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Category: mapping – Page 30

Algorithms Can Learn, And They Probably Should: Saving Resources For The Future

What you get, starting out in this video, is that algorithms impact our lives in, as CSAIL grad student Sandeep Silwal puts it, “silent ways”

Silwal uses a simple example – maps – in discussing what he calls the “marriage of provable algorithm design and machine learning.”

Lots of people, he notes, want to move from the area around MIT, south across the Charles to Fenway Park, to see the Red Sox.

That sort of fact could inform the thinking about how to program algorithms. For example, Silwal mentions how you can analyze data results to identify the most visited websites on the Internet – and direct focus accordingly.

“We use (algorithms) to compute fundamental things about us,” he says. “And… More.

First comprehensive maps of infant brains reveal clues to neurodevelopment

Scientists have constructed a comprehensive set of functional maps of infant brain networks, providing unprecedented details on brain development from birth to two years old.

The infant brain cortex parcellation maps, published today in eLife, have already provided novel insights into when different brain functions develop during infancy and provide valuable, publicly available references for early brain developmental studies.

Cortical parcellation is a means of studying brain function by dividing up cortical gray matter in different locations into “parcels.” Scans from imaging (fMRI) are taken when the brain is in an inactive “resting” state, alongside measurements of brain connectivity, to study brain function within each parcel.

Century-Old Paradigm Overturned — Brain Shape Matters More Than Neural Connectivity

For over a hundred years, scientists have held the belief that our thoughts, feelings, and dreams are shaped by the way various brain regions interact via a vast network of trillions of cellular connections.

However, a recent study led by the team at Monash University’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health has examined more than 10,000 distinct maps of human brain activity and discovered that the overall shape of an individual’s brain has a much more substantial impact on our cognitive processes, emotions, and behavior than its intricate neuronal connectivity.

The study, recently published in the prestigious journal, Nature draws together approaches from physics, neuroscience, and psychology to overturn the century-old paradigm emphasizing the importance of complex brain connectivity, instead identifying a previously unappreciated relationship between brain shape and activity.

Scientists use chemical mapping to study the spiraling arms of the Milky Way

A researcher has used the technique of chemical mapping to study the spiral arms of our home galaxy: the Milky Way. According to Keith Hawkins, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, chemical cartography might help us better grasp the structure and evolution of our galaxy.

“Much like the early explorers, who created better and better maps of our world, we are now creating better and better maps of the Milky Way,” mentioned Hawkins in an official release.

NASA/JPL-Caltech.

According to Keith Hawkins, assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, chemical cartography might help us better grasp the structure and evolution of our galaxy.

Neuroscientists discover new brain cells that help correct navigational errors

During routine navigation in daily life, our brains use spatial mapping and memory to guide us from point A to point B. Just as routine: making a mistake in navigation that requires a course correction.

Now, researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a specific group of neurons in a brain region involved in navigation that undergo bursts of activity when mice running a maze veer off course and correct their error.

The findings, published July 19 in Nature, bring scientists a step closer to understanding how navigation works, while raising new questions. These questions include the specific role these neurons play during navigation, and what they are doing in other brain regions where they are found.

New dual-resolution technique opens door for faster drone exploration

Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have developed a new technique that could lead to faster and more efficient drone exploration.

A team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University has successfully developed a new dual-mapping technique that could help robots explore areas faster and more efficiently. By producing both a site’s high-and low-resolution map, this new technique enables robots to explore areas using only a fraction of the computing power typically needed for a similar task.

ROBOTICS INSTITUTE, CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY

More efficient exploration.

Scientists identify neurons involved in correcting errors during spatial navigation

During routine navigation in daily life, our brains use spatial mapping and memory to guide us from point A to point B. Just as routine is making a mistake in navigation that requires a course correction.

Now, researchers at Harvard Medical School have identified a specific group of neurons in a region involved in that undergo bursts of activity when running a maze veer off course and correct their error.

The findings, published July 19 in Nature, bring scientists a step closer to understanding how navigation works, while raising new questions. These questions include the specific role these neurons play during navigation, and what they are doing in other brain regions where they are found.