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Computational tools for society’s most complex challenges
Research Institutions

Computational tools for society’s most complex challenges

As far back as she can remember, Cathy Wu ’12, MNG ’13 wanted to find ways to solve problems to improve people’s lives. Her parents were Taiwanese immigrants, and her father had a long commute to his job, which took him away from the family. On a tight budget, the rest of the family often stayed home on a street that was too busy for playing outdoors. Wu and her siblings ended up playing a lot of computer games. Wu says her desire to make the world a better place, her dad’s daily battle against traffic, and the games she played, like “SimCity,” were the seeds of her motivation to design safe, efficient transportation systems. Wu is an associate professor in the MIT Department of Civil and En...

📅 2026-10-02 19:30:00    •    MIT News
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Small changes can have a big impact on sustainability transitions
Science News

Small changes can have a big impact on sustainability transitions

In her dissertation, Hanna Entsalo examines how public policies, such as policy strategies and legislation, influence transitions toward the circular economy and sustainability. Entsalo works as a researcher in the Circular Economy Solutions Unit at the Finnish Environment Institute. Her work focuses on circular economy policy instruments, sustainability transitions and innovation policy, particularly at the national and EU levels.

📅 2026-10-02 19:20:13    •    Phys.org
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Black holes may grow quietly alongside galaxies even without violent mergers
Science News

Black holes may grow quietly alongside galaxies even without violent mergers

Astronomers analyzed 2,435 galaxies hosting actively feeding black holes using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Among them, they identified 546 "bulgeless" galaxies—systems with little or no central stellar bulge. Their paper, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, suggests that galaxies without a central bulge grow black holes just as effectively as galaxies that have one—a surprising sign that black holes don't need galaxy mergers to grow normally.

📅 2026-10-02 19:20:02    •    Phys.org
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How does interdisciplinary collaboration work in practice? Three takeaways for teachers
Science News

How does interdisciplinary collaboration work in practice? Three takeaways for teachers

When we speak with Luyao Huang, her Ph.D. project at Leiden University is in full swing. Two papers—a systematic literature review and a case study on an interdisciplinary course—are already behind her. Next year, she will carry out a study in which teachers react to various scenarios. Today, Huang tells us about her most recent study: a deep dive into student collaboration.

📅 2026-10-02 19:00:01    •    Phys.org
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Q&A: How will quantum computers change society?
Science News

Q&A: How will quantum computers change society?

Once called a "pipe dream," quantum computers are now approaching practical use. Companies and research institutes around the world are in fierce competition to develop this technology, which has the potential to rapidly perform some calculations that are extremely difficult even for conventional supercomputers.

📅 2026-10-02 18:20:08    •    Phys.org
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Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests
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Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests

The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history.

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:13    •    Phys.org
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Physicists who uncovered the first particle accelerator were honored with a Nobel Prize 75 years ago
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Physicists who uncovered the first particle accelerator were honored with a Nobel Prize 75 years ago

While scientists are known for their dedication to their research, crawling on the floor to avoid electrocution for the sake of a measurement seems a little excessive. But this is what British physicist John Cockcroft and Irish physicist Ernest T.S. Walton had to do in the early 1930s while studying the structure of atomic nuclei. Luckily, their efforts led to their receiving the Nobel Prize in 1951.

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:01    •    Phys.org
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Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than previously thought, new study suggests
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Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than previously thought, new study suggests

The first animals may have appeared on Earth hundreds of millions years earlier than their fossils suggest, a new modeling study suggests. Previously, the earliest fossil evidence of animals dated to around 574 million years ago, during the Ediacaran period (635 million to 538 million years ago). In the new paper, a research team argues that we can't just rely on the spotty fossil record, and suggests that animals first appeared up to 200 million years earlier than the oldest known animal fossils. In the study, published Friday (Oct. 2) in the journal Science Advances, the researchers argue that the absence of animal fossils in some exceptionally well-preserved ancient rocks doesn't mean the...

