A new study by MIT scientists shows how two proteins work to ensure that memory is encoded within minutes, according to Xinhua. The study, “also provided new hints about how problems involving these two proteins in other parts of the brain, such as the frontal cortex, could undermine cognition in those diseases.”
In this video, BBC Click spotlights VirtualHome, a simulator developed by CSAIL researchers that could be used to teach robots to perform household chores. The researchers hope the system could one day allow for seamless human-robot collaboration by allowing robots to, “cooperate with [humans] in finishing their activity,” explains graduate student Xavier Puig.
Prof. Janet Conrad speaks with NPR's Joe Palca about her work detecting a new particle called the sterile neutrino. To find the particle, Conrad and her colleagues shot a beam of neutrinos into a container of mineral oil and identified an extra signal. Conrad explains, “to have an extra signal you need to somehow introduce an extra neutrino.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a device “that can receive power and communicate wirelessly from inside the body,” which could eventually be used for drug delivery, to treat disease or to monitor overall health, reports Allen Cone for UPI. "Having the capacity to communicate with these systems without the need for a battery would be a significant advance," said research affiliate Gio Traverso.
HuffPost reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT researchers developed a new AI system that sees the worst in humanity to illustrate what happens when bias enters the machine learning process. “An AI learns only what it is fed, and if the humans that are feeding it are biased (consciously or not) then the results can be extremely problematic.”
In an article published by Salon, Prof. Heather Paxson examines the American artisanal cheese industry. Paxson writes that, “food-making traditions in the United States are often animated by personal narratives of innovation rather than, as in Europe, adherence to customary tradition.”
In this PBS NewsHour segment, Prof. Alan Lightman discusses his views on science and spirituality. “I’m still a scientist. I still believe that the world is made of atoms and molecules and nothing more. But I also believe in the power and validity of the spiritual experience.”
Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray writes about Technology Review’s EmTech Next conference, which examined how technology and AI will impact the future of work. Prof. David Mindell noted that while AI could impact the types of jobs available in the future, machines will always need human assistance. “When robots succeed,” said Mindell, “they’re never alone.”
Reporting for WBUR, Karen Weintraub examines the biotech boom in Kendall Square. President Emerita Susan Hockfield notes that, “Every year there's a new wave of young people who arrive on our campuses and get inspired by what we do and then inspire us about what they'd like to do. I think that's part of the magic mix here.”
Bloomberg’s Faye Flam discusses “Superminds,” a new book by Prof. Thomas Malone, and the impact of technology on human intelligence. “One take-home message in "Superminds" is that artificial intelligence is already here, and already changing the world,” writes Flam. “It's beside the point whether a robot with humanlike intelligence is still 20 years away."
MIT researchers have developed a virtual reality environment in order to train drones, writes Logan Booker of Gizmodo. “It's a neat use of an emerging technology, one that makes a lot of sense when you think about it,” Booker concludes.
In an effort to determine how different data impacts the view of AI, Media Lab researchers used gruesome images to train a system, which ultimately created a psychopathic AI, writes BBC reporter Jane Wakefield. "It highlights the idea that the data we use to train AI is reflected in the way the AI perceives the world and how it behaves," says Prof. Iyad Rahwan.
Prof. Thomas Malone writes for Salon about Elon Musk’s recent proposal to create a “media credibility rating site” where the public could rate journalists and media outlets. “Crowdsourcing can work—even when most people in the crowd can’t do the task well—if there is some independent way of recognizing and giving special weight to the crowd members who are good at the task.”
NBC Mach’s Denise Chow discusses the upcoming hurricane season with Prof. Kerry Emanuel. “The sea level is going up, and it's almost certainly going to continue to go up,” explains Emanuel. “Even if the storms themselves don’t change, the surges are riding on an elevated sea level, and that makes them more dangerous.”
Prof. Patrick Winston is teaching a computer to read a truncated version of Macbeth in an effort to determine “how to build computer systems that can simulate the human mind’s unique powers of perception and insight,” writes Andy Rosen for The Boston Globe. Winston believes understanding stories is “a fundamental differentiating capability of us humans. And machines don’t have it yet.”