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Allison Whitten

Contributing Writer

Latest Articles

an artistic representation of a brain in a dish on a blue table with enlarged neurons and a neural network, against a red background with a signal of neural bursts
neural networks

Neuron Bursts Can Mimic Famous AI Learning Strategy

By Allison Whitten
October 18, 2021
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A new model of learning centers on bursts of neural activity that act as teaching signals — approximating backpropagation, the algorithm behind learning in AI.

Illustration of a neuron lit up with electrical signals.
neurons

How Computationally Complex Is a Single Neuron?

By Allison Whitten
September 2, 2021
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Computational neuroscientists taught an artificial neural network to imitate a biological neuron. The result offers a new way to think about the complexity of single brain cells.

Animated illustration showing multiple permutations of colorful letters
group theory

Galois Groups and the Symmetries of Polynomials

By Allison Whitten
August 3, 2021
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By focusing on relationships between solutions to polynomial equations, rather than the exact solutions themselves, Évariste Galois changed the course of modern mathematics.

Micrograph of archaeal cells.
genomics

Plasmid, Virus or Other? DNA ‘Borgs’ Blur Boundaries.

By Jordana Cepelewicz +1 authors
Allison Whitten
July 21, 2021
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Scientists have reported large DNA structures in some archaea that defy easy categorization.

A pixelated black and white animation of a model of percolation.
mathematical physics

Mathematicians Prove Symmetry of Phase Transitions

By Allison Whitten
July 8, 2021
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A group of mathematicians has shown that at critical moments, a symmetry called rotational invariance is a universal property across many physical systems.

Q&A

The Computer Scientist Who Shrinks Big Data

By Allison Whitten
December 7, 2020
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Jelani Nelson designs clever algorithms that only have to remember slivers of massive data sets. He also teaches kids in Ethiopia how to code.


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