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Bilingualism Comes Naturally to Our Brains

Posted on March 7, 2022 by Katie L

The brain uses a shared mechanism for combining words from a single language as well as ones from two different languages, a team of neuroscientists has discovered. The findings indicate that switching languages comes naturally to those who are bilingual because the brain has a mechanism that does not detect that the language has switched, allowing for a seamless transition in the comprehension of more than one language at once.

“Our brains are capable of engaging in multiple languages,” explains Sarah Phillips, an NYU linguistics doctoral candidate and the lead author of the paper, “Composition within and between Languages in the Bilingual Mind,” which appears in the journal eNeuro. “Languages may differ in what sounds they use and how they organize words to form sentences. However, all languages involve the process of combining words to express complex thoughts.”

“Bilinguals show a fascinating version of this process—their brains readily combine words from different languages, much like when combining words from the same language,” adds Liina Pylkkänen, the codirector of the Neuroscience of Language Lab at NYU Abu Dhabi, a professor in NYU’s linguistics and psychology departments, and the paper’s senior author.

A teacher instructs a student writing letters on a whiteboard

An estimated 60 million people in the United States use at least two languages, according to the US Census. Across the globe, the majority of people know more than one language. Indeed, many countries have more than one official national language.

Unsurprisingly, in today’s highly globalized world, bilingualism provides a variety of meaningful social and practical advantages. People using multiple languages can converse with a wider array of people, and they can also more readily connect across cultures and adjust to new situations. At NYU, students studying away benefit from exploring new places and having new experiences as members of the University’s global network. But they also have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a different language, deepening their experience and sharpening their minds.

Yet, despite the domestic and international widespread nature and evident benefits of bi- and multilingualism, the neurological mechanisms used to understand and produce more than one language are not well understood. This terrain is an intriguing one; bilinguals often mix their two languages together as they converse with one another, raising questions about how the brain functions in such exchanges.

Phillips and Pylkkänen sought to better understand these processes. They explored whether bilinguals interpret these mixed-language expressions using the same mechanisms as when comprehending single-language expressions or, alternatively, if understanding mixed-language expressions engages the brain in a unique way.

To test this, the scientists measured the neural activity of Korean and English bilinguals. The study’s subjects viewed a series of word combinations and pictures on a computer screen. Then, they indicated whether or not the picture matched the preceding words. The words either formed a two-word sentence or were simply a pair of verbs that did not combine into a meaningful phrase (such as, “icicles melt” versus “jump melt”). In some instances, the two words came from a single language (Korean or English) while others used both languages, with the latter mimicking mixed-language conversations.

In order to measure the study subjects’ brain activity during these experiments, the researchers deployed magnetoencephalography. The technique maps neural activity by recording magnetic fields generated by the electrical currents produced by our brains.

The recordings showed that Korean and English bilinguals, in interpreting mixed-language expressions, used the same neural mechanism as they did while interpreting single-language expressions. Specifically, the brain’s left anterior temporal lobe, a brain region well studied for its role in combining the meanings of multiple words, was insensitive to whether the words it received were from the same language or from different languages. This region, then, proceeded to assign complex meaning to two related words regardless of whether they shared a language.

These findings suggest that language switching is natural for bilinguals because the brain has a combinatory mechanism that does not “sense” the language has switched. “Earlier studies have examined how our brains can interpret an infinite number of expressions within a single language,” Phillips observes. “This research shows bilingual brains can, with striking ease, interpret complex expressions containing words from different languages.”

You can watch Phillips discussing her research on bilingual speakers in this NYU-produced video (credit: NYU, courtesy of Kate Lord).

Content repurposed with permission from NYU News

What’s in a Date?

Posted on February 7, 2022, modified on February 8, 2022 by Kristin Law

NYU researchers use “resurrection genomics” to sequence genome of extinct date palms germinated from 2,000-year-old seeds

In a recent study for the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers from NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology—along with their research colleagues in Israel and France—used a technique called “resurrection genomics” to successfully sequence the genome of 2,000-year-old date palms. This study marks the first time researchers sequenced the genomes of plants from ancient, germinated seeds. The research team, led by NYU biology professor Michael Purugganan, germinated date palm seeds that were radiocarbon-dated from the 4th century BCE to the 2nd century CE to yield new, viable plants that they could, in turn, use to conduct whole genome sequencing.

