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Researchers engineer light-activated skeletal muscleTechnique may enable robotic animals that move with the strength and flexibility of their living counterparts.

Connoisseur of chaosWhere other roboticists try to suppress the complex dynamics of mechanical systems, Russ Tedrake exploits them, to make control more efficient and versatile.

‘This is my freshman year, too’President L. Rafael Reif welcomes Class of 2016 at annual Freshman Convocation.

Merging tissue and electronicsNew tissue scaffold could be used for drug development and implantable therapeutic devices.

Turning on key enzyme blocks tumor formationDrug-like molecule restores normal cell metabolism, preventing cancer cells from growing.

Making crowdsourcing easierA new system for crowdsourcing database operations spares the user from worrying about the computational details but improves cost effectiveness.

Engineers achieve longstanding goal of stable nanocrystalline metalsMethod developed by MIT researchers could produce materials with exceptional strength and other properties.

One-molecule-thick material has big advantagesMIT researchers produce complex electronic circuits from molybdenum disulfide, a material that could have many more applications.

Teaching a microbe to make fuelGenetically modified organism could turn carbon dioxide or waste products into a gasoline-compatible transportation fuel.

Stroke disrupts how brain controls muscle synergiesDistinctive patterns could allow doctors to develop better rehab programs for stroke patients.

Patterning defect-free nanocrystal films with nanometer resolutionNew process developed at MIT could enable better LED displays, solar cells and biosensors — and foster basic physics research.

MIT-developed ‘microthrusters’ could propel small satellitesAs small as a penny, these thrusters run on jets of ion beams.

New nanoparticles shrink tumors in miceParticles that shut off cancer genes could also allow researchers to screen potential drug targets more rapidly.

Most massive and luminous galaxy cluster identifiedDetection may confirm long-held theory.

Success of engineered tissue depends on where it’s grownCells grown on different types of scaffolds vary in their ability to help repair damaged blood vessels.

Plants exhibit a wide range of mechanical properties, engineers findBiological structures may help engineers design new materials.

Graphene’s behavior depends on where it sitsNew findings show that the material beneath the thin carbon sheets determines how they react chemically and electrically.

Soft autonomous robot inches along like an earthwormFlexible design enables body-morphing capability.

Autonomous robotic plane flies indoorsNew algorithms allow an autonomous robotic plane to dodge obstacles in a subterranean parking garage, without the use of GPS.

Simple mathematical computations underlie brain circuitsDiscovery of how some neurons inhibit others could shed light on autism, other neurological disorders.