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Science & Technology

Perception Inception: Exploring How the Brain Makes Up the World with New Faculty Rishidev Chaudhuri

Quick Summary
  • Rishidev Chaudhuri is a new faculty member who holds appointments in the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, the Department of Mathematics and the Center for Neuroscience
  • His research spans the field of neuroscience, from exploring theoretical principles of neural computation to analyzing large neural datasets, and other topics outside and in between
  • He takes techniques from physics and mathematics and applies them to neuroscience
The world

Flight Turbulence: New Study Explores How Flies Navigate Unstable Convective Air

Quick Summary
  • A new study provides detailed data on how insects navigate convection cells
  • These flights required insects to invest more time and energy, with around 34% failing to maintain flight trajectory
  • The study highlights challenges insects might face in urban environments, where surface temperatures soar

When insects migrate over vast distances, many take advantage of a natural phenomenon called thermal convection, which causes flow movement when air at

From Molecules to Minds

For astrophysicists, the final frontier is outer space, but ask a neuroscientist, and the greatest quest for scientific exploration lies within your brain. 

Vastly more advanced than any supercomputer, the complexity and versatility of the human brain is awe-inspiring. Of all its abilities, learning from new experiences might be the most powerful and astounding feature. But how does learning occur? And how do we remember what we learn? 

Training a Bee to Fly Upwind: Stacey Combes’ Research Reveals the Complex Biomechanics that Help Insects Survive

Associate Professor Stacey Combes has long been fascinated by how animals move. In her lab, she uses high-speed imaging at 1,000 to 5,000 frames per second to reveal the behaviors and physiological traits that shape insect behavior and survival. One thing she’s learned is that bees, which are critically important pollinators, are actually quite clumsy.