How unequal trade with Global North leaves Latin America supplying land, labor and raw materials
style="text-indent: 2em; "More than 900 million tonnes of materials, 4 million km2 of land, and 53 billion hours of labor. This is the scale of resources that the Global North net appropriated from Latin America through international trade in 2020 alone, according to a new study by the Institute of Environmental Science and
Virtual reality game about zombie ants increases players' understanding of evolution
style="text-indent: 2em; "Playing a virtual reality game in which the player takes on the role of the zombie fungus Ophiocordyceps increases the players' understanding of how evolution works. Last summer, Utrecht University zombie ant researchers William Beckerson, Maite Goebbels and Charissa de Bekker invited visitors to th
How location sharing apps change the ways we communicate
style="text-indent: 2em; "Mobile apps that allow people to share their location with others have become increasingly popular. But how and why do we use these apps, and what are the implications for interpersonal communication? That's the topic of a study appearing in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, led by r
Microbes for health: New way to feel 'at one' with nature
style="text-indent: 2em; "Can you imagine feeling good about your body being home to trillions of bacteria and viruses—as well as life-giving "invisible friend" microbes in the air, soil and water? Before you say yuck, this concept is a new way microbiologists are encouraging people to think about their place in the world—an
Mapping how 'Big AI' influences AI laws and oversight
style="text-indent: 2em; "Artificial intelligence (AI) companies influence policy and regulation using similar techniques to Big Tobacco, Big Pharma and Big Oil, according to a new study.
style="text-indent: 2em; "Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker has proposed a US$1 fee on all Uber, Lyft and other rideshare trips in the city to begin in 2027. The projected $48 million annual revenue would go entirely to support the chronically underfunded Philadelphia school district, which faces a $300 million budget defic
Bioengineers condense protein engineering and testing to a single day
style="text-indent: 2em; "Proteins are critical to life—and to industry. There are countless proteins that could be engineered to treat and even cure serious diseases and cellular dysfunctions. Industrial applications are similarly promising, with proteins increasingly used as enzymes in food manufacturing and in consumer de
Phase-contrast microtomography reveals vascular colonization of tomato roots by Fusarium oxysporum
style="text-indent: 2em; "Soil-borne fungal pathogens are responsible for major agricultural losses worldwide, yet the way they invade and spread inside plant roots is still not fully understood. One of the most damaging species, Fusarium oxysporum, infects the vascular system of crops such as tomato, progressively blocking
Careful crystallization unlocks well-ordered perovskite layers for transistors
style="text-indent: 2em; "Perovskites are a class of materials with a unique crystal structure that suits applications such as fabricating solar cells, light-emitting diodes and transistors. However, molecules in thin layers often cannot arrange themselves properly because the process proceeds too quickly. Now, an internatio
Brazil's reserves run on too little funding, with Amazon getting just 20% needed
style="text-indent: 2em; "Human development is driving numerous global species to the brink of extinction, threatening essential resources like water and soil, and contributing to climate change. Conservationists have shown that putting critically threatened areas under protection is vital if nations are to slow or reverse t
Ancient burial practices emerge from Laos' mysterious Plain of Jars
style="text-indent: 2em; "Hundreds of stone jars, some weighing several tons, are scattered across the remote uplands of northern Laos. Despite being researched for nearly a century, their purpose remains uncertain. "Archaeologists generally agree they were used in mortuary rituals, but we don't know how they were exactly us
style="text-indent: 2em; "The rapid growth of large language models is placing increasing demands on data centers, where large volumes of data must be transferred efficiently between servers. Optical interconnects are essential for enabling this communication, but as data rates continue to rise, these systems must deliver hi
Alternative SoMe algorithms can help users form more accurate and less polarized beliefs
style="text-indent: 2em; "The algorithms that most social media platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok use today might be contributing to political conflict and polarization. But a new study from the University of Copenhagen suggests that simple changes to how posts are sorted in our feed can increase consensus and factual u
style="text-indent: 2em; "From writing emails to generating computer code, much of the artificial intelligence prevalent in our daily lives has succeeded by mastering one domain: text. However, this leaves a major blind spot in the physical sciences, where models depend on the high-resolution, three-dimensional data of the p
The structure of water: Entropy determines whether ions stick
style="text-indent: 2em; "Water molecules do not simply swirl around in complete disorder; they can form certain preferred structures. This scientific fact is often presented in entirely unscientific ways. For example, when people speak of an alleged "memory of water" or of "water clusters" as a possible explanation for home
Open-source AI assistant can improve research workflow
style="text-indent: 2em; "Lehigh University researchers have built the first "AI for Science" software tool designed to support the entire project workflow for research scientists. Dr. Claw is an open-source, full-stack AI research assistant that helps users refine ideas, conduct literature reviews, run experiments, draft an
Mars reveals first Zwan-Wolf effect deep in its atmosphere during a solar storm
style="text-indent: 2em; "In December 2023, scientists looking at Mars data stumbled across something completely unexpected—observations of an atmospheric effect never before seen in the Red Planet's atmosphere. Using instruments aboard NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) mission, scientists identified a ph
Sea level rise is swallowing US Mid-Atlantic farmland faster than expected, study finds
style="text-indent: 2em; "Ghost forests, the cemetery-like groupings of dead trees killed by saltwater intrusion, have become haunting symbols of sea level rise overtaking land along the Mid-Atlantic coast. But a new study published in Nature Sustainability, led by William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS, points to even more d
