A new computer vision system turns a shiny object into a camera of sorts, enabling an observer to see around corners or beyond obstructions. “We have shown that any surface can be converted into a sensor with this formulation,” Kushagra Tiwary says.
In the “Curiosity Unbounded” podcast, President Sally Kornbluth speaks with newly tenured faculty. The latest episode features political scientist Mai Hassan, whose work investigates the bureaucratic state and democratization efforts in East Africa.
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A new technique lets researchers map the 3D organization of the genome with 100 times higher resolution — and at much lower cost — than other methods. The work “opens a world of possibilities, not just for us but also for dozens of labs,” Viraat Goel says.
Via @getfitmit on Instagram: “Thank you to the members of Team GETFIT MIT at the Cambridge Spring Classic 5K this past Sunday! Thanks to you, we won the trophy for the largest social team! What a wonderful day with so much positive energy!”
Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson argue that the development of artificial intelligence should be shifted “toward a focus on ‘machine usefulness,’ the idea that computers should primarily enhance human capabilities.”
Since his first encounter with a research telescope as an undergraduate, Michael McDonald hasn’t slowed in his quest to understand the behavior of galaxies. One of his key discoveries is the Phoenix cluster, the only known galaxy cluster that is cooling at a rapid rate.