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Explained: Margin of errorWhen you hear poll results reported with a certain margin of error, that’s only part of the story.

Taking the sting out of medical tapeNew adhesive comes off quickly, sparing infants’ delicate skin from damage.

How the brain controls our habitsMIT neuroscientists identify a brain region that can switch between new and old habits.

How Jonathan Gruber became ‘Mr. Mandate’An MIT economist’s path to the center of health-care policymaking in Washington.

How to communicate science visuallyIn a new book, MIT’s Felice Frankel aims to help scientists and engineers improve the way they portray their research through photos, diagrams and graphs.

Paintballs may deflect an incoming asteroidWith 20 years’ notice, paint pellets could cause an asteroid to veer off course.

Department snapshot: Civil and Environmental EngineeringFrom bacteria to bridges, CEE researchers tackle natural and built environments.

The mysteries in materialsMIT senior Shannon Taylor researches 500-year-old artifacts and art to understand and restore materials.

Scholars ponder better ways to elect a presidentNational popular vote, alternate voting methods debated at MIT conference.

Tiny pores in graphene could give rise to membranesNew membranes may filter water or separate biological samples.

A better way to shed waterMIT researchers find that lubricated, nanotextured surfaces improved performance of condensers in power and desalination plants.

A new glow for electron microscopyProtein-labeling technique allows high-resolution visualization of molecules inside cells.

3 Questions: A Web for everyoneJudy Brewer leads the Web Accessibility Initiative, which developed standards that help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.

Researchers examine health impacts of more U.K. runwaysStudy: An expanded Heathrow Airport would lead to 100 more pollution-related early deaths annually in the U.K. by 2030.

The state of the U.S. election systemNew report from MIT and Caltech notes gains in voting-machine technologies, but warns they could be cancelled out by errors introduced through mail and Internet voting.

Calcium reveals connections between neuronsNew way to image brain-cell activity could shed light on autism and other psychiatric disorders.

Department snapshot: Mechanical EngineeringMore MechE students choose to design their own education.

At MIT, Dalai Lama calls for better stewardship of Earth’s resourcesTibetan Buddhist leader urges a more enlightened view of self-interest in remarks at MIT conference.

Brain’s language center has multiple rolesNeuroscientists find Broca’s area is really two subunits, each with its own function.

In profile: Seeing the lightArchitect Christoph Reinhart studies how buildings — and whole communities — can use daylight to become more energy-efficient.