Computer science and technology

A novel ultracapacitorEnergy when and where you need it.

Probing the mysteries of cracks and stressesAnalysis of molecular-level fracture and stress mechanisms could have broad implications for understanding materials’ behavior.

Deciphering the language of transcription factorsA new method identifies the precise binding sites of transcription factors — proteins that regulate the production of other proteins — with 10 times the accuracy of its predecessors.

Researchers identify biochemical functions for most of the human genomeNew map provides a reference for interpreting function of disease-associated regions.

Mapping neurological diseaseNew algorithm can analyze information from medical images to identify diseased areas of the brain and connections with other regions.

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.

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

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

New router enhances the precision of woodworkingHandheld device precisely follows a digital plan with minimal guidance from a user.

New aircraft capable of fast, accurate and repeatable flightCSAIL's Robot Locomotion Group unveils new computer-controlled aircraft that can perform knife-edge turns.

UC Berkeley joins edXUC Berkeley joins Harvard and MIT not-for-profit online-learning collaborative; edX broadens free course offerings into public health, computer science and solid-state chemistry; opens registration

Research update: Chips with self-assembling rectanglesNew technique allows production of complex microchip structures in one self-assembling step.

Berger named ISCB fellowApplied mathematics, computer science professor honored for contributions in computational biology and bioinformatics.

Searching genomic data fasterBiologists’ capacity for generating genomic data is increasing more rapidly than computing power. A new algorithm will help them keep up.

IEEE honors MIT milestones in computing and navigationWorld’s first real-time digital computer and electronic navigation system are commemorated in Boston.

Communication scheme makes popular applications ‘gracefully mobile’New MIT software keeps tens of thousands of people logged into remote computers from mobile devices, but the underlying technology could improve a host of other programs.

New technique allows simulation of noncrystalline materialsMultidisciplinary team develops mathematical approach that could help in simulating materials for solar cells and LEDs.

Aircraft engineered with failure in mind may last longerNew design approach tailors planes to fly in the face of likely failures.

System improves automated monitoring of security camerasNew approach uses mathematics to reach a compromise between accuracy, speed.

MIT, Intel unveil new initiatives addressing ‘big data’An Intel research center based at MIT will be the cornerstone of a new research project dubbed ‘bigdata@CSAIL.’

Daskalakis wins Microsoft Faculty Fellowship

L. Rafael Reif selected as MIT’s 17th presidentAs provost since 2005, the president-elect has inspired innovation and played a critical role in the financial stewardship of the Institute.

The elusive capacity of networksCalculating the total capacity of a data network is a notoriously difficult problem, but information theorists are beginning to make some headway.

Thwarting the cleverest attackersSavvy hackers can steal a computer’s secrets by timing its data storage transactions or measuring its power use. New research shows how to stop them.

Abelson honored as outstanding educatorWins ACM's Karl V. Karlstom Award

MITx: What the students thinkFrom Buenos Aires to Honolulu to Montreal, a virtual community grows up around the online initiative’s prototype course.