research news

MIT architect Sass puts up a prefab at MoMA

Larry Sass, assistant professor of computation in the MIT Department of Architecture, is one of five architects featured in a major show this summer at the Museum of Modern Art titled "Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling." July 3

Simple insulation could combat heat, cold and noise

Around the world, an estimated one billion people--mostly in rural villages and the shanty towns surrounding developing-world cities--live in houses whose roofs are nothing more than thin sheets of corrugated metal. July 1

Front-row seat for summer's physics extravaganza

Nearly 20 years in the making, the largest particle accelerator in the world will start running in Switzerland this summer, offering scientists a glimpse of particles that have never been seen before. July 1

Technique produces genetically identical stem cells

Cells from mice created using genetically reprogrammed cells can be triggered via drug administration to enter an embryonic-stem-cell-like state without the need for further direct genetic manipulation. July 1

MIT shows China quake was rare event

A new analysis of the setting for last month's devastating earthquake in China by a team of geoscientists at MIT shows that the quake resulted from faults with little seismic activity. Similar events in that area occur only once in every 2,000 to 10,000 years. June 30

Probe may help untangle cells' signaling pathways

MIT researchers have designed a new type of probe that can image thousands of interactions between proteins inside a living cell, giving them a tool to untangle the web of signaling pathways that control most of a cell's activities. June 27

MIT-led team finds language without numbers

An Amazonian language has no word to express the concept of "one" or any other specific number, according to a new study from an MIT-led team. Only 300 people speak the language, all of the Piraha tribe in remote northwestern Brazil. June 24

MIT Energy Initiative, Bosch to collaborate on energy

As part of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), MIT and Bosch, a leading global supplier of technology and services, are forming an energy research collaboration to explore new materials and concepts for efficient energy conversion and storage systems. June 23

Harnessing solar energy like plants do

Ask any scientist to name Earth's most abundant source of energy, and the answer comes quickly: sunlight. In one hour, the sun strikes Earth with enough energy to power the entire planet for a year. June 20

Proliferating cells foil microRNA control

MIT biologists have discovered that proliferating cells shift the output of their genes to evade regulation by microRNAs, tiny molecules that normally suppress tumor growth. June 20

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