Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Explainable deep learning improves human mental models of self-driving cars

Abstract Self-driving cars increasingly rely on deep neural networks to achieve human-like driving 1–3 . The opacity of these black-box planners makes it challenging to accurately anticipate when they will fail 4–6 , with potentially catastrophic consequences 7–9 . Although resea...

Double orthodontia formulas and Lascoux positivity

We give a new formula for double Grothendieck polynomials based on Magyar’s orthodontia algorithm for diagrams. Our formula implies a similar formula for double Schubert polynomials 𝔖 w ( x ; y ) . We also prove a curious positivity result: for vexillary permutations w ∈ S n , th...

Mechanical cues of an interpenetrating polysaccharide matrix regulate self-assembly of collagen fibers

Collagen molecules self-assemble into supramolecular fibers within a molecularly crowded, polysaccharide-rich extracellular matrix (ECM). The ECM typically has fluid-like, viscoelastic properties that can be quantified rheologically. Here, we determine that the viscoelasticity of...

Growth-dependent tRNA reprogramming and codon bias link translation to metabolic state in Enterococcus faecalis

ABSTRACT Enterococcus faecalis is a gram-positive commensal bacterium of the human gut microbiome and an opportunistic pathogen responsible for many hospital-acquired infections. Despite the clinical importance of E. faecalis , how gene and protein expression are coordinated with...

Functional fractionation of large-scale brain networks in the human subcortex

Brain network mapping plays a crucial role in advancing our understanding of human brain organization and the neuroanatomic foundations of cognition. Historically, the identification of large-scale brain networks has focused on the cerebral cortex. Some cortical networks have bee...

Not Learning from Others

We study social learning using experiments where two people independently learn relevant information and can share it to make accurate private decisions. Across three experiments, people are substantially less sensitive to information others discover than to equally-relevant info...

Distinct lattice and charge excitations in AV3Sb5 kagome superconductors

The kagome superconductor family A V 3 Sb 5 ( A = Cs, Rb, K) provides a rich platform for exploring diverse electronic symmetry breaking phenomena, including superconductivity and various forms of density wave orders. Although these compounds share the identical lattice structure...

Confidence Revisited: The Distribution of Information

Classical statistics assesses the confidence of a prediction by measuring error variance, estimation variance, or the sum of both. More complex machine learning models assess confidence using empirical methods such as resampling or conformal prediction. Model-based assessments of...

Tracking Variability in Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Riverine Inputs to the Iberian Margin Over the Last 250 kyr

Abstract The Iberian Margin provides an exceptional archive of climate variability due to its high sedimentation rates. However, uncertainties persist regarding the provenance of terrigenous detrital sediments on the Iberian Margin, and the climate‐driven changes in their source...

Nanobodies specific for Vβ11 enable detection and noninvasive imaging of antigen-specific T cells in vivo

Through screening of a VHH phage display library constructed from an alpaca immunized with the recombinantly expressed murine myelin oligodendrocyte (MOG)-specific 2D2 T cell receptor (TCR), we identified nanobodies that reduced antigen-driven 2D2 T cell activation in vitro. Immu...

Personality pairing improves human–AI collaboration

Here we examine how AI agent “personalities” interact with human personalities to shape human–AI collaboration and performance. In a large-scale, preregistered randomized experiment, we paired 1,258 participants with AI agents prompted to exhibit varying levels of the Big Five pe...

Optimal Public Transportation Networks: Evidence from the World's Largest Bus Rapid Transit System in Jakarta

Designing public transport networks involves trade-offs between coverage, service frequency, and direct service. We use the expansion of the bus system in Jakarta, Indonesia, to study these trade-offs. We analyze how new direct connections, changes in bus travel time, and wait-ti...

Atypical PI3Ks coordinate chemotaxis, signaling dynamics, and multicellular development in Dictyostelium

Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) signaling regulates protrusion, polarity, membrane uptake, and multicellular development in Dictyostelium discoideum, but these functions have been interpreted largely through canonical Class I PI3Ks and PI(3,4,5)P₃ production. This framework does...

Learning from generic language.

Generic language (e.g., "Birds have hollow bones") conveys generalizations about categories and is a fundamental and ubiquitous mechanism of learning about the world. How exactly this learning occurs, however, is unclear: Generics exhibit so much flexibility in how they are inter...

Principal-Agent Hypothesis Testing

Consider the relationship between a regulator (the principal) and an experimenter (the agent) such as a pharmaceutical company. The pharmaceutical company wishes to sell a drug for profit, whereas the regulator wishes to allow only efficacious drugs to be marketed. The efficacy o...

Simple homotopy theory for Fukaya categories

Abstract We develop a categorical framework for simple homotopy theory in Fukaya categories, based on the fundamental group of the ambient symplectic manifold. When the first Chern class vanishes, we show that any isomorphism in the Fukaya category of a Weinstein manifold has tri...

Heterogeneous Treatment Effects in Panel Data: Insights into the Healthy Incentives Program

Problem definition: We study how adding new vendors to the Massachusetts Healthy Incentives Program (HIP), a food subsidy program, affects program utilization. This is an instance of a core problem in causal inference: estimating heterogeneous treatment effects (HTEs) using panel...

Longitudinal alignments and syntheses of multimodal clinical data for personalized medicine with the PULSE framework

Multimodal models capable of imputing diverse data used in single-cell biology studies provide potential foundational opportunities in clinical practice. However, patient data uniquely comprise longitudinal mosaic measurements that reflect underlying physiological dynamics and ex...

Paleomagnetic evidence for a nebular magnetic field from calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions

The initial stage of planet formation is expected to take place in a nascent protoplanetary disk (PPD) accreting onto the protostar embedded in an infalling envelope. This stage is likely accompanied by the formation of high-condensation temperature solids resembling calcium-alum...

Transient Laser‐Induced Periodic Surface Structures Revealed by Time‐Resolved EUV Diffuse Scattering

ABSTRACT The formation of permanent laser‐induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on solid surfaces under impulsive laser irradiation above the damage threshold has been the subject of extensive research. Here, we report the formation of transient quasi‐periodic surface modul...