Author: Ms. R.

A multiyear program at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to characterize how biological and chemical vapors and aerosols disperse through the New York City subway system is coming to a close. The program, part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’s Urban Area Security Initiative, builds on other efforts at Lincoln Laboratory to detect chemical and biological threats, validate air dispersion models, and improve emergency protocols in urban areas in case of an airborne attack. The……

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From toddlers’ timeouts to criminals’ prison sentences, punishment reinforces social norms, making it known that an offender has done something unacceptable. At least, that is usually the intent — but the strategy can backfire. When a punishment is perceived as too harsh, observers can be left with the impression that an authority figure is motivated by something other than justice. It can be hard to predict what people will take away from a particular punishment, because everyone makes their……

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent approval of the first CRISPR-Cas9–based gene therapy has marked a major milestone in biomedicine, validating genome editing as a promising treatment strategy for disorders like sickle cell disease, muscular dystrophy, and certain cancers. CRISPR-Cas9, often likened to “molecular scissors,” allows scientists to cut DNA at targeted sites to snip, repair, or replace genes. But despite its power, Cas9 poses a critical safety risk: The active enzyme can linger in cells and cause……

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Materials research thrives across MIT, spanning disciplines and departments. Recent breakthroughs include strategies for securing sustainable supplies of nickel — critical to clean-energy technologies (Department of Materials Science and Engineering); the discovery of unexpected magnetism in atomically thin quantum materials (Department of Physics); and the development of adhesive coatings that reduce scarring around medical implants (departments of Mechanical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering). At the center of these efforts is the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL), a hub that……

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Optical frequency combs are specially designed lasers that act like rulers to accurately and rapidly measure specific frequencies of light. They can be used to detect and identify chemicals and pollutants with extremely high precision. Frequency combs would be ideal for remote sensors or portable spectrometers because they can enable accurate, real-time monitoring of multiple chemicals without complex moving parts or external equipment. But developing frequency combs with high enough bandwidth for these applications has been a challenge. Often,……

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John “JJ” Joannopoulos, the Francis Wright Davis Professor of Physics at MIT and director of the MIT Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (ISN), passed away on Aug. 17. He was 78.  Joannopoulos was a prolific researcher in the field of theoretical condensed-matter physics, and an early pioneer in the study and application of photonic crystals. Many of his discoveries, in the ways materials can be made to manipulate light, have led to transformative and life-saving technologies, from chip-based optical wave……

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