McGovern Institute

Four from MIT elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2019

Prestigious honor society announces more than 200 new members.

April 17, 2019

Perception of a familiar face, such as Scarlett Johansson, is more robust than for unfamiliar faces, such as German celebrity Karoline Herferth.

What's in a face?

McGovern Institute researchers find that the brain starts to register gender and age before recognizing a face.

March 22, 2019

A group of academic institutions has granted a license for SHERLOCK, the highly-sensitive, low-cost CRISPR-based diagnostic, for commercial uses in the developed world, while reserving rights to enable its broad use by organizations to serve developing nations as well as unmet public health needs in the developed world.

Academic institutions grant commercial license for CRISPR-based SHERLOCK diagnostic technology in developed world

Rights are protected for broad use in developing world and for public health needs.

March 21, 2019

MIT researchers have found that the part of the visual cortex known as the inferotemporal (IT) cortex is required to distinguish between different objects.

How the brain distinguishes between objects

Study shows that a brain region called the inferotemporal cortex is key to differentiating bears from chairs.

March 13, 2019

MIT researchers have designed an MRI contrast agent that can detect calcium within neurons, allowing them to closely track brain activity.

New MRI sensor can image activity deep within the brain

Noninvasive measurements of calcium could reveal neurons’ roles in different types of behavior.

February 22, 2019

Crystal structure of Cas12b (purple) bound to RNA (gold) and DNA (brown).

Scientists engineer new CRISPR platform for DNA targeting

CRISPR team harnesses new Cas12b enzyme for use in eukaryotic cells, adding to the CRISPR toolbox.

January 22, 2019

Individually traced dopaminergic neurons in the right hemisphere of a fruit fly brain, innervating the fan-shaped body (green), ellipsoid body (magenta), and noduli (green).

Mapping the brain at high resolution

New 3-D imaging technique can reveal, much more quickly than other methods, how neurons connect throughout the brain.

January 17, 2019

School of Science honors postdocs and research staff with 2019 Infinite Kilometer Awards

Five winners are recognized for their outstanding contributions to colleagues, the school, and the Institute.

December 26, 2018

MIT engineers have devised a way to create 3-D nanoscale objects by patterning a larger structure with a laser and then shrinking it. This image shows a complex structure prior to shrinking.

Team invents method to shrink objects to the nanoscale

It’s not quite the Ant-Man suit, but the system produces 3-D structures one thousandth the size of the originals.

December 13, 2018

Neural representations of task rules are maintained in the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for planning action.

How the brain switches between different sets of rules

When you slow down after exiting the highway, or hush your voice in the library, you’re using this brain mechanism.

November 19, 2018

MIT neuroscientists found that patients who develop schizophrenia show abnormally high levels of communication between the superior temporal gyrus (brown) and the limbic regions (green).

Brain activity pattern may be early sign of schizophrenia

In a study that might enable earlier diagnosis, neuroscientists find abnormal brain connections that can predict onset of psychotic episodes.

November 8, 2018

MIT researchers have developed a “semantic parser” that learns through observation to more closely mimic a child’s language-acquisition process, which could greatly extend computing’s capabilities.

Machines that learn language more like kids do

Computer model could improve human-machine interaction, provide insight into how children learn language.

October 31, 2018

MIT researchers have devised a way to help robots navigate environments more like humans do.

Model helps robots navigate more like humans do

In simulations, robots move through new environments by exploring, observing, and drawing from learned experiences.

October 4, 2018

Recognizing the partially seen

Advances in computer vision inspired by human physiological and anatomical constraints are improving pattern completion in machines.

September 20, 2018

McGovern Institute investigator Feng Zhang is the winner of the 2018 Keio Medical Science Prize.

Feng Zhang wins 2018 Keio Medical Science Prize

McGovern Institute scientist is recognized with award for outstanding and creative achievements made in the life and medical sciences.

September 19, 2018

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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