Living bacteria navigate microscopic channels to solve mathematical problems in parallel, multiplying as they go to expand the system's computing capacity. [...]

Hydroxyl groups on carbon nanotube cathodes trap iodine species and suppress unwanted reactions, enabling aqueous zinc-iodine batteries to maintain stable performance over exceptionally long cycling periods. [...]

Running a modern research laboratory requires more than maintaining sophisticated instruments. Researchers need to complete training, obtain access, schedule and operate equipment, navigate billing, and more. For large, shared facilities, coordinating these activities across hundreds of instruments and thousands of users can be a significant undertaking. As research becomes increasingly [...]

The iPhone Duo likely won’t make it into Santa’s sleigh this year. Here’s what Apple had to say about it. [...]

Siri Recap and Live Rewind are finally here, two months after Apple unveiled the always-listening Apple Watch features. Here’s how they work. [...]

Scientists have discovered all five essential nucleobases used in DNA and RNA in pristine samples from asteroid Ryugu, revealing that key ingredients for life existed in space billions of years ago. The remarkable finding adds to growing evidence from other asteroids and meteorites that these molecules were widespread throughout the [...]

A new approach known as “reverse game theory” aims to control powerful AI models by designing systems that incentivize them to stick to the rules. As AI models become more capable, safety researchers are scrambling to ensure they are “aligned” with human desires—to make sure, in other words, that rogue agents [...]

Europe’s Hera spacecraft has captured its first clear view of two asteroids involved in NASA’s historic 2022 experiment to redirect a potentially dangerous space rock. Now approaching the pair, Hera will investigate the mysterious aftermath of the collision and uncover why the asteroid shifted far more than scientists predicted. [...]

This story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here. At the end of September, President Trump signed an executive order that contained just one directive, ordering government agencies to rebrand what they had been calling artificial intelligence [...]

Utilizing waste carbon at scale, assessing public trust in artificial intelligence and data centers, and building a quantum toolkit for critical applications were among the topics energy experts explored at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)’s annual research conference on Sept. 22-23.The complexity of the energy transition demands “a truly interdisciplinary [...]

Engineering the optical environment beneath ultrathin gold films changes how they break into nanoscale particles under laser irradiation, offering new control over nanostructure formation. [...]

On the heels of Anthropic’s similar move, the change will be tested among select users before being rolled out. [...]

The partnership could provide one of the nation’s largest AI companies with a bevy of personal medical data.  [...]

In just a few years, generative AI has changed the face of enterprise analytics, notably by making analytics accessible to users across the organization. Agentic AI promises to do even more, by automating entire workflows and taking actions based on agent insights. But there is a problem: The quality of [...]

A flexible robotic skin combines pressure sensing with guided microwaves to distinguish liquids through container walls, while maintaining stable microwave transmission as the sensor bends. [...]

Mysterious particles called neutrinos constantly stream through our bodies, and scientists are now detecting incredibly powerful versions arriving from distant cosmic sources using a massive observatory buried in Antarctic ice. These elusive “ghost particles” could hold extraordinary clues about the Big Bang, extreme cosmic events, and some of the universe’s [...]

When a developer gives an AI agent a coding task, the agent does more than answer once. It plans, generates code, runs tests, and repeats the process to correct errors. A single task can use 10 to 50 times more tokens than a basic chat prompt. The more useful the [...]

NASA’s Perseverance rover has set a historic record by traveling 28.10 miles across Mars, farther than any vehicle has ever driven on another world. Armed with groundbreaking autonomous navigation technology and increasingly advanced driving capabilities, the rover is pushing the boundaries of robotic exploration. [...]

Regina Barzilay, MIT’s School of Engineering Distinguished Professor of AI and Health, and James Collins, MIT’s Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering and Science, are the recipients of the 2026 Pritzker Prize for AI in Science Research Excellence. The award recognizes their joint work in “pioneering AI-enabled antibiotic discovery, integrating deep learning, [...]

Five MIT faculty members and two additional alumni were recently named to the 2026 cohort of AI2050 Fellows. The honor is announced annually by Schmidt Sciences, Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s philanthropic initiative that aims to accelerate scientific innovation. Conceived and co-chaired by Eric Schmidt and James Manyika, AI2050 is a philanthropic initiative [...]

Scientists have filmed tiny magnetic vortices called skyrmions melting out of an organized lattice for the first time, revealing new ways to manipulate these unusual structures. The breakthrough could help make brain-like computers a reality, potentially enabling dramatically smaller and more energy-efficient technology. [...]

Scientists have discovered a way to operate multiple silicon qubits simultaneously with remarkable accuracy, overcoming a major challenge in scaling up quantum computers. Their new technique maintained accuracy of approximately 99.9% even when all five qubits were running at once, opening the door to larger and more powerful quantum processors. [...]

MIT engineers have built a paper-thin swimming robot powered by living muscle cells that respond to flashes of light, allowing it to swim and steer through water. The breakthrough could pave the way for tiny, self-healing biological robots capable of exploring fragile environments that ordinary machines cannot safely navigate. [...]

Cambridge researchers have created a groundbreaking $10 optical sensor that delivers the precision of laboratory equipment in a device small enough for wearable technology. It identified foods, plastics, and medicines with 100% accuracy in tests and demonstrated the ability to monitor blood glucose, alcohol, and other health markers without invasive [...]

Generative AI can create masterpieces in seconds, but a new analysis reveals it breaks the crucial link between making art and personal growth. Hebrew University's Amit Zoran argues that the future of creativity belongs to human discovery and perspective rather than automated digital output. [...]