Science

Why happiness is not the best indicator of well-being

Achieving values and pursuing growth is the real secret to a fulfilled life.

Jason Crawford

How Arc Institute is bringing science into the century of biology

Stephen Johnson

A vibrant graphic illustration featuring a large leafy plant with integrated plant sensors, comic-style speech bubbles containing exclamation marks, and a round bubble depicting ants, set against a blue textured background.

Agriculture

Plant sensors could act as an early warning system for farmers

Using sensors made from carbon nanotubes, researchers discovered signals that help plants respond to stresses like heat, light, or attack.

Anne Trafton | MIT News Office

Animals

Can science save the northern white rhino?

The northern white rhino species is down to just two members, both female. Can science bring it back from the brink of extinction?

Kristin Houser

Robotics

Bots can now swim like a school of real fish

Bluebots, robotic fish developed at Harvard, are the first to demonstrate complex swarm behaviors underwater.

B. David Zarley

Autonomous trucks are taking to the highways

Self-driving cars get all the love, but autonomous trucks are already hitting the road, with a “driver-out” demonstration scheduled for 2021.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Beyond COVID: mRNA vaccines may treat cancer and more

The technology used to make the COVID-19 vaccine could be used to treat other diseases too.

Amanda Winkler

Animals

Scientists observe cells reacting to a magnetic field for the first time

Scientists aren’t sure how animals sense magnetic fields — magnetoreception. New observations of living cells reacting to magnetic fields may hold a clue.

B. David Zarley

Physics

Quantum teleportation demo sets new accuracy record

A quantum teleportation breakthrough at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory puts us one step closer to a super-fast, super-secure quantum internet.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Transparent solar windows could be coming soon

Solar power is abundant, but the dark panels pose a design problem. A new generation of transparent solar panels could make house-powering windows and phone screens a reality.

B. David Zarley

Paleontology

Ice Age wolf mummy discovered almost 100% intact

An almost perfectly preserved wolf mummy discovered in the Canadian tundra is giving researchers a glimpse into the life of an ancient wolf.

Kristin Houser

Physicists are starting to harness the power of deepfakes

Generative adversarial networks are the scary AI producing deepfakes. But they have other uses too, and physicists are starting to harness their power.

B. David Zarley

Just how are deepfakes made, anyway?

Capable of creating incredibly realistic false data — most infamously of famous people — deepfakes are a powerful tool.

B. David Zarley

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