Controlling how “odd couple” surfaces and liquids interact
Spread out or bead up? A new process enables control over liquid-solid interfaces even with the most unlikely pairs of materials.
Physicists watch as ultracold atoms form a crystal of quantum tornadoes
The new observations record a key crossover from classical to quantum behavior.
MIT engineers produce the world’s longest flexible fiber battery
The rechargeable battery can be woven and washed, and could provide power for fiber-based electronic devices and sensors.
Technique enables real-time rendering of scenes in 3D
The new machine-learning system can generate a 3D scene from an image about 15,000 times faster than other methods.
Feast or forage? Study finds circuit that helps a brain decide
By integrating multiple sensory inputs, a loop of mutual inhibition among a small set of neurons allows worms to switch between long-lasting behavioral states.
Immune system-stimulating nanoparticle could lead to more powerful vaccines
The potent new adjuvant could be used to help make vaccines against HIV and other infectious diseases.
Artificial intelligence that understands object relationships
A new machine-learning model could enable robots to understand interactions in the world in the way humans do.
Getting quantum dots to stop blinking
New approach solves a persistent problem of intermittency that has hindered use of the tiny light emitters for biological imaging or quantum photonics.
How ultracold, superdense atoms become invisible
A new study confirms that as atoms are chilled and squeezed to extremes, their ability to scatter light is suppressed.
A key brain region responds to faces similarly in infants and adults
Study suggests this area of the visual cortex emerges much earlier in development than previously thought.
Engineers report a major advance in creating a new family of semiconductor materials
Ultrastable and made of inexpensive, nontoxic elements, chalcogenide perovskites could find applications in solar cells, lighting, and more.
Avoiding shortcut solutions in artificial intelligence
A new method forces a machine learning model to focus on more data when learning a task, which leads to more reliable predictions.
Taming the data deluge
A National Science Foundation-funded team will use artificial intelligence to speed up discoveries in physics, astronomy, and neuroscience.
Creating dynamic symmetry in quantum systems
MIT researchers develop a new way to control and measure energy levels in a diamond crystal; could improve qubits in quantum computers.
Artificial intelligence sheds light on how the brain processes language
Neuroscientists find the internal workings of next-word prediction models resemble those of language-processing centers in the brain.