Astronomers spot a giant planet that is as light as cotton candy
The new world is the second-lightest planet discovered to date.
MIT researchers discover the universe’s oldest stars in our own galactic backyard
Three stars circling the Milky Way’s halo formed 12 to 13 billion years ago.
Four from MIT named 2024 Knight-Hennessy Scholars
The fellowship funds graduate studies at Stanford University.
Taking RNAi from interesting science to impactful new treatments
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, founded by MIT professors and former postdocs, has turned the promise of RNAi research into a new class of powerful therapies.
Using MRI, engineers have found a way to detect light deep in the brain
The new technique could enable detailed studies of how brain cells develop and communicate with each other.
Study: Heavy snowfall and rain may contribute to some earthquakes
The results suggest that climate may influence seismic activity.
This sound-suppressing silk can create quiet spaces
Researchers engineered a hair-thin fabric to create a lightweight, compact, and efficient mechanism to reduce noise transmission in a large room.
President Sally Kornbluth and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discuss the future of AI
The conversation in Kresge Auditorium touched on the promise and perils of the rapidly evolving technology.
MIT astronomers observe elusive stellar light surrounding ancient quasars
The observations suggest some of earliest “monster” black holes grew from massive cosmic seeds.
Three from MIT named 2024-25 Goldwater Scholars
Undergraduates Ben Lou, Srinath Mahankali, and Kenta Suzuki, whose research explores math and physics, are honored for their academic excellence.
Physicists arrange atoms in extremely close proximity
The technique opens possibilities for exploring exotic states of matter and building new quantum materials.
Natural language boosts LLM performance in coding, planning, and robotics
Three neurosymbolic methods help language models find better abstractions within natural language, then use those representations to execute complex tasks.
Nuno Loureiro named director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center
A lauded professor, theoretical physicist, and fusion scientist, Loureiro is keenly positioned to advance the center’s research and education goals.
To understand cognition — and its dysfunction — neuroscientists must learn its rhythms
A new framework describes how thought arises from the coordination of neural activity driven by oscillating electric fields — a.k.a. brain “waves” or “rhythms.”
MIT faculty, instructors, students experiment with generative AI in teaching and learning
At MIT’s Festival of Learning 2024, panelists stressed the importance of developing critical thinking skills while leveraging technologies like generative AI.