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CARTA: Human Brain Specializations Related to Language and Theory of Mind with James Rilling

Humans excel at transmitting ideas, skills, and knowledge across generations, and at building on those competencies in a cumulative manner. James Rilling, Professor of Psychology at Emory University, explores how the transmission of our cumulative culture is assumed to depend on both language and mental perspective-taking, or theory of mind. If humans have specialized abilities in these domains, we must have neurobiological specializations to support them. Our research has used comparative primate neuroimaging to attempt to identify such specializations. The arcuate fasciculus is a white matter fiber tract that links Wernicke’s and Broca’s language areas. It is known to be involved in multiple, high level linguistic functions such as lexical semantics, complex syntax, and speech fluency. Using diffusion weighted imaging and tractography, we have demonstrated human specializations in the size and trajectory of the arcuate fasciculus that may partially explain human linguistic abilities. Theory of Mind depends on a set of cortical regions that belong to a neural network known as the default mode network that is functionally connected, highly active at rest, and deactivated by attention-demanding cognitive tasks. We and others have used functional neuroimaging to show that chimpanzees and other primates appear to have a default mode network that is similar to that of humans. However, the non-human primate default mode network seems to have weaker connectivity between certain key nodes, suggesting that these connections could play a role in human theory of mind specializations. Recorded on 02/27/2026. [3/2026] [Show ID: 41329]

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Learn more about anthropogeny on CARTA’s website:
https://carta.anthropogeny.org/

More videos from: CARTA — The Idea Organ.
(https://www.uctv.tv/carta-idea-organ)

Explore More Science & Technology on UCTV
(https://www.uctv.tv/science)
Science and technology continue to change our lives. University of California scientists are tackling the important questions like climate change, evolution, oceanography, neuroscience and the potential of stem cells.

UCTV is the broadcast and online media platform of the University of California, featuring programming from its ten campuses, three national labs and affiliated research institutions. UCTV explores a broad spectrum of subjects for a general audience, including science, health and medicine, public affairs, humanities, arts and music, business, education, and agriculture. Launched in January 2000, UCTV embraces the core missions of the University of California — teaching, research, and public service – by providing quality, in-depth television far beyond the campus borders to inquisitive viewers around the world.

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Why Hollywood Is Facing a Very Unhappy Ending

Layoffs, consolidation, streaming losses, artificial intelligence and the rise of the creator economy are reshaping Hollywood, raising questions about whether the industry is just hitting a rough patch or in terminal decline.

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Andrew Yang: UBI Before UHI

Solving Job Loss, and the Future of Work ## Andrew Yang advocates for the implementation of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a necessary solution to address job loss, income inequality, and societal unrest caused by technological advancements and AI-driven changes in the economy ## ## Questions to inspire discussion.

Universal Basic Income Implementation.

🔹 Q: What UBI amount should be set to provide an effective safety net?

A: UBI should be set at twice the poverty level, around $25,000 per person per year, providing enough for survival but not happiness to maintain work incentives while protecting against economic collapse.

🔹 Q: How can UBI be funded without government action initially?

A: Well-resourced tech billionaires could fund UBI directly to local communities to keep the middle class afloat during AI-driven changes, potentially catalyzing further philanthropy and government action.

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AI threatens to eat business software—and it could change the way we work

In recent weeks, a range of large “software-as-a-service” companies, including Salesforce, ServiceNow and Oracle, have seen their share prices tumble.

Even if you’ve never used these companies’ software tools, there’s a good chance your employer has. These tools manage key data about customers, employees, suppliers and products, supporting everything from payroll and purchasing to customer service.

Now new “agentic” artificial intelligence (AI) tools for business are expected to reduce reliance on traditional software for everyday work. These include Anthropic’s Cowork, OpenAI’s Frontier and open-source agent platforms such as OpenClaw.

Florida woman imprisoned for massive Microsoft license fraud scheme

A Florida woman was sentenced to 22 months in prison for running a massive years-long scheme to traffic thousands of stolen Microsoft Certificate of Authenticity (COA) labels.

52-year-old Heidi Richards (also known as Heidi Hastings, Heidi Shaffer, and Heidi Williams), who operated an e-commerce business called Trinity Software Distribution, was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine.

COA labels are small stickers that authenticate software and carry unique product key codes used to activate products distributed on physical media, such as Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Office productivity suite.

Chemists thought phosphorus had shown all its cards—until it surprised them with a new move

A discovery by UCLA organic chemists may one day put catalytic converter thieves out of business. In new research, they’ve used abundant, inexpensive phosphorus as a catalyst in chemical reactions that usually require precious metals like platinum, one of the metals targeted in theft of the automotive components that convert chemicals in vehicle exhaust into less harmful forms.

This advance, however, will likely be more useful in the pharmaceutical industry and could one day help bring down the price of some drugs.

Securing the Cyber Supply Chain in an AI Era

Supply chain attacks are now a top cyber threat—SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline showed how one weak link can cascade across entire sectors.

In my latest article, I examine how AI, 5G, IoT, and quantum computing are expanding both risks and defenses, and share practical steps: zero trust, SBOMs, supplier audits, public-private collaboration, and board-level ownership.

Cyber supply chain security is no longer optional—it’s essential for resilience, innovation, and national security.

Read the full piece: The Cybersecurity Challenges of the Supply Chain https://www.govconwire.com/articles/chuck-brooks-govcon-expe…hain-risks.

#cybersecurity #technology #supplychain

By Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting International and one of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Experts

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Unfinished business: ending the HIV epidemic

SINCE the 1980s, researchers have worked tirelessly to develop effective treatments that can suppress the HIV virus to undetectable levels. As a result, by taking a single daily dose of an antiretroviral (ARV) medicine, people with HIV can now expect to live long and healthy lives – as well as prevent transmission to others.

The impact has been dramatic, with annual global AIDS-related deaths having fallen from 2.1 million at the peak in 2004 to 630,000 in 2024. The number of new acquisitions has plummeted too: an estimated 1.3 million people acquired the virus in 2024, marking a 60 per cent decline since the peak in 1995.

“We’re at a pivotal moment in the quest to end the HIV epidemic,” says Jean van Wyk, chief medical officer at ViiV Healthcare. This quest is to meet the UN’s 2030 goals that ViiV has been involved with since the 1980s as the pioneers of the first ARV medicine.

Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, Webinars, Screen Sharing

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, conference, huddle, and training rooms, as well as executive offices and classrooms. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Zoom is a publicly traded company headquartered in San Jose, CA.

These Billionaires Plan To Bring Self-Driving Tech To Everything That Moves

Applied Intuition’s cofounders are building software that can drive everything from planes to tanks to automobiles. But to expand beyond its $800 million business selling tech for cars, they will have to take on Tesla, Google, Nvidia and a host of other startups jostling for pole position in the autonomy race.

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