Magnifying Deep Space Through the ‘Carousel Lens’

Annotated Hubble Space Telescope image of the Carousel Lens, taken in two 10-minute exposures, one using an optical filter and another using an infrared filter.
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Carousel Lens, taken in two 10-minute exposures, one using an optical filter and another using an infrared filter. The “L” indicators near the center (La, Lb, Lc, and Ld) show the most massive galaxies in the lensing cluster, located 5 billion light years away. Seven unique galaxies (numbered 1 through 7) – located an additional 2.6 to 7 billion light years beyond the lens – appear in multiple, distorted “fun-house mirror” iterations (indicated by each number’s letter index, e.g., a through d), as seen through the lens. (Credit: Credit: William Sheu (UCLA) using Hubble Space Telescope data.)

A newly discovered cluster-scale strong gravitational lens, with a rare alignment of seven background lensed galaxies, provides a unique opportuni...

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Research suggests Neurons Protect and Preserve certain Information through a Dedicated Zone of Stable Synapses

Microscopic image of neurons in different colors, against a black background.
Caption: A layer 5 pyramidal neuron imaged in vivo with two-photon microscopy. The oblique dendritic domain (pink) contains stable synapses, and the basal dendritic domain (blue) contains plastic synapses. The cell body and part of the dendritic trunk are white.
Credits:Image: Courtney Yaeger and Mark Harnet

One of the brain’s most celebrated qualities is its adaptability. Changes to neural circuits, whose connections are continually adjusted as we experience and interact with the world, are key to how we learn. But to keep knowledge and memories intact, some parts of the circuitry must be resistant to this constant change.

“Brains have figured out how to navigate this landscape of balancing between stability and flexibility, so that you can have new learning and you can have lifelon...

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New Algorithm Helps Enhance LLM Collaboration for Smarter, more Efficient Solutions

Algorithm helps enhance LLM collaboration for smarter, more efficient solutions
“Co-LLM” uses a general-purpose large language model to start replying to a prompt, with a “switch variable” intervening at certain words to call upon a more accurate answer from the expert model. Credit: Alex Shipps/MIT CSAIL

Ever been asked a question you only knew part of the answer to? To give a more informed response, your best move would be to phone a friend with more knowledge on the subject.

This collaborative process can also help large language models (LLMs) improve their accuracy. Still, it’s been difficult to teach LLMs to recognize when they should collaborate with another model on an answer...

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Polaris Dawn brings new areas of Research, Medical Care

Spacecraft launch, spacecraft rising
This week’s Polaris Dawn launch and civilian spacewalk provide new opportunities for space medicine research, says UCF’s Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta. Photo by Polaris Program/John Kraus.

The launch of Polaris Dawn from Kennedy Space Center includes the first civilian commercial spacewalk and other factors that will be firsts for space medicine research. And that’s why Emmanuel Urquieta, an internationally recognized space medicine expert who recently joined UCF’s College of Medicine, is especially excited about this latest mission.

The spacecraft is flying up to 870 miles above Earth—the highest orbit flown in the last half century...

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