Browse Articles

The Prevalence of White Guilt Among American High School Students

Buadu et al. | Jun 03, 2014

The Prevalence of White Guilt Among American High School Students

Racial inequality has been a major issue throughout the history of the United States. In recent years, however, especially with the election of America's first black president, many have claimed that we have made progress and are moving towards a post-racial society. The authors of this study sought to test that claim by evaluating whether high school age students still experience a phenomenon known as white guilt. White guilt is defined as remorse or shame felt by people of Caucasian descent about racial inequality.

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The Effects of Micro-Algae Characteristics on the Bioremediation Rate of Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil

Cao et al. | Jun 17, 2013

The Effects of Micro-Algae Characteristics on the Bioremediation Rate of Deepwater Horizon Crude Oil

Environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can be devastating to ecosystems for long periods of time. Safer, cheaper, and more effective methods of oil clean-up are needed to clean up oil spills in the future. Here, the authors investigate the ability of natural ocean algae to process crude oil into less toxic chemicals. They identify Coccochloris elabens as a particularly promising algae for future bioremediation efforts.

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Identifying Neural Networks that Implement a Simple Spatial Concept

Zirvi et al. | Sep 13, 2022

Identifying Neural Networks that Implement a Simple Spatial Concept

Modern artificial neural networks have been remarkably successful in various applications, from speech recognition to computer vision. However, it remains less clear whether they can implement abstract concepts, which are essential to generalization and understanding. To address this problem, the authors investigated the above vs. below task, a simple concept-based task that honeybees can solve, using a conventional neural network. They found that networks achieved 100% test accuracy when a visual target was presented below a black bar, however only 50% test accuracy when a visual target was presented below a reference shape.

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Optical anisotropy of crystallized vanillin thin film: the science behind the art

Wang et al. | Jul 09, 2024

Optical anisotropy of crystallized vanillin thin film: the science behind the art
Image credit: The authors

Microscopic beauty is hiding in common kitchen ingredients - even vanillin flavoring can be turned into mesmerizing artwork by crystallizing the vanillin and examining it under a polarizing microscope. Wang and Pang explore this hidden beauty by determining the optimal conditions to grow crystalline vanillin films and by creating computer simulations of chemical interactions between vanillin molecules.

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The Effect of Varying Training on Neural Network Weights and Visualizations

Fountain et al. | Dec 04, 2019

The Effect of Varying Training on Neural Network Weights and Visualizations

Neural networks are used throughout modern society to solve many problems commonly thought of as impossible for computers. Fountain and Rasmus designed a convolutional neural network and ran it with varying levels of training to see if consistent, accurate, and precise changes or patterns could be observed. They found that training introduced and strengthened patterns in the weights and visualizations, the patterns observed may not be consistent between all neural networks.

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Interaction of light with water under clear and algal bloom conditions

Ramesh et al. | Feb 01, 2024

Interaction of light with water under clear and algal bloom conditions
Image credit: Liz Harrell

Here, recognizing the potential harmful effects of algal blooms, the authors used satellite images to detect algal blooms in water bodies in Wyoming based on their reflectance of near infrared light. They found that remote monitoring in this way may provide a useful tool in providing early warning and advisories to people who may live in close proximity.

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OLED Screens Better Exhibit the Color Black than LCD Screens

Donahue et al. | Nov 04, 2020

 OLED Screens Better Exhibit the Color Black than LCD Screens

There are two types of competing TV screens on the market, organic light emitting diode (OLED) and liquid crystal display (LCD). The better capability to exhibit black results in higher contrast images. Here, authors compared the ability of the two types of screens to show black in an environment eliminating external light.

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