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

Biology

Microbe in mosquito guts completely blocks malaria parasite

Scientists have discovered a microbe in the guts of mosquitoes that appears to prevent the most common malaria parasite from infecting the insects.

Kristin Houser

Coronavirus

Computer scientists build new tool to fight coronavirus

4:34

Computer scientists are using AI and text mining to sort through thousands of coronavirus research papers that could help fight the disease.

Doug Dais

Animals

Researchers are rushing to freeze… lab mice sperm?

With their labs closing and the future unclear, researchers are sending precious cargo — the sperm of lab mice — to be frozen and stored.

B. David Zarley

Coronavirus

Every significant breakthrough that’s stemmed from the pandemic

A timeline of coronavirus solutions from the people on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19.

Teresa Carey

Drugs

An LSD trip “off-switch” may be coming soon

Pharmaceutical startup MindMed is developing tech it believes could serve as an “off switch” for an LSD trip during therapy sessions.

Kristin Houser

Paleontology

Scientists find what looks like DNA in a dinosaur fossil

Researchers have found what appears to be DNA in a dinosaur fossil — a discovery that could radically change our understanding of DNA’s ability to survive.

Kristin Houser

Clean Energy

Open-sourcing the blueprints for a nuclear power plant

The Energy Impact Center has open-sourced nuclear power plant blueprints in an attempt to encourage the adoption of eco-friendly nuclear energy.

Kristin Houser

Genetics

Should we turn chickens into dinosaurs?

5:38

These scientists are studying chickens to learn more about dinosaur DNA, and their findings could help us better understand our own genetic code.

Agriculture

"Doomsday" seed vault now contains over 1 million samples

Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also known as the “Doomsday” Vault, now contains more than one million varieties of seeds from across the globe.

Kristin Houser

Series| Biohackers

The cyborg artist who hears color

6:13

Neil Harbisson was born colorblind. Now he has an antenna implant in his skill to hear color and create beautiful works of art.

Sections

Video

Freethink

We focus on solutions: the smartest people, the biggest ideas, and the most ground breaking technology shaping our future.