X-ray flashes from a nearby supermassive black hole accelerate mysteriously

Their source could be the core of a dead star that’s teetering at the black hole’s edge, MIT astronomers report.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
Jan. 13, 2025 ~8 min

Study shows how households can cut energy costs

An experiment in Amsterdam suggests providing better information to people can help move them out of “energy poverty.”

Peter Dizikes | MIT News • mit
Jan. 13, 2025 ~6 min


Study suggests how the brain, with sleep, learns meaningful maps of spaces

Place cells are known to encode individual locations, but research finds stitching together a “cognitive map” of a whole environment requires a broader ensemble of cells, aided by sleep, over several days.

David Orenstein | The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory • mit
Jan. 10, 2025 ~8 min

Q&A: Examining American attitudes on global climate policies

Professor Evan Lieberman describes new research in which he and colleagues find a sharp partisan divide over providing aid to poor nations.

MIT Center for International Studies • mit
Jan. 10, 2025 ~7 min

Minimizing the carbon footprint of bridges and other structures

MAD Design Fellow Zane Schemmer writes algorithms that optimize overall function, minimize carbon footprint, and produce a manufacturable design.

Denise Brehm | MIT Morningside Academy for Design • mit
Jan. 10, 2025 ~8 min

Teaching AI to communicate sounds like humans do

Inspired by the mechanics of the human vocal tract, a new AI model can produce and understand vocal imitations of everyday sounds. The method could help build new sonic interfaces for entertainment and education.

Alex Shipps | MIT CSAIL • mit
Jan. 9, 2025 ~8 min

Images that transform through heat

The Thermochromorph printmaking technique developed by CSAIL researchers allows images to transition into each other through changes in temperature.

Adam Conner-Simons | MIT CSAIL • mit
Jan. 8, 2025 ~6 min

Personal interests can influence how children’s brains respond to language

McGovern Institute neuroscientists use children’s interests to probe language in the brain.

Rubina Veerakone | McGovern Institute for Brain Research • mit
Jan. 7, 2025 ~6 min


How hard is it to prevent recurring blackouts in Puerto Rico?

Using the island as a model, researchers demonstrate the “DyMonDS” framework can improve resiliency to extreme weather and ease the integration of new resources.

David Chandler | MIT Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems • mit
Jan. 7, 2025 ~8 min

New filter captures and recycles aluminum from manufacturing waste

MIT engineers designed a nanofiltration process that could make aluminum production more efficient while reducing hazardous waste.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News • mit
Jan. 7, 2025 ~8 min

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