How the brain navigates cities
We seem to be wired to calculate not the shortest path but the “pointiest” one, facing us toward our destination as much as possible.
How marsh grass protects shorelines
As climate change brings greater threats to coastal ecosystems, new research can help planners leverage the wave-damping benefits of marsh plants.
Study shows fragile X treatment can incur resistance, suggests ways around it
While the brain acquires resistance to continuous treatment with mGluR5 inhibitor drugs, lasting effects may still arise if dosing occurs intermittently and during a developmental-critical period.
Accelerating the discovery of new materials for 3D printing
A new machine-learning system costs less, generates less waste, and can be more innovative than manual discovery methods.
New fibers can make breath-regulating garments
“Robotic” textiles could help performers and athletes train their breathing, and potentially help patients recovering from postsurgery breathing changes.
How the brain deals with uncertainty
Dedicated circuits evaluate uncertainty in the brain, preventing it from using unreliable information to make decisions.
These neural networks know what they’re doing
A certain type of artificial intelligence agent can learn the cause-and-effect basis of a navigation task during training.
Cellular environments shape molecular architecture
Researchers glean a more complete picture of a structure called the nuclear pore complex by studying it directly inside cells.
Deep learning helps predict traffic crashes before they happen
A deep model was trained on historical crash data, road maps, satellite imagery, and GPS to enable high-resolution crash maps that could lead to safer roads.
Pablo Jarillo-Herrero receives Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award
The Max Planck Society and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation honor the MIT physicist's work on two-dimensional quantum materials.
Punishment for the people
Professor Lily Tsai’s new book explains how “retributive justice,” the high-profile sanctioning of some in society, helps authoritarians solidify public support.
Making data visualizations more accessible
Researchers find blind and sighted readers have sharply different takes on what content is most useful to include in a chart caption.
Distinguishing truth in communications
With a new National Science Foundation grant, Justin Reich and collaborators will apply information literacy research to communities outside the formal education system.
2,050-year-old Roman tomb offers insights on ancient concrete resilience
New research on ancient Roman concrete inspires durable and sustainable modern constructions.
Tool for predicting pedestrian flow expands its reach
Long-term study of Melbourne, Australia, shows how urban development and change affects pedestrians, not just automobiles.