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.

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

a person in blue gloves is manipulating a small organ in a petri dish

Healthcare

Cryogenically frozen organs successfully transplanted into rats for the first time

Thanks to a new "nanowarming" technique, scientists have successfully transplanted cryogenically frozen organs into rats for the first time.

Kristin Houser

Planet Earth

A comet impact 13,000 years ago might have wiped out megafauna

Researchers note a "synchronicity" of geochemical signals suggesting that fragments of a comet struck Earth approximately 13,000 years ago.

Stephen Johnson

Physics

Our language is inadequate to describe quantum reality

In the quantum world, the observer determines the physical nature of what is being observed. The notion of an objective reality is lost.

Marcelo Gleiser

a closeup of a hand in a field holding rice that appears damaged

CRISPR

CRISPR’d plant is resistant to the “cancer of rice”

CRISPR’d plants resistant to the devastating fungal disease rice blast could help shore up the world’s food supply.

Kristin Houser

An aerial view of a dry landscape undergoing prescribed burns.

Disaster Response

California will begin backing intentional burns to control wildfire

After decades of suppression, California is now supporting prescribed burns and cultural burns.

B. David Zarley

Biology

Plants perform quantum mechanics feats that scientists can only do at ultra-cold temperatures

There may be a link between quantum mechanics and photosynthesis explaining why plants are so effective at converting light to food.

Elizabeth Fernandez

Genetics

“Spooky” quantum biology might cause your DNA to mutate

Research suggests that quantum effects could drive mutations in human DNA — the latest development in the emerging field of quantum biology.

Jenny Morber

a colorful image of a human embryo at Day 11 under a microscope

Biology

Model human embryo, created from stem cells, survives past two weeks

A model human embryo capable of developing past day 14 could revolutionize our understanding of human development.

Kristin Houser

Climate Crisis

How years of fighting every wildfire helped fuel the Western megafires of today

The current approach to fire management poses unnecessarily high stakes for forests. Here's why fighting every fire does more harm than good.

Paul Hessburg and Keala Hagmann and Susan J. Prichard

rows of black rock with the gloved hands of a scientist in the background

Planet Earth

Record-breaking amount of Earth’s mantle drilled out of ocean floor

Scientists aboard the JOIDES Resolution have retrieved “a staggering” amount of mantle rock from below the ocean floor.

Kristin Houser

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