News & Stories

Nicole Wilson: The politics of a shifting middle class in Nigeria

Before her time at MIT, Nicole Wilson worked as a research assistant for two graduate students studying informal trade in Lagos, Nigeria. She was quickly captivated by the nation’s vibrant commercial center, with its population of nearly 22 million. “I had never spent more than a week or two out of the country, but I […]

Making life friendlier with personal robots

“As a child, I wished for a robot that would explain others’ emotions to me” says Sharifa Alghowinem, a research scientist in the Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group (PRG). Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Alghowinem says she dreamed of coming to MIT one day to develop Arabic-based technologies, and of creating a robot that could […]

Unlocking global research potential

In today’s interconnected world, fostering global collaboration is essential in addressing complex challenges and advancing scientific progress. The Global Seed Funds (GSF) program at the MIT Center for International Studies continues to be a vital catalyst, enabling MIT faculty to engage in cross-border collaborations, fueling groundbreaking research projects, and resulting in innovative solutions. Since its […]

Apekshya Prasai: Up in arms

Although women’s wartime roles and agency tend to be neglected in conventional discourses on conflict, there are times when women not only take up arms but also shape the practices and policies of insurgent groups they fight for. Apekshya Prasai, a PhD candidate in MIT’s Department of Political Science, studies how rebel groups subvert entrenched […]

SMART launches research group to advance AI, automation, and the future of work

The Singapore MIT-Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, has launched a new interdisciplinary research group aimed at tackling key social and institutional challenges around the rise of artificial intelligence and other new technologies. The group, known as Mens, Manus and Machina: How AI Empowers People, Institutions and the City in […]

Using social media to raise awareness of women’s resources

The Covid-19 pandemic created a global increase in domestic violence against women. Now, an MIT-led experiment designed with that fact in mind shows that some forms of social media can increase awareness among women about where to find resources and support for addressing domestic violence. In the randomized experiment, set in Egypt, women recruited via […]

Newly discovered bacterial communication system aids antimicrobial resistance

Researchers have discovered a new stress signaling system that enables bacteria cells to adapt and protect themselves against the immune system and certain antibiotics. An enzyme, RlmN, was observed to directly sense chemical and environmental stresses, and rapidly signal for the production of other proteins that allow the bacteria cell to adapt and survive. This […]

System tracks movement of food through global humanitarian supply chain

Although more than enough food is produced to feed everyone in the world, as many as 828 million people face hunger today. Poverty, social inequity, climate change, natural disasters, and political conflicts all contribute to inhibiting access to food. For decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA) has been […]

Study: The ocean’s color is changing as a consequence of climate change

The ocean’s color has changed significantly over the last 20 years, and the global trend is likely a consequence of human-induced climate change, report scientists at MIT, the National Oceanography Center in the U.K., and elsewhere. In a study appearing today in Nature, the team writes that they have detected changes in ocean color […]

A novel combination therapy counters antibiotic-resistant Mycobacterium abscessus infections

Researchers from the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) interdisciplinary research group at Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, in collaboration with Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU Singapore) and National University Hospital, have discovered a novel therapy by combining two antibiotics, rifaximin and clarithromycin, to treat Mycobacterium abscessus, a non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) […]