| Transition State Glimpsed | | | | | | In a chemical reaction, molecules gain energy until they reach a “point of no return” known as a transition state — “a central concept of chemistry,” Robert Field says. Until now, no one has glimpsed this state, which lasts only a few femtoseconds. |
| A sign that aliens could stink |
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A molecule that’s known for its smelly and poisonous nature on Earth may be a sure-fire sign of extraterrestrial life. |  |
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| Israel Ruiz to step down as MIT’s executive vice president and treasurer |
Driver of “innovative solutions to complex challenges” will chart a new path pursuing opportunities to accelerate innovation. |  |
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| A closer look at the diabetes disaster |
In a new book, Amy Moran-Thomas examines how diabetes is reaching epidemic levels across the world. |  |
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| New project advances commitment to expanding graduate housing |
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A West Campus location has been identified for a new residence. |  |
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| Mary Gehring: Using flowering plants to explore epigenetic inheritance Biologist’s studies illuminate a control system that influences how traits are passed along to new generations. |  |
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| You are a cyber threat to your mother in retirement // Forbes “Technology now provides a critical role in supporting caregivers and the wellbeing of older adults,” writes Joseph Coughlin, director of the MIT AgeLab. “However, caregivers now have a new job — the cyber security of their older loved ones.” |
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| Jeanne Guillemin, pioneering researcher who uncovered a Cold War secret, dies at 76 // The Washington Post The research associate and senior advisor at the MIT Security Studies Program was a “sought-after analyst of biological warfare, blending anthropology, sociology, and security studies into a distinctive expertise in a field where men had long outnumbered their female colleagues.” |
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| Surgeons test-drive the amputation of the future // STAT |
Researchers from MIT, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center are developing an operation aimed at improving the functionality and performance of prosthetic hands. |
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| Dark matter “strikes back” in galactic mystery // Gizmodo |
MIT researchers have found that dark matter may be the source of the gamma rays found at the center of our galaxy. “If it turns out that the signal is dark matter, that’s huge for our understanding of the universe,” explains postdoc Rebecca Leane. |
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| | | Kris Guay, director of communications for MIT Admissions and Student Financial Services, penned a poem capturing the essence of December in New England — when the days grow short, and our thoughts turn to family, friends, and home. With the winter solstice arriving today at 11:19 p.m. ET, may your late-December days grow brighter and warmer as we celebrate the holidays and prepare for new beginnings! |
| The Year in Emoji | | | ♊ ₿ 🎨 ❄️ 💐 🤖 🌴 🍳 🌎 🍝 🐓 🏐 🎼 🎹 🐼 🥨 📛 💃🏽 🦉 👩🏿🚀 ☀️ 🍪 🍓 ❓ 🏃🏻♀💍 📻 👃 🧘 🐶 🐱 💾 🏀 💤 🚀 🚗 ☃️ 🤺 🖨️ 🎬 ⏩ ⛩️ 👐 💻 🧡 🥧 🐻 🐈 🌊 🌱 💧 💡 🐙 ⏰ ⚾ 🌿 🕺 🐐 🙌 📈 🎉 🕳️ ✨ 👏 🔮 💬 🐦 🤽 🍌 🍅 ☢️ ☕ 🎶 ⌨️ 🎺 🚲 ☝️ 🍍 🏒 🗿 ⚕️ 🌇 🍼 🌉 👶 🧀 🏅 🤡 🥪 😌 📕 🅱️ 🍄 👟 🌈 🎓 🗣️ 🧣 🧠 🐚 🚇 🖍️ ⛰️ 🍕 🐍 🔢 🎸 🧙 ⚽ 🔀 🎆 👽 ⚙️ 👩🚀 🎙️ 😀 ⚗️ ♾️ 💸 🔥 👤 📖 🍰 🥘 🏓 🛡️ 👩🏾 🆙 🈚 📗 ⛽ 🌄 🚧 🎂 🧑🏾 🏏 🔨 🏊 🌟 ✈️ 👋 🐅 ✍️ 👚 📅 👩🏽🏫 🕯️ 🗨️ ⏳ 👀 🙏 🏞️ ✉️ 💽 🤹♀🗜️ 〰️ 🐑 🎛️ 🕸️ 🌺 💉 🐝 🏛️ 🏋️ 🦋 🔐 ϕ 🔄 👨💻 🍎 ☔ 🍬 🕶️ 📒 🧓🏽 🐆 👗 🍱 🍯 ⛸️ 💪 🍛 🐋 🥚 🥤 😔 🔩 ♻️ 📹 ✅ 🥦 🦌 📚 🌭 🦖 📜 🌨️ ⌚ 💭 🖼️ 🔌 🥫 🦇 👍 👑 🥠
Inspired by signoffs featured on the classic children’s television show “Sesame Street,” signoffs in the MIT Weekly and MIT Daily newsletters provide a look at the quirky, poignant, or uncategorizable news and views from around the Institute community. As a year-end review, the characters here represent every unique emoji used at the end of an MIT Daily newsletter in 2019. (MIT Weekly signoff emoji draw from those appearing in that week’s MIT Daily.) Curious about the stories related to these emoji? Visit the MIT Daily archives or subscribe to the MIT Daily. |
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