The brain may learn about the world the same way some computational models do
Two studies find “self-supervised” models, which learn about their environment from unlabeled data, can show activity patterns similar to those of the mammalian brain.
How adults understand what kids are saying
It’s not easy to parse young children’s words, but adults’ beliefs about what children want to communicate helps make it possible, a new study finds.
Bright flash leads astronomers to a heavy-metal factory 900 million light years away
Using multiple observatories, astronomers directly detect tellurium in two merging neutron stars.
Bringing the environment to the forefront of engineering
Desirée Plata is on a lifelong mission to make sustainability a bigger factor in design decisions.
MIT receives major National Science Foundation grant for quantum science
Center for Ultracold Atoms gets funding boost to “punch through tough scientific barriers and see what's on the other side.”
From a five-layer graphene sandwich, a rare electronic state emerges
A newly discovered type of electronic behavior could help with packing more data into magnetic memory devices.
New technique helps robots pack objects into a tight space
Researchers coaxed a family of generative AI models to work together to solve multistep robot manipulation problems.
Ariel Furst and Fan Wang receive 2023 National Institutes of Health awards
The awards support creative, innovative research with a broad impact.
Study: Deep neural networks don’t see the world the way we do
Images that humans perceive as completely unrelated can be classified as the same by computational models.
Thousands of programmable DNA-cutters found in algae, snails, and other organisms
New research finds RNA-guided enzymes called Fanzors are widespread among eukaryotic organisms.
Targeting a coronavirus ion channel could yield new Covid-19 drugs
Chemists discover the structures of open and closed states of the channel, which could help the development of antiviral drugs to reduce inflammation.
Retraining the brain for better vision
Professor Mark Bear's research on brain plasticity spins off a promising candidate to treat amblyopia, or lazy eye.
Physicists coax superconductivity and more from quasicrystals
Flexible platform could produce enigmatic materials, lead to new studies of exotic phenomena.
Study advances understanding of visual recognition memory
Scientists have invested decades in piecing together how our vision is so good at recognizing what’s familiar. A new study overcomes an apparent discrepancy in data to reveal a new insight into how it works.