Google Research has developed a new tool that allows educators to create custom, interactive, and guided educational simulations tailored to their objectives and curriculum. The system leverages generative user interfaces (GenUI) optimized for learning and is currently available in English for STEM subjects including physics, chemistry, biology, and math. The tool is being released to a trusted tester pool and is part of a pilot program to improve learning interactives for public use.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced an initiative to translate low-dimensional semiconductor technologies into advanced microelectronics platforms for U.S. manufacturers. The NSF ELEGANT program aims to de-risk advanced microelectronics manufacturing technology and position the U.S. for success in translating microelectronics technologies into next-generation capabilities. The program advances innovation in low-dimensional materials and bridges the gap between laboratory demonstrations and industry-relevant platforms. The NSF released an OTASO for an Ecosystems Coordinator and Expert Performer Teams in five translation themes.
The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926: A century of science advancing warnings from hours to days (Image credit: Courtesy of the Museum of Miami) Download Image September 17, 2026 Weather Research history hurricanes forecasts advisories, watches, warnings 0 Off
Such a platform opens opportunities for low-power edge computing applications, interactive medical and environmental monitoring systems, and smart robots.
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced today three additional topics for NSF X-Labs as part of the $1.5 billion investment the agency initiated in May , completing the portfolio of topics for calendar year 2026.
Researchers developed an AI system that matches real-time X-ray images with preoperative 3D scans, making minimally invasive surgeries safer and more precise. The system, called xvr, adapts to each patient in just five minutes and outperforms existing AI methods by an order of magnitude. It could lead to faster and safer procedures.
In March 2026, members of NOAA's Basic Officer Training Class 147 visited the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center in Lakeland, Florida, to see one of the fleet's most versatile aircraft, the Twin Otter. The visit provided them with a firsthand look at the aircraft's capabilities. The event took place on September 15, 2026, under the Marine & Aviation category of NOAA Corps 0 Off.
Google researchers have developed a new framework called Retrieve-for-Train that bypasses the bottleneck of expensive inference-time reasoning. Instead, it uses reinforcement learning to train a lightweight diffusion model, allowing for the instant generation of a cohesive, expert-level set of AI search results. This approach enables modern search or recommendation applications to return a coherent set of results rather than a single best match, addressing the need for systems to break broad prompts into related sub-queries to cover potential user interests.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has finalized guidelines to protect tokens and assertions used in digital systems. These tokens are crucial for maintaining security and preventing unauthorized access. The guidelines, titled 'Protecting Tokens and Assertions from Forgery, Theft, and Misuse,' are aimed at federal agencies and cloud service providers, but can also benefit any organization handling identity tokens and assertions.
The U.S. National Science Foundation today announced a $20 million investment to launch a two-year pilot supporting small businesses in commercializing their deep-technology ventures.
MIT researchers have developed a new method that helps generative artificial intelligence models meet hard constraints in safety-critical situations. The technique, which allows more freedom during generation and enforces constraints on the final output, consistently outperformed existing methods in experiments across robotics, control of physical processes, and computer vision. The method ensures plausible outputs while satisfying nonnegotiable safety, physical, or task-specific requirements.
ToolGrad is a data generation framework that first generates tool-use chains before annotating user queries. It enables LLMs to achieve better tool-use performance, outperforming baseline methods and proprietary LLMs on out-of-distribution datasets.
The U.S. National Science Foundation is embracing a portfolio approach to support ambitious, multidisciplinary inquiry at the scientific frontier. The organization is expanding who carries out NSF-supported work and how, to enable exceptional science to happen more often and frequently. NSF's role is to create conditions for exceptional science to happen more often and more frequently. The changes are part of a broader rethinking of the U.S. science and technology enterprise.
Scientists at NIST have developed quantum sensors to measure the unique pattern of gamma rays emitted by specific radioactive elements, which is crucial for monitoring nuclear materials at power plants and weapons facilities. The new technology allows for more accurate assessment of nuclear stockpiles by filtering out X-ray background noise.
Researchers at MIT Media Lab have developed injectable nanoantennas that can create localized therapeutic electric fields to target and kill brain cancer cells without damaging healthy tissue. Laboratory and animal studies show significant reduction in tumor growth and extended survival, highlighting potential as a precise and safe brain cancer therapy. The technology, named HITMAN, is described in an open-access paper in Science Advances.
MIT News··1 min read
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