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Decision-making often occurs in the absence of instruction to guide action. Instead, theories and experiments have predicted that the brain must compute a decision-value based on past experience to select the best action. This implies that the action with the highest subjective value should always b

Observational cosmology is moving towards its next major milestone: high-precision measurements of the cosmic microwave background polarization with the goal of detecting and characterizing the primordial B- modes. These polarization patterns would provide a unique picture of the early Universe, she

Applied economists routinely evaluate the effect of economic policies. For instance, what is the effect of raising the minimum wage on employment? Angrist and Pischke (2010) argue that applied economics has recently experienced a ``credibility revolution'': by switching to transparent methods to ev

A wealth of evidence in perceptual and economic decision-making research suggests that the subjective value of one option is determined by the range of the values of other available options (i.e., the context). Yet, up until today, this literature has almost exclusively focused on decision situation

Photons are great carriers of information but they usually don’t interact with one another. Atoms interact but are hard to manipulate and do not benefit from the toolbox of quantum optics for detecting quantum fluctuations and entanglement. Many approaches have been proposed to marry these two sys

(ERC abstract): The main purpose of this proposal is to explore random fractal planar metrics. Two canonical models of random continuum surfaces have been introduced in the past decade, namely the Brownian sphere obtained as the scaling limit of uniform random planar triangulations, and the Liouvill

The COCONUT project aims at developing predictive capabilities to understand how colloids (nanometals, fine particles, bacteria, viruses, asphaltenes..) control immiscible two-phase flow in complex geological formations. Colloids (including nanoparticles) have an incredible potential to remobilize n

This project will bridge gaps between micro and macro evolution by ascertaining the evolutionary feedbacks between trait and species diversification, focusing on closely-related species living in sympatry. Sympatric species often differ in suites of traits involved in niche partitioning: how do ecol

Development of a functional central nervous system at birth relies on the timely proliferation of neural stem cells. Via interactions with other cell types, neural stem cells form an intricate cellular microenvironment, the niche, which behaves both as a signalling hub and a structural scaffold. Cen

Self-assembly is key to living cells, where it brings well-adjusted parts together into functional biological structures. In rarer, pathological cases, ill-fitting proteins also aggregate and form fibers involved in Alzheimer's and other diseases. While functional self-assembly is widely studied, th