A date palm germinated from a 2,200 year old seed growing in Israel
Photo credit: Marcos Schonholz/The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies

What Did They Learn?

By examining the genome of a species called Phoenix dactylifera that thrived millennia ago, Purugganan and his team determined how these previously extinct Judean date palms evolved over time. Between the 4th century BCE and 2nd century CE, they observed that date palms in the eastern Mediterranean region showed increasing levels of genes from another species, called Phoenix theophrasti, which grows in Crete and other Greek islands as well as southwestern Turkey today due to the hybridization between species. The team concluded that the increasing levels of genes from P. theophrasti during this time signifies the increasing influence of the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean region.

New Possibilities with Resurrection Genomics

Resurrection genomics is an alternative approach for sequencing DNA that is particularly useful for studying ancient and extinct plant species, the researchers note. Ancient plant DNA can be tricky to study, as it easily degrades without the protection of material like bone and only small quantities are usually found. But regrowing the whole plant offers new possibilities.

“We are fortunate that date palm seeds can live a long time—in this case, more than 2,000 years—and germinate with minimal DNA damage in the region’s dry environment,” says Purugganan, who is also affiliated with NYU Abu Dhabi and the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World. “This ‘resurrection genomics’ approach is a remarkably effective way to study the genetics and evolution of past and possibly extinct species like Judean date palms. By reviving biological material, such as germinating ancient seeds from archaeological and paleontological sites or historical collections, we can not only study the genomes of lost populations but also, in some instances, rediscover genes that may have gone extinct in modern varieties.”

To read the full study from Purugganan and his team, titled “The genomes of ancient date palms germinated from 2,000 year old seeds,” head to pnas.org.

Content adapted with permission from NYU News by Samantha Jamison.

Arlie Petters Selected as Provost of NYU Abu Dhabi

Posted on September 9, 2020, modified on September 1, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

Over the summer, NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann announced the appointment of Dr. Arlie O. Petters – Benjamin Powell Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at Duke University, and former Dean of Academic Affairs for Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education at Duke – as the Provost of NYU Abu Dhabi, effective September 1, 2020.

The selection follows a comprehensive, wide-ranging, nine-month global search that sought input from across the NYU community to identify a strategic academic leader who would nurture and advance the educational and research mission and build on NYU Abu Dhabi’s bedrock of excellence. The University’s trajectory of academic success was established by Provost Fabio Piano, who will return to genomics research at the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology in Abu Dhabi and in New York after serving as NYU Abu Dhabi’s provost for the past decade.

According to NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Mariët Westermann, “Arlie’s distinguished scholarly qualifications, leadership experience, knowledge of international education, research breadth, commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging, focus on students, deep understanding of academic excellence, and integrity and energy give me great confidence that he will serve the University well in his role as Provost. He will provide outstanding academic leadership as we embark on NYUAD’s second decade of growth and accomplishment. It will be inspiring and rewarding to work with Arlie as we advance our resolutely international model of liberal arts education and address the complex challenges we face today.”

Petters’ principal research interests include mathematical physics and scientific methods in business administration, with a focus on mathematical finance and entrepreneurship and innovation in STEM fields in developing nations. He is the Benjamin Powell Professor of Mathematics and a Professor of Physics and Economics at Duke University, where he has been on the faculty since 1998.

Before joining Duke, Petters served as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Princeton University and an Instructor of Pure Mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He received his PhD in mathematics from MIT, and has a BA and MA in mathematics and physics from Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Petters’ research explores how gravity acts on light. He pioneered the mathematical theory of weak-deflection gravitational lensing, which brought powerful methods from pure mathematics to bear on astronomy. He also advanced applications of gravitational lensing, which included predicting effects that probe the nature of spacetime around black holes and developing tests of Einstein’s general relativity and modified gravity models. He has published fifty articles in peer-reviewed journals as well as five books, including the monograph Singularity Theory and Gravitational Lensing, the textbook An Introduction to Mathematical Finance with Applications, and three problem-solving books on mathematics and scientific reasoning.

