School of Science

MIT researchers have analyzed tiny particles from a distant asteroid and found that a weak magnetic field may have helped form the outer planets in our solar system,  reports Sabrina Lam for The Boston Globe. In the future, the researchers hope to use samples from other celestial bodies to identify magnetic fields in our universe. “An exciting thing that’s probably going to happen in the next few decades,” says Prof. Benjamin Weiss, “is that we’re going to start bringing samples back from comets.”

MIT researchers have created a detailed map showing how the human brain processes information while watching movies, reports Laura Baisas for Popular Science. Using data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers uncovered 24 different brain networks that are “associated with specific aspects of sensory or cognitive processing,” explains Baisas. 

Lithios, a startup cofounded by Mohammad Alkhadra PhD '22 and Prof. Martin Bazant, is developing “a clean and relatively cheap way to access vast amounts of lithium,” reports Hiawatha Bray for The Boston Globe. “Lithios has developed a lithium-absorbing material that can be made into electrodes using the same technologies created to make electrodes for lithium-ion batteries,” explains Bray. 

Researchers at MIT and elsewhere have discovered a “black-hole triple, the first known instance of a three-body system that includes a black hole, which is not supposed to be part of the mix,” reports Dennis Overbye for The New York Times.  The researchers propose that the black hole “could have resulted from a sort of immaculate conception whereby the progenitor star disappeared from the universe without any fireworks.”

Astronomers from MIT and elsewhere have “identified a black hole that appears to have come into being through the collapse of the core of a large star in its death throes, but without the usual blast,” explains Will Dunham for Reuters. “Black holes have previously been spotted orbiting with one other star or one other black hole in what are called binary systems,” explains Dunham. “But this is the first known instance of a triple system with a black hole and two stars.”

Researchers from MIT and elsewhere have discovered a black hole triple – a black hole with two orbiting stars around it at varying distances – for the first time, reports Jess Thomson for Newsweek. The researchers believe this “first-of-its-kind discovery could help unravel the mysteries of how black holes form and how they enter into binaries or triples,” writes Thomson. 

MIT scientists have discovered a complex form of carbon, crucial for life on Earth, outside our solar system for the first time, demonstrating how “the compounds needed for life could come from space,” reports Alex Wilkins for New Scientist. “Now, we’re seeing both ends of this life cycle,” explains Prof. Brett McGuire. He explains that we can see the chemical archaeological record in our solar system in asteroids and on Earth, “and now we’re looking back in time at a place where another solar system will form, and seeing these same molecules there forming. We’re seeing the start of the archaeological record.”

Popular Science reporter Laura Baisas writes that MIT physicists have discovered, for the first time, a black hole triple. “Since the new triple system includes a very far-off star, the system’s black hole was potentially born through [a] gentler direct collapse,” writes Baisas. “While astronomers have been observing violent supernovae for centuries, this new triple system may be the first evidence of a black hole that formed from this more gentle process.” 

Physicists from MIT and Caltech have discovered a black hole triple system, “consisting of three bodies spinning around each other about 7,800 light-years from Earth,” writes Isaac Schultz for Gizmodo. Schultz notes that the finding “pushes the envelope,” revealing “a system with one black hole and two stars—a configuration never seen before.”

Boston Globe reporter Nick Stoico spotlights how researchers from MIT and Caltech have observed a “black hole triple” for the first time. “This one is satisfying because it’s kind of a simple discovery,” explains postdoctoral associate Kevin Burdge. “It’s just looking at a picture, and I think it reminds a lot of astronomers that there’s more to the job than just analyzing complicated data. You shouldn’t forget to do the simple things, like just look with your own eyes at some pictures and see what you find.” 

Using the James Webb Telescope, researchers at MIT have found quasars, “some of the brightest objects in the cosmos, adrift in the empty voids of space,” reports Mark Kaufman for Mashable. “This latest cosmic quandary is not just about how these quasars formed in isolation, but how they formed so rapidly,” explains Kaufman. 

Graduate student Samantha Hasler and her colleagues have gathered new information on Uranus using the Hubble Space Telescope and the New Horizons spacecraft, reports Jamie Carter for Forbes.  "Studying how known benchmarks like Uranus appear in distant imaging can help us have more robust expectations when preparing” for future missions, explains Hasler. 

Prof. Evelina Fedorenko speaks with Scientific American reporter Gary Stix about her research demonstrating that “language and thought are, in fact, distinct entities that the brain processes separately.” Speaking about how large language models could be used to help scientists better understand the neuroscience of how language works, Fedorenko explains that "there are many, many questions that we can now ask that had been totally out of reach: for example, questions about [language] development.”

Writing for Fast Company, Senior Lecturer Guadalupe Hayes-Mota SB '08, MS '16, MBA '16, explores new approaches to improve the drug development process and more effectively connect scientific discoveries and treatment. “Transforming scientific discoveries into better treatments is a complex challenge, but it is also an opportunity to rethink our approach to healthcare innovation,” writes Hayes-Mota. “Through cross-disciplinary collaboration, leveraging AI, focusing on patient-centered innovation, and rethinking R&D, we can create a future where scientific breakthroughs translate into meaningful, accessible treatments for all.”

Prof. David Kaiser and San Francisco Ballet principal dancer Sasha De Sola participate in a dialogue hosted by the Scientific Inquirer that bridges the “boundaries between movement, spacetime, and human expression.” In a wide-ranging discussion, Kaiser and De Sola explore "the intersection of ballet, physics, and human creativity, exploring time’s influence on innovation."