Research Now - Winter 2026
Chatgpt For Birdsong May Shed Light on How Language Is Wired in the Human Brain
Just like ChatGPT and other generative language models train on human texts to create grammatically correct sentences, a new modeling method trains on recordings of birds to create accurate birdsongs. The results could improve understanding of the structure of birdsong and its underlying neurobiology, which could lend insight into the neural mechanisms of human language.
Much like how humans arrange words in a particular order to form a grammatically correct sentence, birds sing sets of notes called syllables in a limited number of combinations. Finishing a sentence or song sequence often depends on what has already been said, which researchers call context dependence. For example, the word “like” could express desire or begin a comparison, depending on what words surround it.
To better quantify context dependence in birds and understand how it is wired in the brain, the researchers analyzed previously recorded songs of Bengalese finches. They used Partially Observable Markov Models to build the simplest model of each song, allowing context dependence to be added when it improved the model. At least some songs from all the birds they studied had context-dependent syllable transitions, suggesting this is an important aspect of birdsong.
“Many philosophers describe human language, and especially grammar, as exceptional, but if this model can create language-like sentences, and if the neural mechanisms behind birdsong and human language are indeed similar, you can’t help but wonder if our language really is so unique,” said Dezhe Jin, associate professor of physics.
Complete Genome Sequences of Six Ape Species Unveiled
An international research team has produced “complete” reference genomes—standardized sequences that allow comparison among species—of seven ape species, including humans, and shows that differences between the species are greater than originally thought.
"This work uncovered novel adaptive signatures in genes related to diet, immune response, and cellular activity, offering precise insights into the evolutionary pressures shaping great ape genomes,” said Christian Huber, assistant professor of biology.
The sequences are more accurate and complete than previous reference genomes and offer greater insights into genetic functions and disease mechanisms, including pinpointing genes and variants that are significant to health. Studies based on the new reference genomes could help advance conservation genetics for endangered species as well as understanding of human evolution and health.
“This is a milestone for comparative genomic studies that allows us to appreciate the evolution of the genome in its full detail and complexity, which we couldn’t do before because we were working with incomplete genomes,” said Kateryna Makova, Verne M. Willaman Chair of Life Sciences and professor of biology.
The researchers used advanced sequencing techniques and computational algorithms to decode the genomes, sequencing long segments of DNA, and assembling them together from one end of each chromosome to the other, without any gaps in sequence. This uncovered new genes that are specific to a species or a group of species.
“These new genes might partly be responsible for the differences we see between the species, including human-specific traits such as intelligence,” said Karol Pál, postdoctoral scholar in biology.
Structure Of Tick-borne Virus Revealed at Atomic Resolution for the First Time
A team led by Penn State researchers has produced a 3D structure of an emerging tick-borne virus in North America—including Pennsylvania—called the Powassan virus (POWV). The virus can cause encephalitis, seizures, paralysis, and coma, and no treatments are currently available.
Because vaccines and treatments typically target surface proteins, understanding the structure of these proteins in POWV could potentially inform future therapeutics. However, POWV has been challenging for researchers to study it in its natural form because it can cause serious health problems. Typical methods to inactivate the virus damage the virus, making it difficult to determine its structure at a high resolution.
Instead, the team used a weakened strain of the yellow fever virus—which is in the same family and less infectious—as a surrogate. They replaced two yellow fever protein genes with two genes that encode the structural proteins found on the surface of POWV. Then they imaged the virus using Penn State’s Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) facility, which allowed the team to capture near-atomic resolution images from every angle and reconstruct it into a 3D structure featuring the details of the surface proteins.
“Now, we know how every molecule sits on the surface, as well as which ones are more exposed and accessible,” said Joyce Jose, associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology. “Knowing what the virus looks like—what proteins are on the surface—can shed light on virus-host and virus-vector interactions and how to prevent them.”
Unveiling The Secrets of Planet Formation in Environments of High UV Radiation
The fundamental building blocks for planet formation can exist even in environments with extreme ultraviolet radiation, according to a new study. The researchers used NASA's James Webb Space Telescope and sophisticated thermochemical modeling to investigate a protoplanetary disk—the dust and gas surrounding a new star that can eventually give rise to planets—in one of the most extreme environments.
“Protoplanetary disks often form in proximity to massive stars that emit substantial amounts of ultraviolet radiation, potentially disrupting the disks and affecting their capability to form planets,” said Bayron Portilla-Revelo, postdoctoral researcher in astronomy and astrophysics.
The researchers studied the protoplanetary disk around a young, solar-mass star known as XUE 1, located approximately 5,500 light-years away from our sun in the Lobster Nebula. This region harbors over 20 massive stars, which emit extreme UV radiation.
The team identified the composition of dust in the disk that will eventually form rocky planets. They found that the disk contains sufficient solid material to potentially form at least 10 planets, each with a mass comparable to that of Mercury.
“These findings support the idea that planets form around stars even when the natal disk is exposed to strong external radiation,” said Eric Feigelson, distinguished senior scholar and professor of astronomy and astrophysics and of statistics.
The researchers also determined the distribution of a variety of molecules, including water vapor, carbon dioxide, and acetylene.
“These molecules are expected to contribute to the formation of the atmospheres of emerging planets,” said Konstantin Getman, research professor of astronomy and astrophysics.