“Within a ten-year span,” says Provost Petters, “NYU Abu Dhabi has developed a world-class, innovative liberal arts and sciences undergraduate program and premier interdisciplinary research environment. It has created a collaborative culture of global citizenry among its excellent students, faculty, and staff. It has fostered diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, empathy, and openness. It has become a university in and of the city of Abu Dhabi. This gravitational pull of NYU Abu Dhabi was simply irresistible. I am delighted to serve under Mariët’s amazing leadership driving NYU Abu Dhabi onwards and upwards, to take its place among the world’s great universities.”

Among his many awards and honors are an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a National Science Foundation Career Award, and the first Blackwell-Tapia Prize in the Mathematical Sciences. He was selected in 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences to be part of a Portrait Collection of Outstanding African Americans in Science, Engineering, and Medicine. In addition to his research, Petters has mentored numerous students, faculty, and professionals, and has consequently received many community-service awards.

In his native Belize, he founded the Petters Research Institute to help develop human capital in STEM fields and foster national development through environmentally sustainable applications of STEM tools in entrepreneurship. In recognition of these contributions, he was made a member in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2008, and appointed in 2010 as the inaugural Chairman of the Council of Science Advisers to the Prime Minister of Belize. In 2009, his birthplace, Dangriga, Belize, honored him with a street in his name.

Global TIES for Children’s Researchers Relate Learnings from Study with Refugee Children to Global Post-COVID School Reopening

Posted on July 29, 2020, modified on July 20, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

Researchers at Global TIES for Children, an international research center based at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU New York, examined a variety of post-migration risks faced by Syrian refugee children enrolled in Lebanese public schools and found that students being older than expected for the grade in which they were placed was most consistently and strongly associated with developmental and learning difficulties. As many schools around the world prepare to reopen in 2020 and beyond, the study provides critical insights that can help inform efforts to reintegrate children into schools after significant disruption and time away.

The findings of the study are detailed in a paper published in the Journal for Applied Developmental Psychology and corresponding policy brief released on July 1, 2020. The study collected and analyzed assessment data from 448 Syrian refugee children in November 2016 through March 2017. Researchers found that children who were older than expected for their grade level – so-called “age-for-grade” – had poorer cognitive executive functioning and behavioral regulation skills than children who were placed in a typical grade level for their age. Being overage-for-grade also forecasted decrements in literacy and math skills.

Dolan added: “As of today, over a billion children worldwide have faced numerous personal and academic adversities and disruptions. This type of research can help inform the design, implementation, and funding of evidence-based programs and policies to ensure children’s holistic learning during crisis situations.”

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic have left nearly 1.6 billion children and youth out of school around the world, while the cascading economic impacts are anticipated to force millions more to drop out. Recent research indicates that even short-term, 14-week school closures can have significant long-term repercussions on children’s academic outcomes.

Kim added: “Our research suggests that such cumulative experiences of adversity can have repercussions for both children’s academic performance and their social and emotional skills.”

In this study, grade level may be associated with cognitive, behavioral, and academic difficulties for several possible reasons. First, being older than expected for a grade can be a marker that a child has faced numerous and cumulative risks earlier in childhood that interrupted schooling or impaired learning. Second, studying in a classroom without same-age peers or developmentally appropriate teaching practices, routines, and learning materials may itself result in cognitive and behavioral challenges. Third, and conversely, there may be a tendency to place older children with lower cognitive, behavioral, and socio-emotional skills in lower grades.

Global TIES for Children designs, evaluates, and advises on programs and policies to improve the lives of children and youth in the most vulnerable regions across the globe. The study was recently conducted as part of a larger collaboration with the International Rescue Committee and supported by Dubai Cares, the E-Cubed Research Envelope, and NYU Abu Dhabi.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. You can learn more here.

Virtual Commencements for New York, Abu Dhabi, Shanghai

Posted on June 1, 2020, modified on June 30, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

NYU celebrated its graduates in virtual commencements involving students, faculty, staff, and families joining from across the globe. Having to postpone the Commencement Exercises in Yankee Stadium due to COVID-19, the virtual commencement for New York took place on May 20. NYU Abu Dhabi’s commencement, celebrating all its seniors have accomplished, followed on May 27. NYU Shanghai’s commencement celebrated both its students and the importance of China-US cooperation on May 29. Congratulations graduates!

