Thomas Burton of The Wall Street Journal writes that MIT researchers were among those awarded the first research grants under President Obama’s new BRAIN Initiative. Burton writes that one of the MIT grants will go toward “determining which exact brain circuits are involved in generating short-term memories that influence decisions.”
Boston Globe reporter Deborah Kotz writes that MIT researchers have been awarded new grants from the National Institutes of Health to further brain research. “Biophysicist Alan Jasanoff received a grant to develop imaging agents for functional MRI imaging that would target the flow of calcium into and out of brain cells,” writes Kotz of one of the MIT grants.
MIT neuroscientists were among the recipients of new grants for brain research from the National Institutes of Health, reports Jon Hamilton for NPR. Hamilton explains that as part of one grant, “Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will try to adapt functional MRI so that it can show the activity of individual brain cells.”
Professor Max Tegmark weighs in on the importance of Hugh Everett’s theory of the multiverse and his work developing the concept of mutually-assured destruction in a New Scientist article by Rowan Hooper. Everett “wrote arguably the first ever serious report on just how devastating a nuclear war would be for the US," says Tegmark.
Raghu Dhara of The Harvard Crimson writes that a new study by researchers from MIT, Harvard and Tsinghua University found that online courses are just as effective as traditional university courses. The study found that “the ‘learning gain’ of a group of MOOC students was comparable to that achieved by students enrolled in the same course at MIT,” explains Dhara.
Issie Lapowsky writes for Wired about an MIT study that demonstrated that students who completed a physics class online learned as effectively as those who took it in person. “What’s more, the results were the same, regardless of how well the online students scored on a pre-test before taking the class,” Lapowsky writes.
In a piece for Scientific American, Amy Robinson, creative director of EyeWire, writes about multiphoton microscopy, which is used to study how the human brain adapts and grows new synapses. Robinson’s piece is part of a series about emerging neurotechnologies at MIT.
Keith Wagstaff of NBC News reports on a new MIT study, which found that students who complete online courses end up with the same learning gains as those who attend class in person. “That goes for people of all education levels, from those with a high school diploma to those with a Ph.D.,” writes Wagstaff.
Nick Anderson of The Washington Post writes about a new study showing that online courses can be an effective way to teach. “Students in a free online physics course from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrated roughly equal learning gains if they stuck with the class,” writes Anderson.
Professor Kerry Emanuel joined a number of experts encouraging participation in the People’s Climate Change March, held in New York, Sep. 21, reports Eric Holthaus for Slate. “The more ways that people—particularly young people—can make their concerns known to our government, the better,” says Emanuel.
New research by Professor Ann Graybiel may indicate that the FOXP2 gene in humans plays a major role in how we learn speech, writes Chris Higgins for Wired. Mice given the gene were able to learn their way through a maze more quickly than those without it.
Jacqueline Howard of The Huffington Post writes about research by Professor Ann Graybiel that looked at the effect of the human Foxp2 gene in mice. The work could lead to a greater understanding of how the human brain learns speech.
Sharon Begley of Reuters writes about Professor Ann Graybiel’s research on the effect of the human FOXP2 gene on mice. “By isolating the effects of one gene, the work sheds light on its function and hints at the evolutionary changes that led to the unique capabilities of the human brain,” writes Begley.
Research by Professor Ann Graybiel demonstrated that providing mice with the human version of the FOXP2 gene allowed them to learn repetitive patterns more quickly, reports Clare Wilson of The New Scientist. This may demonstrate that the gene plays an important role in how humans learn to speak, says Graybiel.
Writing for Scientific American, Tim Radford reports on Professor Paul O’Gorman’s new study, which shows that despite climate change blizzards will still occur. Radford writes that O’Gorman’s research shows that while some areas may receive less overall snowfall, extreme snowfall could become more intense.