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News
High-speed microscopy reveals electrical activity across the brain
2+ day, 1+ hour ago (686+ words) Electrical activity of neurons across the zebrafish brain, captured using a new microscopy technique developed in the Boyden lab. Image: Zeguan Wang by Anne Trafton | August 14, 2026August 14, 2026 The technique could help scientists learn how the entire brain works to generate decisions…...
DNA shaper steers nervous system development
1+ week, 5+ day ago (520+ words) by Jennifer Michalowski | August 3, 2026August 3, 2026 Categories: Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, H. Robert Horvitz A study in worms shows that a protein that helps shape the structure of the genome is critical for establishing the identity of some neurons. A functional nervous system depends…...
How visual learning happens in the brain
1+ mon, 1+ week ago (399+ words) by Jennifer Michalowski | July 8, 2026 Learning to identify a new object subtly reshapes visual processing in the brain. The wiring and rewiring of the brain never ends. Neural pathways are constantly being reshaped as we interact with the world and learn…...
An internal ruler
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (532+ words) Neurons in the brainstem representing individual whiskers on the mouse’s face. Image: Fan Wang by Jennifer Michalowski | June 25, 2026June 25, 2026 Categories: Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, Fan Wang A simple brain circuit measures objects’ distance from the body using touch signals from a rodent’s…...
Language development in the brain
2+ mon, 4+ week ago (249+ words) The core parts of the language network (shown in teal) reside in the left frontal and temporal lobes. Image: Ev Fedorenko by Jennifer Michalowski | May 17, 2026May 17, 2026 The brain’s language network is still evolving in adolescence. But by age four, language-processing is…...
Brighter MRI signals
3+ mon, 2+ day ago (463+ words) Liposomal nanoparticle reporters, or LisNRs can brighten or dim MRI signals in response to specific molecular targets. Shown here is the water channel (magenta) that allows LisNRs to sense molecular targets, in combination with a blocking protein (green) that allows…...
Powerful shrinking technique could enable devices that compute with light
3+ mon, 4+ day ago (363+ words) Anne Trafton | May 12, 2026May 12, 2026 Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing…...
MIT Scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry named 2026 Searle Scholars
3+ mon, 1+ week ago (601+ words) MIT scientists Sven Dorkenwald and Whitney Henry have been named 2026 Searle Scholars, an award given annually to 15 exceptional early-career researchers in the fields of biomedical sciences and chemistry. Chosen by a scientific advisory board, Searle Scholars are considered among the…...
Michale Fee and Fan Wang Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
3+ mon, 2+ week ago (259+ words) by Julie Pryor | April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 Categories: Cellular & Molecular Neuroscience, Michale Fee, Fan Wang, Announcements, Awards & Honors Two McGovern neuroscientists are among six MIT faculty members selected this year to join the academy. “Election to the National Academy of Sciences by one’s…...
A different reality
4+ mon, 1+ week ago (711+ words) by Jennifer Michalowski | April 2, 2026April 15, 2026 With new insights into how brains with schizophrenia work differently, McGovern scientists are working towards better treatments for people living with the disorder. This story also appears in our Spring 2026 BrainScan newsletter. Scientists at the McGovern…...