NYU Abu Dhabi Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka as Distinguished Writer-in-Residence

Posted on March 12, 2020, modified on March 9, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

NYU Abu Dhabi hosted Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka for a series of events in February, including his first-ever talk at The NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, which was is open to the public and free of charge.

A Conversation with Wole Soyinka, moderated by NYUAD Assistant Professor of Practice Tishani Doshi, saw Soyinka reflect on culture and tradition, creativity and power, as well as activism and the artistic process. He ruminated on the topic Renaissance Next Time? Africa at the Crossroads, exploring the themes of the world in Africa and Africa in the world.

A distinguished Writer-in-Residence at NYUAD in spring 2020, Soyinka’s visit comes as a result of a joint invitation from the African Studies, Film and New Media, History, Literature and Creative Writing, and Theater program, supported by other departments across the University. In addition to The Institute talk, Soyinka is participating in a series of community events on campus including a master class with students.

Soyinka is a Nigerian playwright, poet, and political activist. Born in 1934, he has held university professorships in various countries including Ile-Ife, Lagos and Ibadan in Nigeria, Johannesburg in South Africa, and Cambridge in England, Harvard, Emory, Loyola, and Yale in the United States. He has worked on various performance stages in Africa and the rest of the world. His works encompass drama, poetry, novels, music, film, and memoirs; he is considered among contemporary Africa’s greatest writers as well as a global artist and scholar.

NYU Abu Dhabi Event on Making Memories in the Brain

Posted on February 9, 2020, modified on February 3, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

On February 9, 2020, NYU Abu Dhabi will host Thomas J. Carew, Dean Emeritus of the Faculty of Arts and Science and Julius Silver Professor of Neural Science & Psychology, NY, for a talk on making memories in the brain.

It’s easy to think of memories simply as static photos pulled from a mental scrapbook; however, current research shows that memories are, in fact, dynamic recreations of past events that ultimately shape one’s identity. This talk considers how the wiring of the brain allows individuals to encode the world, how memories are encoded in the brain, where memories are stored, and how they are bought online to enable adaptive behavior. The ultimate objective of this research is to identify methods that improve memory in aging individuals and that restore it in those suffering from mental illness, disease, or brain injuries.

NYU Abu Dhabi J-Term 2020: Unique, Global Educational Experiences to Inspire Future Growth

Posted on January 9, 2020, modified on January 10, 2020 by Martha J Bekink

With 90 courses in 24 countries, NYU Abu Dhabi’s 10th January Term aims to enhance cultural knowledge exchange and globalization.

January Term at NYU Abu Dhabi is a distinctly impactful part of the NYU Abu Dhabi curriculum. Since the inaugural class matriculated in 2010 – thousands of students have discovered new things about the world and themselves. Courses include an exploration of the pervasiveness and impact of plastic in our world in the UAE and the Philippines, working with advocates for people of determination in Zambia, collaborating with Khaleeji musicians in Kuwait, and experiencing an on-the-ground view of the US presidential campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Washington DC.

All NYU Abu Dhabi students take one course full-time for approximately three weeks in January. These J-Term courses are designed as immersive, concentrated experiences in the UAE and abroad, going beyond the classroom to incorporate both theoretical and experiential learning. They are often site-specific, offering substantive cultural exchange by connecting students to the place where they study.

J-Term courses in 2020 are designed to explore crucial topics impacting the world around us today. Students can choose from a vast range of topics. For instance, a course titled Plastic Fantastic will look at the role of plastics in the modern world, exploring everything from the environmental impact of plastics – and plant-based alternatives – on the environment, to ethics in plastic surgery, all through the lens of how art, design, and technology can play a role in future problem solving. Students will also travel to Manila to study the plastic recycling industry.

Students taking American political consultant Frank Luntz’s Electing the President: An Up-close Look at How American Elections Really Work will hit the US presidential campaign trail and hear from some of the most influential figures in American politics on site at the primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire. Engaging Khaleeji Musical Heritage: An Introduction to Applied Ethnomusicology will take an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intersection of applied ethnomusicology and heritage studies to develop a deep understanding of both Khaleeji Arab music, and culture more broadly. Students will travel to Kuwait to work with the Mayyouf Mejally Folkloric Ensemble Boom Diwan.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi and the original can be found here.

