https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Aalto University AI companions are always available, never judge, never tire and never demand anything in return. If someone is struggling with loneliness, this frictionlessness can seem profoundly appealing. However, new research shows that in the long term, seeking emotional support from an AI companion can pull users away from important human relationships. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-ai-companions-comfort-lonely-users.html Consumer & Gadgets Sat, 04 Apr 2026 12:00:06 EDT news694177965 Amid hot discussion on screen time, social media use and the impact of digital devices on our well-being, a seven-month study from Aalto University in Finland sheds new light on what overwhelms users the most—and the results aren't what you might think. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-03-fragmented-total-screen-main-driver.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 24 Mar 2026 13:20:03 EDT news693575281 In physics, the mesoscale lies between the microscopic and the macroscopic. It is not just the domain of tiny living creatures like small larvae, shrimp, and jellyfish, but also where physics equations become extreme. While the macroscopic realm is governed by inertia and the microscopic by viscosity, the mesoscale is both and neither, requiring a new set of physics to describe it. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-mesoscale-swimmers-pave-drug-delivery.html General Physics Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:00:01 EDT news691772107 Taking a freezing dip in a lake or the sea is a valued well-being practice in the world's happiest country. In Finland, over 720,000 people (about 1 in every 8) are regular cold-water swimmers, voluntarily plunging into water below 15°C (59°Fahrenheit) or colder, on average 2–3 times per week. Now, a new study examines how this practice enables individuals to transform initial discomfort into moments of calm and presence, offering a surprisingly effective antidote to the digital rat race. The research is published in the European Journal of Marketing. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-cold-benefits-explored.html Health Mon, 02 Mar 2026 12:40:05 EST news691677181 You can probably quickly tell from a friend's tone of voice whether they're feeling happy or sad, energetic or exhausted. Computers can already do a similar analysis, and soon they'll be able to extract a lot more information. It's something we should all be concerned about, according to Associate Professor in Speech and Language Technology, Tom Bäckström. Personal information encoded in your voice could lead to increased insurance premiums or to advertising that exploits your emotional state. Private information could also be used for harassment, stalking or even extortion. https://techxplore.com/news/2026-01-voice-valuable-personal-expert-privacy.html Security Wed, 14 Jan 2026 11:33:23 EST news687612781 Happiness and well-being depend on how much volition, choice and control people feel they have over their life—their sense of autonomy. Researchers have acknowledged this connection, but there's been disagreement about whether it's universal or simply a reflection of the situation in wealthier, more individualistic countries. Understanding this nuance would help policymakers focus efforts to boost well-being where they matter most. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-happiness-autonomy-wealth-worldwide-analysis.html Social Sciences Mon, 12 Jan 2026 19:50:02 EST news687444391 Planning to save time by doing your shopping online? If so, it's possible you're not doing your well-being any favors. A study from Aalto University in Finland has found that online shopping is more strongly linked to stress than reading the news, checking your inbox or watching adult entertainment. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-retail-therapy-online-stress-news.html Social Sciences Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:01:11 EST news687448820 Income inequality is one of the most important measures of economic health, social justice and quality of life. More reliably trackable than wealth inequality, which was recently given a gloomy report card by the G20, income inequality is particularly relevant to immediate economic relief, mobility and people's everyday standard of living. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-subnational-income-inequality-revealed-regional.html Economics & Business Fri, 05 Dec 2025 05:00:01 EST news684000866 Political systems become polarized when internal unity within groups strengthens and the divide between them deepens. As polarization intensifies, societal tensions can grow, making it difficult to find compromises. The intensity of polarization has been measured in research, but until now its structural roots in social media have remained obscure. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-elites-wield-huge-deepening-polarization.html Social Sciences Thu, 20 Nov 2025 22:40:04 EST news682872788 Researchers at Aalto University have demonstrated single-shot tensor computing at the speed of light, a remarkable step towards next-generation artificial general intelligence hardware powered by optical computation rather than electronics. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-ai-possibility.html Hi Tech & Innovation Fri, 14 Nov 2025 05:00:03 EST news682242241 Around a third of people over the age of 80 suffer from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), with an estimated 20 million Americans aged 40 and older currently living with AMD. Most cases are the dry form of the disease, which progresses slowly, eventually resulting in sufferers losing the ability to see objects that are directly in front of them. Yet despite its prevalence, there is no effective treatment for dry AMD. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-laser-eye-treatment-potential-halting.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 30 Oct 2025 15:28:03 EDT news681056881 When it comes to estimating how good we are at something, research consistently shows that we tend to rate ourselves as slightly better than average. This tendency is stronger in people who perform low on cognitive tests. It's known as the Dunning-Kruger Effect (DKE): The worse people are at something, the more they tend to overestimate their abilities, and the "smarter" they are, the less they realize their true abilities. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-10-ai-overestimate-cognitive-reveals.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:53:03 EDT news680889181 How many coins can touch one coin, or how many basketballs can "kiss" one basketball at the same time? This seemingly playful question lies at the heart of the famous kissing number problem, a mathematical riddle that becomes almost supernaturally difficult to work out in dimensions beyond 4D. Despite its whimsical name, similar problems have practical applications in areas such as mobile communications and satellite navigation. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-human-ingenuity-outpaces-ai-bounds.html Mathematics Wed, 22 Oct 2025 15:20:01 EDT news680364650 A glittering hunk of crystal gets its iridescence from a highly regular atomic structure. Frank Wilczek, the 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics, proposed quantum systems––like groups of particles––could construct themselves in the same way, but in time instead of space. He dubbed such systems time crystals, defining them by their lowest possible energy state, which perpetually repeats movements without external energy input. Time crystals were experimentally proved to exist in 2016. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-crystals-power-future-quantum.html Quantum Physics Thu, 16 Oct 2025 08:55:09 EDT news679823699 Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, was crushed by Antarctic sea ice and sank in November 1915. Emblematic of the heroic age of Antarctic exploration, it is widely considered the strongest polar ship of its time, albeit with a fatal flaw—a weakness in the rudder that caused the ship to sink. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-real-sank-shackleton-knew-ship.html Earth Sciences Mon, 06 Oct 2025 06:00:01 EDT news678701988 An international research team led by Aalto University has just published the first large-scale analysis based on long-term satellite data on the effects of peatland restoration. The paper is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-satellite-images-reveal-positive-effects.html Earth Sciences Wed, 09 Jul 2025 14:06:35 EDT news671288791 On July 8, 2025, physicists from Aalto University in Finland published a transmon qubit coherence measurement in Nature Communications that dramatically surpasses previous scientifically published records. The millisecond coherence measurement marks a quantum leap in computational technology, with the previous maximum echo coherence measurements approaching 0.6 milliseconds. https://phys.org/news/2025-07-quantum-transmon-qubit-coherence-millisecond.html Quantum Physics Tue, 08 Jul 2025 05:00:01 EDT news670757401 How does a cloud stay cool under direct sunlight—or seem to vanish in infrared? In nature, phenomena like white cumulus clouds, gray storm systems, and even the hollow hairs of polar bears offer remarkable lessons in balancing temperature, color and invisibility. Inspired by these atmospheric marvels, researchers have now created a nanoscale "cloud" metasurface capable of dynamically switching between white and gray states—cooling or heating on demand—all while evading thermal detection. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-nano-clouds-temperature-outwit-sensors.html Nanophysics Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:05:03 EDT news670507501 LGBTQ-friendly policies can have a significant impact on innovation in major US firms, according to new research from Aalto University and the University of Vaasa. Existing studies have found a link between profitability and workplace diversity more generally, yet this is the first to specifically examine sexuality and gender-inclusivity as it relates to innovation. