Study suggests words are needed to think about numbers
Among adults who vary in their knowledge of number words, the ability to reason about numbers is bound by the highest number they can count to.
Making RNA vaccines easier to swallow
A pill that releases RNA in the stomach could offer a new way to administer vaccines, or to deliver therapies for gastrointestinal disease.
Tiny materials lead to a big advance in quantum computing
Using ultrathin materials to reduce the size of superconducting qubits may pave the way for personal-sized quantum devices.
Where did that sound come from?
MIT neuroscientists have developed a computer model that can answer that question as well as the human brain.
Vibrating atoms make robust qubits, physicists find
The new qubits stay in “superposition” for up to 10 seconds, and could make a promising foundation for quantum computers.
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.