MIT researchers developed a tunable, chip-based infrared “lens” that can focus on different wavelengths pixel by pixel to improve detection of gases and heat.

The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines are of pivotal importance to what are collectively among the most consequential drug policy decisions made by the federal government. Two recurring themes have been the balancing—or lack of balancing—between drug weight and the defendant’s role in the drug distribution enterprise, and the basis for judging what relative weights of different drugs should be treated similarly. In a new article, researchers suggest approaches to these questions that offer constructive steps without jettisoning the overall approach.

Researchers have demonstrated a novel AI model that can predict which DNA molecules bind with which other DNA molecules. Providing a more thorough understanding of these hypercomplex binding relationships has utility in applications ranging from biomedical diagnostic tools to DNA computing.

A study by a team of psychologists has found that White children whose favorite movie or television show portrayed fewer Black characters—relative to other movies or shows—were less likely to choose to play with a Black child, held less positive attitudes towards Black children, and were more likely to attribute Black-White inequalities to racial differences. 

When it comes to taking action on major societal issues like climate change or a pandemic, scientists and the public’s joint endorsement has the greatest influence on Americans across a host of important social issues, while signals of support or opposition from the government and industry hold relatively less impact, according to a study by researchers from Boston College and Princeton University. The findings suggest that opposition from major institutions like the federal government or large corporations does not have to produce public paralysis: when a consensus between scientific experts and the general public is present and made visible, they can mobilize public action even when top-down leadership falters.