Who needs a teacher? Artificial intelligence designs lesson plans for itself By Matthew HutsonJan. 19, 2021 Machines—like people—learn best when tasks are just hard enough
Swarms of robotic fish can synchronize their swimming, for the first time By Meagan CantwellJan. 15, 2021 Two cameras and light-emitting diode lights enable communication
U.S. law sets stage for boost to artificial intelligence research By Jeffrey MervisJan. 6, 2021 Congress authorizes ramp up in AI spending and backs planning for a national cloud computing resource
Watch an AI robot walk with a broken leg, thanks to a brain that never stops learning By Matthew HutsonDec. 21, 2020 So-called Hebbian rules could improve language translation, self- driving cars
Trouble hearing in a crowded room? New ‘cone of silence’ could help By Matthew HutsonDec. 18, 2020 Artificial intelligence program can even silence background noises on Zoom calls
Watch a swarm of drones fly through heavy forest—while staying in formation By Edd GentDec. 16, 2020 Approach could speed up search and rescue missions and forest surveys
Watch these ‘beetlebots’ keep flying, even after crashing into poles By Joel GoldbergDec. 15, 2020 Beetle-inspired robot proves nimble and durable in flight
U.S. physicists rally around ambitious plan to build fusion power plant By Adrian ChoDec. 8, 2020 Plan calls for a subtle but crucial shift toward applied research in Department of Energy fusion program
‘The game has changed.’ AI triumphs at solving protein structures By Robert F. ServiceNov. 30, 2020 In milestone, software predictions finally match structures calculated from experimental data
Atom smasher unearths surprises hidden with 2000-year-old mummy By Colin BarrasNov. 24, 2020 Intense x-ray beams detect unusual artifact and a misleading portrait
Magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into minirobots By Joel GoldbergNov. 24, 2020 Scientists engineer new material to help craft nimble, multipurpose machines
Watch speedy drones count Antarctic penguin colonies in record time By Joel GoldbergNov. 10, 2020 New flight patterns cut survey time from 2 days to just 3 hours
Second cable breaks at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo telescope By Daniel CleryNov. 9, 2020 Researchers worried for future of iconic radio telescope after second cable tears through its dish
New lasers that fire terahertz beams could propel medical imaging and contraband detection By Robert F. ServiceNov. 2, 2020 New semiconductor lasers work with small, portable coolers, enabling applications outside laboratories
Antivaccine videos slip through YouTube’s advertising policies, new study finds By Fernanda FerreiraNov. 2, 2020 Portuguese-language videos remain on YouTube, despite platform’s pledge to limit conspiracy theories