Science and Technolgy blog
A recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior sheds light on the link between men’s habitual body gaze behavior and problematic attitudes related to sexual objectification. The researchers found that men who frequently direct their attention toward women’s…
Enlarge / Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner spaceraft backs away from the International Space Station moments after undocking on September 6, 2024. (credit: NASA) Nearly a decade ago to the day, I stood in the international terminal of Houston’s main airport checking…
DNA from a partial skeleton found in France indicates that European Neandertals consisted of at least two genetically distinct populations.
Thorin — nicknamed after a dwarf in J. R. R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” — is also called the “last Neanderthal” because he may have lived as recently as 42,000 years ago.
A DNA analysis of 15 Rapa Nui individuals revealed that there was never a population collapse on Easter Island and that the inhabitants commingled with Native Americans.
(credit: BalticServers.com) Data centers powering the generative AI boom are gulping water and exhausting electricity at what some researchers view as an unsustainable pace. Two entrepreneurs who met in high school a few years ago want to overcome that crunch…
Personality traits like neuroticism and introversion are significant predictors of depression across the lifespan, according to research published in the Journal of Affective Disorders. Depression remains one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. While depression is often characterized by…
Droughts temporarily dampen the number of valley fever cases across the state, but cases spike in the years after rains return.
A new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships has found that the negative effects of being cheated on by a romantic partner can extend beyond emotional pain to potentially harm your long-term health. Researchers found that…
This is another in our series of stories identifying new technologies and actions that can slow climate change, reduce its impacts or help communities cope with a rapidly changing world. When Gijsbert Cirkel coached his son’s soccer team, he remembers the kids laying…
The Andromeda Galaxy, the Milky Way’s closest galactic neighbor, glows brightly in a new Hubble Space Telescope image with swathes of ionized gas that fuel star formation.
Newly released images of Mars reveal a “smiley” salt deposit on the Red Planet’s surface. A related study suggests that similar deposits, which were left behind from ancient lakes, may be a good place to look for signs of former…
A recent study published in Social Science Quarterly has found evidence linking former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about COVID-19 to a surge in anti-Asian sentiment on social media. The study suggests that Trump’s repeated references to the coronavirus as the…
Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images) It’s not every day that a security researcher acquires the ability to generate counterfeit HTTPS certificates, track email activity, and execute code of his choice on thousands of servers—all in a single blow…
An eel inside the digestive tract of a dark sleeper fish before its escape attempt.
Batteries used in smartphones or in EVs normally charge for 10 hours on their first cycle, but turbo-charging them to 100% capacity in 20 minutes may lead to a 50% longer lifespan.
A new study published in Nature Microbiology has revealed that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, evolves more rapidly in the brain than in the lungs, possibly explaining some of the neurological symptoms associated with the disease. This finding may…
Enlarge / Artist’s illustration of catch arms ensnaring SpaceX’s Super Heavy booster. (credit: SpaceX) The Federal Aviation Administration has signaled to SpaceX that it won’t approve a launch license for the next test flight of the Starship rocket until at…
A recent study published in Psychological Reports examined how individuals’ ideological rigidity and political conservatism influence their reactions to people with differing beliefs and their fears about death. The study found that people who hold rigid ideological beliefs tend to…
The US government recently announced multiple charges against the alleged leaders of the “Terrorgram Collective,” which does just what it sounds like—it promotes terrorism on the Telegram messaging platform. In this case, the terrorism was white racial terror, complete with…
Enlarge (credit: Westend61 | Westend61) Nevada will soon become the first state to use AI to help speed up the decision-making process when ruling on appeals that impact people’s unemployment benefits. The state’s Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR)…
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a pair of distant galaxies being twisted into a cosmic question mark thanks to a rare form of gravitational lensing.
NASA’s testing a solar sail system in space, and the spacecraft that brought the tech there has snapped a photo.
Shorter sleep and later bedtimes are linked to potentially harmful functional changes to parts of the brain important for coping with stress and controlling negative emotions, our recently published research found. And children in families with low economic resources are…
Enlarge / In the U.S., a folding phone has you carrying around nearly $2,000 of fragile, folding OLED phone. In China and export-friendly countries, the Mate XT adds $1,000 and yet another hinge. (credit: Huawei) Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate is…
Enlarge (credit: Getty | MICHAEL KAPPELER) The human body is full of marvels, some even bordering on miraculous. That includes the limited ability for nerves to regenerate after injuries, allowing people to regain some function and feeling. But that wonder…
Getting an accurate estimate of when someone died is a critical part of forensic investigations. In extremely cold conditions, molecular biology can provide critical information that the naked eye cannot.
