Neuroscience

Auto Added by WPeMatico

A petri dish of human brain cells is currently playing Doom. Should we be worried?

Scientists in the US have uploaded a fruit fly to a computer simulation, while an Australian lab has taught neurons on a glass chip to play a 90s video game. How long before we are all living in a sci-fi movie?It sounds like the opening of a sci-fi film, but US scientists recently uploaded a […]

A petri dish of human brain cells is currently playing Doom. Should we be worried? Read More »

Exercise and brain function, hedgehog hearing, and can AI change our minds? – podcast

The Guardian’s science editor, Ian Sample, talks to Madeleine Finlay about three eye-catching science stories from the week, including a study that explores the link between exercise and brain health. Also on the agenda: the discovery that hedgehogs can hear high-frequency ultrasound and what this could mean for their conservation, and new research examining how

Exercise and brain function, hedgehog hearing, and can AI change our minds? – podcast Read More »

Short films made from brain activity of mice aim to show how they see world

Scientists hope results analysed after the mice watched video footage will help them understand their perceptionsScientists have reconstructed short movies from the brain activity of mice that watched videos for a project that aspires to lift the veil on how animals perceive the world.The brief movie clips are grainy and pixellated, but provide a glimpse

Short films made from brain activity of mice aim to show how they see world Read More »

‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom

In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithmsEach day when you wake up, you come back to yourself. You see the room around you, feel your body brush against your clothes and think about your plans, worries and hopes for the day.

‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom Read More »

Hazardous substances found in all headphones tested by ToxFREE project

Substances include chemicals that can cause cancer, neurodevelopmental problems and the feminisation of malesYou wear them at work, you wear them at play, you wear them to relax. You may even get sweaty in them at the gym.But an investigation into headphones has found every single pair tested contained substances hazardous to human health, including

Hazardous substances found in all headphones tested by ToxFREE project Read More »

AI algorithm enables tracking of vital white matter pathways

The signals that drive many of the brain and body’s most essential functions — consciousness, sleep, breathing, heart rate, and motion — course through bundles of “white matter” fibers in the brainstem, but imaging systems so far have been unable to finely resolve these crucial neural cables. That has left researchers and doctors with little

AI algorithm enables tracking of vital white matter pathways Read More »

At MIT, a continued commitment to understanding intelligence

The MIT Siegel Family Quest for Intelligence (SQI), a research unit in the MIT Schwarzman College of Computing, brings together researchers from across MIT who combine their diverse expertise to understand intelligence through tightly coupled scientific inquiry and rigorous engineering. These researchers engage in collaborative efforts spanning science, engineering, the humanities, and more. SQI seeks to

At MIT, a continued commitment to understanding intelligence Read More »

Guided learning lets “untrainable” neural networks realize their potential

Even networks long considered “untrainable” can learn effectively with a bit of a helping hand. Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have shown that a brief period of alignment between neural networks, a method they call guidance, can dramatically improve the performance of architectures previously thought unsuitable for modern tasks.Their findings

Guided learning lets “untrainable” neural networks realize their potential Read More »

The cost of thinking

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT can write an essay or plan a menu almost instantly. But until recently, it was also easy to stump them. The models, which rely on language patterns to respond to users’ queries, often failed at math problems and were not good at complex reasoning. Suddenly, however, they’ve gotten a

The cost of thinking Read More »

Blending neuroscience, AI, and music to create mental health innovations

Computational neuroscientist and singer/songwriter Kimaya (Kimy) Lecamwasam, who also plays electric bass and guitar, says music has been a core part of her life for as long as she can remember. She grew up in a musical family and played in bands all through high school.“For most of my life, writing and playing music was

Blending neuroscience, AI, and music to create mental health innovations Read More »