Jennifer Chu

Exercise can have benefits at the level of neurons, through chemical and mechanical effects, MIT researchers find. The discovery could inform exercise-related therapies for repairing damaged and deteriorating nerves.

SURD, an algorithm from MIT engineers, reveals causal links in complex systems. Applications may include forecasting climate to projecting population growth to designing efficient aircraft.

In the largest predation event ever recorded, researchers observed capelin shoaling off the coast of Norway, where a swarm of cod overtook them, consuming over 10 million fish in a few hours. The team hopes to deploy their technique to monitor the large-scale dynamics among other species of fish and track vulnerable keystone species.

A surprising discovery about the black hole V404 Cygnus is expanding our understanding of black holes, the objects they can host, and the way they form.

Astronomers observed ancient quasars that appear to be surprisingly alone in the early universe. The findings challenge physicists’ understanding of how such luminous objects could have formed so early on in the universe, without a significant source of surrounding matter to fuel their growth.

MIT engineers built a solar-powered desalination system that produces large quantities of clean water despite variations in sunlight throughout the day. Because it requires no extra batteries, it offers a much more affordable way to produce drinking water, compared to other solar-driven designs.

Built by MIT researchers, the Plasma Science Experiment aboard the Voyager 2 spacecraft took measurements for the last 47 years and 15 billion miles, before shutting down on Sept. 26.

MIT engineers developed a system that helps robots quickly map a scene and identify items they need to complete a set of tasks.

MIT research suggests Mars’ missing atmosphere — which dramatically diminished 3.5 billion years ago — could be locked in the planet’s clay-covered crust. Water on Mars could have set off a chain reaction that drew CO2 out of the atmosphere and converted it into methane within clay minerals.

MIT researchers examined summertime heat exposure in U.S. prisons and identified characteristics that can further contribute to a population’s vulnerability to summer heat. They found prisons exposed to the most extreme heat are in the southwestern U.S., while those with the biggest changes in summertime heat, compared to the historical record, are in the Pacific Northwest, the Northeast, and parts of the Midwest.

MIT engineers developed a new kind of reconfigurable masonry made from 3D-printed, recycled glass. The bricks could be reused many times over in building facades and internal walls.

Watching for changes in Mars’ orbit over time could be new way to detect passing dark matter, according to MIT researchers.

MIT physicists propose that a mysterious force known as early dark energy could solve two of the biggest puzzles in cosmology and fill in some major gaps in our understanding of how the early universe evolved.

MIT physicists directly observed ultracold atoms in an “edge state,” flowing along a boundary without resistance. The research could help physicists manipulate electrons to flow without friction in materials that could enable super-efficient transmission of energy and data.

Scientists at MIT and NASA report that rock samples from Mars’ Jezero Crater contain minerals that are typically formed in water. While the presence of organic matter is inconclusive, the rocks could be scientists’ best chance at finding remnants of ancient Martian life.

Scientists confirmed that much of ozone’s increase in the upper troposphere is likely due to humans. An MIT team detected a clear signal of human influence on upper tropospheric ozone trends in a 17-year satellite record starting in 2005.

Scientists have identified the main process, called impact vaporization, that formed the moon’s atmosphere and continues to sustain it today.

MIT engineers discovered that when the aluminum in soda cans is purified and mixed with seawater, the solution produces hydrogen — which can power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. The reaction can be sped up by adding caffeine.

The newly discovered planet TIC 241249530 b has the most highly elliptical, or eccentric, orbit of any known planet. It appears to be a juvenile planet that is in the midst of becoming a hot Jupiter, and its orbit is providing some answers to how such large, scorching planets evolve.

Scientists may have to rethink the relationship between the ocean’s circulation and its long-term capacity to store carbon, new research from MIT suggests. As the ocean gets weaker, it could release more carbon from the deep ocean into the atmosphere — rather than less, as some have predicted.