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-companies-lgbtq-friendly-policies-patents.html Economics & Business Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:50:03 EDT news669390601 AI is advancing at such speed that speculative moral questions, once the province of science fiction, are suddenly real and pressing, says Finnish philosopher and psychology researcher Frank Martela. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-05-ai-conditions-free-moral-compass.html Machine learning & AI Tue, 13 May 2025 09:00:01 EDT news666259081 In physics, a phase transition is a transformation of a substance from one form to another. They happen everywhere, from beneath the Earth's crust to the cores of distant stars, but the classic example is water transitioning from liquid to gas by boiling. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-physicists-machine-layered-gases-metals.html Condensed Matter Tue, 06 May 2025 13:12:03 EDT news665755921 At long last, a unified theory combining gravity with the other fundamental forces—electromagnetism and the strong and weak nuclear forces—is within reach. Bringing gravity into the fold has been the goal of generations of physicists, who have struggled to reconcile the incompatibility of two cornerstones of modern physics: quantum field theory and Einstein's theory of gravity. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-quantum-theory-gravity-sought-crucial.html General Physics Mon, 05 May 2025 10:58:04 EDT news665661481 The largest sample of galaxy groups ever detected has been presented by a team of international astronomers using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) in an area of the sky called COSMOS Web. The study marks a major milestone in extragalactic astronomy, providing unprecedented insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies and the large-scale structure of the universe. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-astronomers-largest-sample-galaxies-billion.html Astronomy Tue, 29 Apr 2025 11:00:04 EDT news664717441 Could gaming provide a path to better mental health and life skills? A new study from Aalto University reveals how one notoriously challenging video game is helping players find resilience, meaning and hopefulness in real life. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-04-role-playing-video-game-players.html Consumer & Gadgets Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:48:38 EDT news664544907 Researchers at Aalto University have, for the first time, investigated the occurrence of wolverines across the whole of Finland using satellite imagery, field measurements, and snow track observations. https://phys.org/news/2025-04-finnish-endangered-wolverine-habitats-satellite.html Ecology Tue, 22 Apr 2025 12:42:03 EDT news664544521 What makes people think an AI system is creative? New research shows that it depends on how much they see of the creative act. The findings have implications for how we research and design creative AI systems, and they also raise fundamental questions about how we perceive creativity in other people. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-04-ai-creative-visibility-perception.html Consumer & Gadgets Mon, 07 Apr 2025 16:38:04 EDT news663262681 In a novel study, researchers from several European universities have used virtual reality gaming to study brain network activity in children with clinically diagnosed ADHD. Until now, ADHD in both children and adults has primarily been studied using brain imaging in a resting state, rather than while actively engaging in tasks where overt symptoms are expressed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-vr-gaming-scans-reveal-unique.html Neuroscience Mon, 24 Mar 2025 14:48:04 EDT news662046481 Governments, international bodies and researchers rely on global population data for resource allocation and infrastructure planning to disease epidemiology and disaster risk management. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers from Aalto University in Finland show the profound and systematic extent to which these datasets underestimate rural population figures worldwide. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-significant-proportion-world-rural-population.html Social Sciences Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:00:03 EDT news661419841 We all encounter gels in daily life—from the soft, sticky substances you put in your hair to the jelly-like components in various foodstuffs. While human skin shares gel-like characteristics, it has unique qualities that are very hard to replicate. It combines high stiffness with flexibility, and it has remarkable self-healing capabilities, often healing completely within 24 hours of an injury. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-entangled-polymers-nanosheets-skin-hydrogel.html Polymers Fri, 07 Mar 2025 05:00:01 EST news660495721 Global warming is already reshaping our daily lives, with storms, floods, wildfires and droughts around the world. As temperatures continue to rise, a third of global food production could be at risk. Now, a new study in Nature Food offers a more precise picture of exactly where and how warming will affect our ability to grow food. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-world-critical-food-crops-imminent.html Plants & Animals Tue, 04 Mar 2025 11:06:04 EST news660308761