NYU Abu Dhabi Students Win at World’s Most Comprehensive Student Cybersecurity Games

Posted on November 23, 2019, modified on November 20, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Two NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) students have won first place in the Hack3D competition as part of CSAW, the world’s most comprehensive student-led cybersecurity competition.

Organized by the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, the competition pushed the boundaries of the world’s most accomplished security students with contests that reflect the world’s rapidly changing threat landscape. The cyber challenge was held in six international CSAW hubs and employed contests to advance research in the areas of cybersecurity that are yet to be explored.

NYUAD Computer Science undergraduate students, Cole Beasley and Pedro Velasquez, won the Hack3D event that focused on anti-counterfeiting methods in 3D printing. Competitors were first tested in reverse engineering a 3D CAD model, and during the final round, teams were given a plastic female connector object to an unknown piece and an STL file which contained information for a 3D printer.

Beasley and Velasquez were able to identify critical geometrical points and create a piece which would match and connect with the initial object. Beasley commented, “This competition was a great experience. Through the extent of the challenge, we had to think and approach the presented problem with differing skill sets to complete one single task. Between the actual challenge presented to us as well as the interactions with the sponsors through the business fair and technical talks, Hack3d and CSAW as a whole was a valuable learning tool for anyone interested in the cybersecurity field.”

Velasquez added, “CSAW 19 was full of rewarding moments after every problem solved. We still have a lot to learn about cybersecurity and we are very excited for next year.”

To earn spots in the coveted final rounds, this year’s contestants bested 1,225 teams from 90 countries. At the finals for the United States and Canada, students won cash prizes, and NYU Tandon offered more than $1 million in scholarships to high school competitors. Additional prizes were awarded to contestants at the other academic hubs.

NYU Tandon Professor, leader of CSAW 2019 and NYU Center for Cybersecurity Ramesh Karri, said, “The finalists’ creativity, dedication, and mettle put them on a trajectory to become leaders in a field whose importance to our institutions and economies cannot be overstated. Our congratulations go out to them and to the faculty and mentors who encouraged and helped educate them.”

CSAW started as a contest for NYU Tandon School of Engineering students nearly two decades ago. It has since grown to include simultaneous final competitions at schools in France, India, UAE, Mexico and beyond.

This post comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. The original can be found here.

NYU Abu Dhabi Researchers Release New Date Palm Genome Sequence

Posted on October 22, 2019, modified on October 25, 2019 by Martha J Bekink

Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology and the UAEU Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, working with other institutions, have developed an improved assembly of the genome for the date palm using long-read sequencing technology. This improvement over the current versions of the genome will help advance further research, and also inform the propagation practices of this essential MENA region food source.

In addition, the researchers have identified the genes and mutations that lead to color change and the levels of major sugars in date palm fruit, including the genes for the enzyme invertase that breaks down sucrose into glucose and fructose. The mapping of these fruit color and sugar genes was conducted using genome-wide association studies (GWAS). GWAS has been used for mapping important disease genes in humans, and this is the first time it has been applied to date palms.

While date palms (Phoenix dactylifera) are one of the earliest domesticated tree crops in the world and remain a major fruit crop in North Africa and the Middle East, few genomic resources exist. This, combined with long generation times, has limited evolutionary genomic studies of this perennial species.

Researchers report they have produced an improved genome assembly for date palms that is 18 percent larger and more contiguous than existing genome assemblies. This long-read genome sequence assembly, coupled with access to two large, mature date palm orchards in the United Arab Emirates, allowed them to conduct genome-wide association mapping in this species.

As a result, they successfully mapped the previously-identified sex determination locus and genes for both fruit color and sugar level polymorphisms. Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications.

“As we face challenges in food security for the future, we will need to continue to study the genome of food crops like date palm to help us in our struggle to provide food security in the world,” said Silver Professor of Biology at New York University and lead scientist on the paper Michael Purugganan. “Our progress in expanding the genome of the date palm is finally unlocking some of the secrets that explain how this tree species has continued to thrive in varied, challenging ecosystems.”

Global Collaboration

The sequencing of the date palm genome and the first GWAS mapping in this fruit tree was an international effort led by NYUAD and KCGEB, and also included researchers in the US, Switzerland, France, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico.

This story comes to us from NYU Abu Dhabi. For more details and a video about this research, see here.