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:00    •    Live Science
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Want to use AI to improve your work? Have it disagree with you
Science News

Want to use AI to improve your work? Have it disagree with you

Knowledge workers such as scientists, teachers, lawyers and business leaders are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence applications for tasks that demand imagination, creativity and problem-solving. Ironically, perhaps, recent research shows that people who interact with generative AI for work tasks can end up not thinking critically. They can surrender to AI's quick and confident answers, which can lead to speedy but low-quality solutions.

📅 2026-10-02 17:40:01    •    Phys.org
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Ancient sea levels reveal when the Earth's poles went wandering
Science News

Ancient sea levels reveal when the Earth's poles went wandering

Earth's poles do not always stay in the same place. For example, a region once near the North Pole can end up near the equator, and an area near the equator can shift up toward the pole. This is known as true polar wander (TPW), and it's when Earth's crust and mantle shift together relative to its spin axis.

📅 2026-10-02 17:20:03    •    Phys.org
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Fluorescent test speeds screening of thousands of enzyme variants that modify plant compounds
Science News

Fluorescent test speeds screening of thousands of enzyme variants that modify plant compounds

Many natural plant compounds have promising health-related properties, but their poor water solubility can limit how effectively they are absorbed and used. In previous work, researchers discovered an enzyme from Bacillus subtilis, called phenolic phosphate synthetase (BsPPS), that can attach phosphate groups to a broad range of phenolic compounds. This modification can help make these compounds more water-soluble and support the development of improved nutraceuticals and related products.

📅 2026-10-02 17:20:01    •    Phys.org
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Millions of years of evolution guide AI search for pollution-fighting enzymes
Science News

Millions of years of evolution guide AI search for pollution-fighting enzymes

Databases around the world contain information on millions upon millions of enzymes that have the potential to degrade pollutants like plastic. Scientists at Murdoch University's Bioplastics Innovation Hub are combining machine learning technology and biochemistry to identify which of these enzymes have the potential to break down plastic and other harmful pollutants.

📅 2026-10-02 17:00:18    •    Phys.org
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Documenting the tech worker movement
Research Institutions

Documenting the tech worker movement

Despite the “dot-com crash” in 2000, the tech industry remained an attractive career destination for many who believed technology represented the future. The digital age — defined by global connectivity and computers — had firmly taken hold, and over time, the tech industry emerged as a dominant force in the labor market. High-paying jobs for engineers, designers, and professionals across a wide range of fields became increasingly common. MIT PhD student JS Tan SM ’22 was among those who, upon graduating from Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design in 2015, joined the tech industry. “A lot of us had this idea that technology, and in particular the technologies related to the inter...

📅 2026-10-02 17:00:00    •    MIT News
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White nationalism's appeal runs deeper than partisan politics
Science News

White nationalism's appeal runs deeper than partisan politics

As Americans prepared to celebrate the nation's 250th birthday on the morning of July 4, sobering images flashed across their phones and TV screens. Hundreds of masked men marched through the streets of Washington carrying flags and chanting "Reclaim America!" It soon became clear from the logos on their identical baseball caps that the marchers were members of Patriot Front, a white nationalist group.

📅 2026-10-02 16:40:11    •    Phys.org
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Enzymes become sturdy beads that could support more sustainable chemical production
Science News

Enzymes become sturdy beads that could support more sustainable chemical production

Thanks to enzyme-based biocatalysis, an enormous range of pharmaceutical active ingredients and other complex molecules can be synthesized in an environmentally friendly manner. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a technology that allows to assemble enzymes into millimeter-sized, storable beads. In this process, the enzymes not only act as catalysts but also constitute the beads' material itself. In a further variant, the enzyme networks can be combined with living cells. A patent application has been filed for the technology. The results have been published in Advanced Materials.

📅 2026-10-02 16:40:07    •    Phys.org
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