Science

Side by side of mouse embryos. The one on the left appears to be developing normally, but the one on the right has an extra pair of legs.
Genetics
How turning off one gene causes mice to grow 6 legs
A study of embryo development in mice led to the creation of a mutant mouse fetus with an extra pair of legs in place of genitals.
Kristin Houser
A man in a suit stands next to a robotic arm with computer-brain interfaces on a stage under blue lighting.
Big Tech
In a future with brain-computer interfaces like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, we may need to rethink freedom of thought
In a future with more “mind reading,” thanks to computer-brain interfaces, we may need to rethink freedom of thought.
Parker Crutchfield
Oceans
Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage
An MIT team is hoping to fortify coastlines with “architected” reefs engineered to mimic the wave-buffering effects of natural reefs.
Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office
magnified image of ips cells
Biology
Breakthrough creates stem cells without any “memories”
Kristin Houser
a magnified row of the silicon boxes in the molecular test
Inventions
“Light sculpting” chip can rapidly test for thousands of diseases
Kristin Houser
Two green and red lasers in space.
Physics
New physics? Ultra-precise measurement in particle physics confounds scientists
Don Lincoln
A man is standing in front of a wall of spacetime clocks.
Physics
Time has some fundamental differences from every other dimension
Ethan Siegel
A man in a red shirt in a science lab
Engineering
Scientists see metal heal itself for the first time
Kristin Houser
Alice in Wonderland, a whimsical journey through a mind-altering DMT-induced wonderland.
Psychology
“I’ve been here before”: DMT study explores a strange memory phenomenon
Stephen Johnson
An abstract image of a blue circle with blue dots representing particles
Physics
Discovery of “demon” particle could aid superconductor hunt
Kristin Houser
A picture of a metal container with the word levitation on it.
Engineering
We’re in a “fog of war” as experts and amateurs rush to replicate superconductor LK-99
Tom Hartsfield
Two people examining mutant tomatoes in a greenhouse.
Agriculture
Mutant tomato could save crops around the world
Sam Jarman
A man is working on a muon g-2 machine in a blue room.
Physics
“Muon g-2” experiment hints that a mystery is bubbling inside the quantum foam
Don Lincoln