New year, old me

A randomized trial in a large economics course found that AI-mediated feedback improved students' revisions when teaching assistants stayed in control. Artificial intelligence can help instructors write better feedback on student essays and improve learning outcomes when AI is used as a behind-the-scenes assistant rather than a replacement for human graders, a new University of Michigan Engineering study suggests.

European astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe a recently discovered giant disk galaxy known as ADF22.1. Results of the new observations, published April 8 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more light on the formation and evolution of this galaxy.

How do some wealthy families remain in the upper class for many generations, while other rich families do not? That is the question author Shay O'Brien (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) tackles in the sociological study "Kinship Interlocks: How the Intimate Exchange of Wealth, Status, and Power Generates Upper-Class Persistence," published in the April 2026 issue of the American Sociological Review.

Asian immigrants are both the fastest-growing and highest-earning immigrant ethnic group in the United States, facts that have caught the attention of many economists interested in how these groups—whether investors or residents—impact housing prices, K-12 education, and other important aspects of community life.