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An MIT study is the first to show that a brain region called the lateral septum directly encodes movement information such as speed.

Study finds hub linking movement and motivation in the brain

Detailed observations in the lateral septum indicate region processes movement and reward information to help direct behavior.

September 19, 2019

Chemical engineering graduate student Justin Swaney is applying machine learning to music production. “There’s a lot of manual searching to get the right musical result, which can be distracting and time-consuming,” says the co-creator of a new tool to help producers find just the perfect sound.

Machine learning you can dance to

MIT grad student startup Samply uses algorithms to help music producers find the perfect sound.

September 18, 2019

MIT researchers are training a pair of generative adversarial networks, or GANs, to mimic the land, sea, and cloud textures seen in satellite images with the goal of eventually visualizing real-world sea-level rise. It’s one of many artificial intelligence research projects made possible by IBM and Google-donated cloud credits.

What a little more computing power can do

Commercial cloud service providers give artificial intelligence computing at MIT a boost.

September 16, 2019

Richard Samuels, the Ford International Professor of Political Science and director of the MIT Center for International Studies, introduces Suzanne Berger, MIT’s John M. Deutch Institute Professor, and Jan-Werner Mueller, a professor of politics at Princeton University, at MIT’s Starr Forum event on global populism, Sept. 12.

Understanding populism

At MIT forum, scholars wrestle with the dynamics of a global political trend.

September 16, 2019

MIT scientists have captured the “ringing” of a newly-formed black hole, in the form of gravitational waves, depicted in this artist’s illustration.

Scientists detect tones in the ringing of a newborn black hole for the first time

Results support Einstein’s theory and the idea that black holes have no “hair.”

September 12, 2019

The primary region of the human auditory cortex (outlined in white) responds differently (blue) to natural sound when background noise is present.

Hearing through the clatter

Study reveals brain regions that respond differently to the presence of background noise, suggesting the brain progressively hones in on and isolates sounds.

September 9, 2019

A new study by an MIT linguist shows that the speech calls of some monkeys may be more sophisticated than realized, but are still far removed from the complexity of human language.

Comparing primate vocalizations

Study shows Old World monkeys combine items in speech — but only two and never more, unlike humans.

September 3, 2019

'It's not so much that political discussion on TV used to be so much better than it is today," says MIT media historian Heather Hendershot, "but that there used to be one show that really nailed the best way to discuss politics, and now there are (arguably) no such shows."

3 Questions: Heather Hendershot on the state of US political discourse

Media historian and expert on conservatism considers the end of rational dialog.

August 20, 2019

A battery-free underwater “piezoelectric” sensor invented by MIT researchers transmits data by absorbing or reflecting sound waves back to a receiver, where a reflected wave decodes a 1 bit and an absorbed wave decodes a 0 bit — and simultaneously stores energy.

A battery-free sensor for underwater exploration

Submerged system uses the vibration of “piezoelectric” materials to generate power and send and receive data.

August 20, 2019

The Lorelei Ensemble performs in "Songs from Extrasolar Spaces: Music Inspired by TESS" on July 30 in MIT's Kresge Auditorium.

The music of the spheres

MIT hosts "Songs from Extrasolar Spaces," a musical melding of art and science inspired by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS).

August 9, 2019

Assistant Professor Heather Kulik (center) and graduate student Jon Paul Janet (right) are using neural networks coupled with genetic algorithms to examine huge databases of transition metal compounds for potential use in practical devices. Using the same technique, graduate student Aditya Nandy (left) is designing better catalysts for methane conversion reactions.

Finding novel materials for practical devices

MIT researchers use a new machine learning technique to rapidly evaluate new transition metal compounds to identify those that can perform specialized functions.

August 1, 2019

MIT graduate students Logan Engstrom (left) and Andrew Ilyas have published five papers together exploring the vulnerabilities of computer vision systems, and they have half a dozen more in the pipeline.

Why did my classifier just mistake a turtle for a rifle?

Two longtime friends explore how computer vision systems go awry.

July 31, 2019

Dean of Digital Learning Krishna Rajagopal (center) with winners of the MITx Prize for Teaching and Learning in MOOCs, Jessica Sandland (left) and Martin Bazant. Not pictured: Polina Anikeeva, who also received the MITx Prize, and John Belcher, Amy Carleton, Jared Curhan, and Erik Demaine, who received Teaching with Digital Technology Awards.

Seven MIT educators honored for digital learning innovation

Educators recognized for improving classroom instruction and student engagement through innovative uses of digital technology.

July 2, 2019

Artist’s impression depicts the conversion of the structure of a protein molecule into a musical passage, as is done in the MIT researchers’ system.

Translating proteins into music, and back

By turning molecular structures into sounds, researchers gain insight into protein structures and create new variations.

June 26, 2019

A new study by researchers from MIT, Boston Children’s Hospital, and elsewhere shows that a “social robot,” named Huggable (pictured), can be used in support sessions to boost positive emotions in hospitalized children.

Study: Social robots can benefit hospitalized children

Interacting with a robotic teddy bear invented at MIT boosted young patients’ positive emotions, engagement, and activity level.