Scientists have long assumed that networks function most reliably when individual components are similar. New framework identifies when differences could improve stability. Findings could inform how to deliberately design ‘imperfections’ to improve functionality.

The process of building and running an optics experiment to analyze a material’s properties could one day be fully automated, MIT scientists say. Taking a step toward such a future, they developed a reconfigurable, robotic optics laboratory.

Researchers at San Diego State University, Arizona State University and the University of Utah are developing a new cybersecurity infrastructure for secure private data sharing. The work is part of a new $5 million grant from the National Science Foundation. 

Over the next five years, the team will deploy and support a novel cyberinfrastructure called Prototype Architecture for Research Advances using Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PARAPET), that could be used in a range of fields that require data analysis, like healthcare, internet security, science, finance and the social sciences, to protect sensitive information such as medical records, financial information and census statistics.

Using privacy-enhancing technologies, PARAPET is designed to be a more secure way to share and collaborate on sensitive data, safeguard data at rest and during computation, and train AI models without exposing private data. 

MIT researchers created a computing platform that leverages the unique properties of squishy materials at the nanoscale to develop tiny devices that can process information, inspired by how the brain works. This could enable edge devices like biological or environmental sensors that are more adaptable and energy-efficient than traditional electronics.

New evidence from fossils representing two groups of human ancestors—Australopithecus and early Homo—adds an important piece to the puzzle about when our ancestors transitioned from a life often spent in trees to a life spent almost exclusively on the ground. An international research team led by the Keck School of Medicine of USC analyzed fossil data from seven human ancestors ranging from about 1.5 million to 3.7 million years old. The researchers measured the strength of arm and thigh bones, which adapt to the forces placed on them during life, to learn about how human ancestors used their bodies and moved through their environments. Animals that spend more time moving in trees tend to have relatively strong arm bones, while humans who walk upright on the ground tend to have stronger thigh bones. The team found that Australopithecus, an early ancestor that lived roughly two to four million years ago, had a distinct approach that resembles both modern apes and humans. These individuals had strong arms, suggesting they spent substantial time in trees, while the strength of their leg bones showed a more human-like pattern, suggesting they walked like humans on the ground. The early Homo individuals, descendants of Australopithecus that lived about 1.8 to 2.3 million years ago, had relatively strong leg bones and weaker arm bones—a pattern more similar to modern humans. The findings suggest that the transition from Australopithecus to Homo included a major shift in how human ancestors moved and lived. The team proposes that that relative limb strength is a ‘threshold trait,” a difference that marks an important and fundamental shift in behavior between Australopithecus and Homo.

Getting sick can look very different for people with Down syndrome (DS); illnesses that are mild for most people may lead to serious complications, including pneumonia, hospitalization or intensive care.

Scientists have long known that excess hydrogen sulfide — a naturally occurring gas that becomes harmful when it accumulates in cells — has been a contributing factor for susceptibility to infections for people with DS. For years, researchers have believed that a chromosome 21 gene called CBS was largely responsible for this overproduction.

But now, researchers at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) and the Texas A&M Health Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) have identified evidence for a previously unknown pathway that may help explain those immune challenges.

Researchers have developed a new optical screen that converts invisible infrared light into visible light, while making the converted images more than 1000 times brighter – offering a potential alternative to the expensive detectors used in today's infrared cameras.