Science

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Jason Crawford

How Arc Institute is bringing science into the century of biology

Stephen Johnson

A vibrant graphic illustration featuring a large leafy plant with integrated plant sensors, comic-style speech bubbles containing exclamation marks, and a round bubble depicting ants, set against a blue textured background.

Agriculture

Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers

Using sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses like heat, light, or attack.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

Drugs

Magic mushrooms evolved to scramble insect brains, send them on wild, scary trips

Researchers discovered that the way fungi independently gained the ability to produce psilocybin is because of horizontal gene transfer.

Matt Davis

CRISPR

New CRISPR-based map ties every human gene to its function

Researchers used a single-cell sequencing tool Perturb-seq on every expressed gene in the human genome, linking each to its job in the cell.

Eva Frederick | Whitehead Institute

Physics

Nuclear isomers were discovered 100 years ago

Protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus can be arranged in different configurations, creating nuclear isomers.

Dennis Mücher and Artemis Spyrou

Physics

Lasers could cut lifespan of nuclear waste from “a million years to 30 minutes,” says Nobel laureate

If no solution is found, we're already stuck with some 22,000 cubic meters of long-lasting hazardous waste.

Robby Berman

Food

Real cheese without the cow

Biotech startup Formo uses genetically modified microorganisms to produce a completely lab-grown milk that can be made into cheese.

William Lockett

CRISPR

First CRISPR’d cockroaches open door to other gene-edited insects

It’s now easier for scientists to create gene-edited insects thanks to a new technique called “direct parental CRISPR.”

Kristin Houser

Physics

Einstein was right. Flying clocks around the world in opposite directions proved it.

By flying planes both with and against Earth's rotation, and returning them all to the same starting point, we tested Einstein's theory.

Ethan Siegel

Outer Space

Search reveals eight new sources of black hole echoes

The researchers' findings will help scientists trace a black hole’s evolution as it feeds on stellar material.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office

Physics

Scientists blow up their lab after creating strongest magnet ever

Scientists knew that it would probably explode, but they did not expect to reach such a record magnetic field.

Brandon A. Weber

Biology

Inspired by kombucha tea, engineers create living materials

A symbiotic culture of specialized yeast and bacteria can generate tough materials able to perform a variety of functions.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

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