Alzheimer’s risk gene undermines insulation of brain’s “wiring”
In people carrying APOE4, a key brain cell mismanages cholesterol needed to insulate neurons properly — another sign APOE4 contributes to disease by disrupting brain lipids.
Scientists unveil the functional landscape of essential genes
Researchers harness new pooled, image-based screening method to probe the functions of over 5,000 essential genes in human cells.
Celebrating open data
New prize program recognizes MIT researchers who make data openly accessible and reusable.
Are Covid-19 “comas” signs of a protective hibernation state?
Scientists hypothesize that, as in a hibernating turtle, the brain under sedation and deprived of oxygen may assume a protective state.
Study: Zebrafish are smarter than we thought
Researchers have discovered that the brains of these simple fish can create three-dimensional maps of their surroundings.
Honoring Salvador Luria, longtime MIT professor and founding director of the MIT Center for Cancer Research
Koch Institute event celebrates the new MIT Press biography “Salvador Luria: An Immigrant Biologist in Cold War America.”
Ila Fiete wins Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience
Society for Neuroscience honors BCS professor for breakthrough research modeling a component of the brain’s navigational system.
New faculty join the School of Science in 2022
Seven professors join the departments of Biology; Chemistry; Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences; Mathematics; and Physics.
Earth can regulate its own temperature over millennia, new study finds
Scientists have confirmed that a “stabilizing feedback” on 100,000-year timescales keeps global temperatures in check.
3 Questions: Looking to Artemis I for a return to the moon
As NASA launches Artemis I, MIT experts weigh in on the importance of the mission to future space exploration.
Q&A: MIT competitive programmers on going the distance
Students describe what it’s like to compete at the very top tiers of computing.
Not every reader’s struggle is the same
An MIT study finds that children from different socioeconomic backgrounds tend to have different brain patterns associated with reading difficulty.
Genome-wide screens could reveal the liver’s secrets
A new technique for studying liver cells within an organism could shed light on the genes required for regeneration.
Expanding horizons through astronomy and art
Whether spending late nights at the observatory or working on animated films, senior Skylar Larsen is reaching for the stars.
Three from MIT named 2023 Rhodes Scholars
Jack Cook, Matthew Kearney, and Jupneet Singh will begin postgraduate studies at Oxford University next fall.