Social systems as a research area investigates structured patterns of social relationships, interactions, and institutions using formal theories and empirical methods drawn from sociology, systems theory, network science, and related fields. It focuses on the dynamic organization of individuals, groups, and organizations into interdependent networks, analyzing feedback processes, emergence, stability, and change. Researchers model social systems at multiple scales, from micro-level interactions to macro-level structures, often employing mathematical modeling, agent-based simulations, and quantitative data analysis to study phenomena such as coordination, cooperation, inequality, diffusion, governance, and resilience in complex, adaptive social environments.
In early 2026, the EU extended its domestic carbon pricing to key products from beyond its borders. This is managed through the "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism" (CBAM). Exporters of polluting goods to the EU must pay ...
Environment
Jun 1, 2026
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The Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), in collaboration with other academic institutions, has published a new study on start-ups in the agricultural sector in the journal Progress in Economic Geography. ...
Agriculture
May 28, 2026
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Spotted hyenas live in hierarchically organized groups (clans). An individual's dominance over another determines priority access to resources such as food or mating partners, and thus reproductive success. However, the rank ...
Plants & Animals
May 28, 2026
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10
Go vegan, ditch the car, avoid air travel. Or forget all that—because it's corporations and governments that are really to blame. This argument can feel quite paralyzing, but what if this is the wrong debate to have?
Environment
May 27, 2026
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13
When the loss of a queen wasp triggers a power struggle and social turmoil, colonies can survive the upheaval thanks to helpful wasps that pick up the slack, finds a new study led by UCL researchers.
Plants & Animals
May 25, 2026
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A new study, published in Ecology and Evolution, shows that social living is associated with longer lifespan, but also that the benefits of sociality level off once animals move beyond living in pairs.
Evolution
May 22, 2026
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26
Fish who display dominant traits are more at risk of consuming microplastic pollution than others in their social group, according to new research. The study, led by the University of Glasgow and published in Proceedings ...
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2026
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12
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 ...
Environment
May 18, 2026
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13
Scientists, including those working with the Earth Commission, are calling for a fundamental rethink of how the world imagines its future, arguing that today's dominant climate and biodiversity models are too narrow to deal ...
Earth Sciences
May 15, 2026
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In many primate species, males are much larger than their female counterparts, which is generally attributed to male competition for mates (sexual selection). But bigger bodies may not just be about alpha males defeating ...
