Latest MIT Stories

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Essess (www.essess.com), a leading provider of automated energy assessments for commercial and residential buildings, today announced the closing of its $6 million Series A funding round. Vocap Ventures is the largest institutional investor in this round of funding, with additional investment from DFJ Athena, Minder Cheng, Richard Tsai and the company's CEO, Storm Duncan. Essess is the world's first Big Data company...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The MIT Museum has opened Rivers of Ice: Vanishing Glaciers of the Greater Himalaya featuring the breath-taking photography of mountaineer and film maker David Breashears (through March 17, 2013), with the support of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (www.pa2f.org) At the heart of Rivers of Ice - a collaboration between the MIT Museum, GlacierWorks, and the Asia Society, designed by ThincDesign -- are contemporary,...

Lee Rannals for RedOrbit.com Researchers are trying to create a platform that would allow individuals to create and customize easy-to-use robotic devices. The team hopes to develop a project that would automate the process of producing functional 3D devices and allow individuals to design and build functional robots from materials like a sheet of paper. “This research envisions a whole new way of thinking about the design and manufacturing of robots, and could have a profound...

A single gene mutation can sweep through a population, opening the door for the concept of 'species' in bacteria Bacteria are the most populous organisms on the planet. They thrive in almost every known environment, adapting to different habitats by means of genetic variations that provide the capabilities essential for survival. These genetic innovations arise from what scientists believe is a random mutation and exchange of genes and other bits of DNA among bacteria that sometimes...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, April 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Italtel is a specialist in Cisco technology having over 200 people worldwide certified to the highest levels of Cisco specialization. Italtel, leader in the integration of products and services for next-generation IP networks, announces that its Saudi Arabian subsidiary has earned the designation of Cisco Authorized Technology Partner - Mobile Internet Technology (ATP-MIT). Italtel Arabia is the first Cisco partner in...

Pitt and MIT researchers accomplish first demonstration of oscillating gels that can be “revived” by mechanical pressure Sooner than later, robots may have the ability to “feel.” In a paper published online March 26 in Advanced Functional Materials, a team of researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrated that a nonoscillating gel can be resuscitated in a fashion similar to a medical cardiopulmonary resuscitation....

Rapamycin-induced longevity in mice can be uncoupled from diabetes-inducing side effects A Penn- and MIT-led team explained how rapamycin, a drug that extends mouse lifespan, also causes insulin resistance. The researchers showed in an animal model that they could, in principle, separate the effects, which depend on inhibiting two protein complexes, mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively. The study suggests that molecules that specifically inhibit mTORC1 may combat age-related diseases without...

Work by University of Michigan and MIT team yields new understanding of crucial reaction in the body and in CO2-scrubbing bacteria You see it listed on the side of your cereal box and your multivitamin bottle. It's vitamin B12, part of a nutritious diet like all those other vitamins and minerals. But when it gets inside your body, new research suggests, B12 turns into a gymnast. In a paper published recently in the journal Nature, scientists from the University of Michigan Health...

GENEVA and SAN FRANCISCO, March 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The New Cities Foundation (NCF), a global platform for innovation and exchange on the future of urbanization, announced today that frog, one of the world's foremost design and innovation firms, has become its newest member. With an interdisciplinary mix of 1,000 designers, strategists, and engineers, frog helps companies develop highly differentiated, user-friendly products and services. NCF's rapidly-growing membership base...

[ Watch the Video ] Lee Rannals for RedOrbit.com Researchers at MIT Media Lab are experimenting with giving a camera the ability to shoot pictures of objects that are not in its line-of-sight. The team wrote in the journal Nature Communications that they have developed a way to produce 3D images of a wooden figurine that was standing around the corner, in another model room. The system fires a "femtosecond laser" to send bursts of light to reflect off surfaces like walls in order...