the associate dean of engineering and co-founder of the Isolat modeling group.

August 25, 2021

A small container ship in the Aegean Sea

Smarter regulation of global shipping emissions could improve air quality and health outcomes

Study shows a need to identify domestic and international pollution sources in policy design.

August 17, 2021

Bar graph. On the y-axis: density, from 0.00 to 0.08. On the X-axis: estimated yearly improvement rates, from 0 to 200. There is a large spike of data going past .08 on the y-axis, in between approximately the 0 and 25 marks on the x-axis. A red vertical dotted line exists at the 36.5 mark.

A comprehensive study of technological change

New research using patent data could help inform decision-makers by predicting which technologies are improving the fastest.

August 2, 2021

Motion-blurred photo of someone’s legs walking on a rainy street.

Lockdowns reveal inequities in opportunities for walking activities

Research finds Covid-19-related lockdowns led to a marked reduction in walking in lower-income areas of major metropolises.

July 19, 2021

An image of Earth in false color, with the oceans bluish green, lands green and yellow and purple, and clouds yellowy orange

Why the Earth needs a course correction now

2021 Global Change Outlook from the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change shows how more aggressive policies can sharply reduce climate risk.

June 14, 2021