Science Spotlights

Recipe for a Robot: What It Takes to Make a Social Robot

Jan 24, 2012

Scientists and engineers are improving how social robots are able to help patients undergoing physical rehabilitation, act as teaching aides, work in nursing homes, and be used for other dynamic purposes.

A New Window on the Life of the Brain

Dec 30, 2011

A new study of remarkable size and scope offers clues to how the human brain develops, from its early stages into old age. The landmark research found that gene expression in the human brain is exquisitely choreographed across developmental periods and brain regions.

TESS: Searching Closer to Home

Dec 12, 2011

In the ongoing hunt for planets beyond our own solar system, spacecraft in coming years will focus their telescopes on the nearest stars – those in our immediate neighborhood of the Milky Way galaxy. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, in development at MIT, is being designed to search for the most promising exoplanet targets for next-generation studies.

The Brain on Trial

Dec 7, 2011

The Kavli Foundation holds a roundtable to explore how advances in neuroscience are posing serious challenges for the judicial system, as well as possible solutions for the treatment of criminals. Participants in the discussion are Alan Leshner, Jay Giedd and Martha Farah.