Researchers have discovered that people can infer the preferences of others by observing how quickly they make decisions in social scenarios. The study, published in PLOS Biology, reveals that decision-making speed can provide key insights into a person’s social preferences,…
Enlarge / “The only species of fish confirmed to be able to escape from the digestive tract of the predatory fish after being captured.” (credit: Hasegawa et al./Current Biology) Imagine you’re a Japanese eel, swimming around just minding your own…
Enlarge / More streamlined (but still user-replaceable) battery packs are responsible for some of the Reform Next’s space savings. (credit: MNT Research) The current booting prototype of the MNT Reform Next. [credit: MNT Research ] The original MNT Reform laptop…
Conforming to certain feminine norms, such as modesty, thinness, and appearance, is associated with increased psychological distress among college women, according to research published in Current Psychology. College women face unique stressors, including adapting to a new environment, developing new…
Enlarge / The cool racing stripe means it’s faster. (credit: Sony) Sony today announced the PlayStation 5 Pro, a mid-generation hardware upgrade that will play the same game library as 2020’s PlayStation 5, but with higher frame rates and better…
A recent study published in Psychological Science explored the relationship between how much people value happiness and their overall well-being. The research found that those who placed a high value on happiness generally experienced greater well-being, as reflected in higher…
Enlarge / Quantinuum’s H2 “racetrack” quantum processor. (credit: Quantinuum) On Tuesday, Microsoft made a series of announcements related to its Azure Quantum Cloud service. Among them was a demonstration of logical operations using the largest number of error-corrected qubits yet.…
Enlarge / Where are the gentle creatures and native plants you first saw when you landed? More importantly, could this conveyer belt run on a shorter path? (credit: Coffee Stain Studios) The company that compels you to industrialize an untouched…
ChatGPT and similar AI sort those who use African American English dialect into less prestigious jobs and dole out harsher criminal punishments.
Archaeologists think the earliest skeleton from the Malaysian excavation may be up to 16,000 years old.
Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | SOPA Images ) Apple has suffered a significant defeat after the EU’s top court ruled that the iPhone maker must pay €13 billion in back taxes, overturning an earlier decision in the Big Tech group’s…
Enlarge (credit: eugenekeebler via Getty Images) In an age when you can get just about anything online, it’s probably no surprise that you can buy a diamond-making machine for $200,000 on Chinese eCommerce site Alibaba. If you, like me, haven’t…
A study of adults diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) suggests that excessive mind wandering, rumination, and decreased mindfulness may mediate the link between ADHD symptoms and depression ADHD may predispose individuals to excessive mind wandering, rumination, and reduced mindfulness, which…
The corrected calculation had an error rate about a tenth of one done without quantum error correction.
A new video from an astronaut’s vantage point in space captures a bright green burst over Earth as a meteor exploded in the night sky.
The source of a supposed alien broadcast that made researchers go “Wow!” may instead have been the result of a remarkably rare cosmic event, a new study suggests.
A recent study, published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, introduces a new tool designed to measure gaslighting in romantic relationships. The Gaslighting Relationship Exposure Inventory (GREI) consists of 11 items and was found to be a reliable…
Enlarge / An Aurora truck departs the company’s depot in Palmer, Texas. (credit: Aurora) On a sunny morning in December, an 18-wheeler will pull into a truck depot in Palmer, Texas, just south of Dallas. The driver will step out…
The word orangutan means “person of the forest” — a good name for a group of primates that spend most of their time in trees. These great apes have long arms and long, curling fingers and toes for grasping branches.…
Objective: Determine the relationship between musical note frequency and air cavity volume when blowing over the top of a partly filled bottle Areas of science: Music Difficulty: Medium intermediate Time required: 2–5 days Prerequisites: None Material availability: Readily available Cost:…
September’s full Harvest Moon will drift into Earth’s shadow for a partial eclipse on Sept. 17. It is also the second of four consecutive supermoons this year, making our natural satellite look bigger and brighter than usual.
Enlarge / A Crew Dragon spacecraft separates from the upper stage of a Falcon 9 rocket on Tuesday morning. (credit: SpaceX) A Falcon 9 rocket streaked into the blackened the pre-dawn sky above Florida on Tuesday, carrying four people on…
A pair of 2015 astronaut photos taken just minutes apart shows the eye of tropical cyclone Bansi illuminated by two lightning strikes as the storm raged in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Madagascar.
