Anne Trafton

5 days ago | scitechdaily.com | Anne Trafton

Astrocytes may hold the key to the brain’s vast memory capacity, using calcium signals and complex networks to boost storage far beyond what neurons can manage alone. Credit: SciTechDaily.comAstrocytes, once thought to be the brain’s housekeepers, may actually be silent powerhouses of memory.

1 week ago | medicalxpress.com | Anne Trafton |Gaby Clark |Robert Egan

Consuming a high-fat diet can lead to a variety of health problems—not only weight gain but also an increased risk of diabetes and other chronic diseases. At the cellular level, hundreds of changes take place in response to a high-fat diet. MIT researchers have now mapped out some of those changes, with a focus on metabolic enzyme dysregulation that is associated with weight gain.

1 week ago | medicalxpress.com | Anne Trafton |Lisa Lock |Robert Egan

The human brain contains about 86 billion neurons. These cells fire electrical signals that help the brain store memories and send information and commands throughout the brain and the nervous system. The brain also contains billions of astrocytes—star-shaped cells with many long extensions that allow them to interact with millions of neurons.

1 week ago | oilgasdaily.com | Anne Trafton

A new approach could fractionate crude oil using much less energyby Anne Trafton | MIT NewsBoston MA (SPX) May 26, 2025 Separating crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel, and heating oil is an energy-intensive process that accounts for about 6 percent of the world's CO2 emissions. Most of that energy goes into the heat needed to separate the components by their boiling point.

2 weeks ago | techxplore.com | Anne Trafton |Stephanie Baum |Robert Egan

Separating crude oil into products such as gasoline, diesel, and heating oil is an energy-intensive process that accounts for about 6% of the world's CO2 emissions. Most of that energy goes into the heat needed to separate the components by their boiling point. In an advance that could dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed for crude oil fractionation, MIT engineers have developed a membrane that filters the components of crude oil by their molecular size.