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

Neuroscience

In a hole in Earth’s magnetic field, neuroscientists are peering into the human brain

By using quantum physics to measure magnetic fields, researchers are pushing closer to measuring the brain in ways we couldn't before.

B. David Zarley

Neuroscience

Mammals dream about the world they are entering even before birth

A study finds that baby mammals dream about the world they are about to experience to prepare their senses.

Paul Ratner

Paleontology

Fossil of oldest octopus and vampire squid relative may reveal 10-armed past

A newly described fossil may be the oldest relative yet found of octopuses and vampire squids — although if it is a new species at all is disputed.

B. David Zarley

Blockchain

Blockchain experts are funding research that Big Pharma won't

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) use smart contracts on blockchains to change how scientific research is funded and shared.

Sachin Rawat

Memory

Newly discovered types of brain cells may hold the key to memory

Researchers believe they have discovered two new types of brain cells that play a key role in memory.

B. David Zarley

CRISPR

CRISPR cattle cleared for the first time by FDA

Beef cattle genetically altered to be less susceptible to heat stress have been cleared for human consumption by the FDA.

Kristin Houser

Engineering

Win-win: we can make fertilizer by purifying wastewater

Stanford engineers have developed a cost-effective way to convert a toxic byproduct of a wastewater filtration process into useful chemicals.

Kristin Houser

Sustainability

MIT’s new plant-based material could replace plastics

Using cellulose from wood, MIT researchers have made a plant-based material tough as bone and hard as aluminum.

B. David Zarley

Biology

Diamond-like starfish skeleton unlike any discovered in nature

The skeleton of the knobby starfish has a structure unlike any other found in nature so far, and it could inspire new lightweight ceramics.

Sam Jarman

Biology

Take a look at the deepest known squid, just found

NOAA scientists used an ROV to spot a ghostly cephalopod, known as a bigfin squid

Teresa Carey

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