https://phys.org/science-news/ en-us The latest science news on archaeology, fossils, mathematics, and science technology from Phys.org Admissions applications, discussion posts, grades, and activity logs are among the most common signals educators use to gauge whether students will thrive in an online program. But two new Georgia Tech studies suggest those measures tell only part of the story. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-assumptions-online-success.html Education Mon, 03 Aug 2026 15:20:05 EDT news704981521 Students who open a personal social media account earlier in adolescence appear to perform worse on later standardized tests, according to a study in Nature Human Behaviour based on 5,227 Italian students. The authors speculate that these differences may be attributable to excessive social media engagement and disruptions to students' attention. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-kids-social-media-earlier-worse.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 14:40:06 EDT news704980981 We often speak of loving things like a cozy sweater or new camera. But this talk is not generally taken literally. It's a kind of emotional shorthand. We use it to express our fondness for precious objects. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-philosophy.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 13:00:09 EDT news704978582 Speak into a phone and an app can render your words in another language in seconds. AI-powered speech translation can be fast, convenient and fluent. But fluency does not guarantee that people will understand one another. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-ai-fluent-communication-words.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 10:00:01 EDT news704965742 In everyday life, the ability to read facial expressions plays a vital role in social communication, as it reveals a speaker's underlying emotions, intentions and psychological state. More importantly, accurately recognizing subtle signs of positive emotions can help build trust, enhance cooperation and strengthen relationships. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-comedy-people-faint.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704964927 Ask someone if they'd rather take $5 today or $10 next week and they'll know which option is better. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-good-mindfulness-easier.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:40:03 EDT news704957701 Most Americans favor nonviolent measures, such as temporary barricades, over violent measures, like the use of rubber bullets, by border enforcement officers toward undocumented migrants on the southern border, a UCL-led study published in the journal Migration Studies has found. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-americans-violent-border.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 08:20:04 EDT news704957582 With no background in coding, Faith Maeba, a psychology major, was reluctant when her mother first suggested she enroll in classes on artificial intelligence. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-colleges-ai-boom-dabble-science.html Education Mon, 03 Aug 2026 07:10:02 EDT news704945533 New research is giving children a voice in understanding how technological interruptions affect parent-child relationships. A paper, "Distracted, Interrupted, or Disrupted: A Pathway Model of Technoference," led by Associate Professor Cara Swit from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury's (UC) School of Health Sciences, explores how technologies such as smartphones can interfere with parent-child interactions. https://phys.org/news/2026-08-digital-parent-child.html Social Sciences Mon, 03 Aug 2026 07:00:05 EDT news704955721 Ride-hailing has become a routine part of urban life in the United States, but its broader economic impacts have been difficult to measure. As Uber and Lyft expanded across hundreds of cities over the past decade, they promised more flexible work for drivers and convenience for passengers. Questions remained, however, about how these promises translated into measurable changes in local economies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rideshare-boost-regional-gdp-flexible.html Economics & Business Sun, 02 Aug 2026 20:30:04 EDT news704385613 More than 1,000 years ago, two babies were tucked away in an abandoned Roman toilet channel. Yet, despite what the location suggests, they were cherished, not discarded. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-laid-rest-ancient-infants-twins.html Archaeology Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:20:01 EDT news704550428 How do students actually use AI learning assistants? A new research paper by IU International University of Applied Sciences provides the first robust answers to this question. For the study "Using AI-based Learning Assistants in Higher Education: A Large-Scale Descriptive Analysis," the research team led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristina Schaaff, Dr. Valerie Hekkel and Quintus Stierstorfer analyzed anonymized usage data from approximately 77,000 IU online students who were using the Learning Companion Syntea at the time of the study. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ai-mirrors-student-online-learners.html Education Sun, 02 Aug 2026 10:20:01 EDT news704721316 A Pizza Hut in southwest Pennsylvania was recently highlighted for preserving its retro 1990s appearance, even as hundreds of other locations have closed across the United States. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-western-pennsylvania-90s-pizza-hut.html Social Sciences Sat, 01 Aug 2026 18:00:01 EDT news704706666 For archaeologists, the Coëby cemetery in Brittany, France, is a gold mine for research. It contains several prehistoric stone monuments and earth mounds. In a new study of two unusually large mounds, scientists may have stumbled upon a rare style of funerary monument. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-brittany-burial-mounds-human-stones.html Archaeology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 13:00:03 EDT news704706200 The ancient Egyptian god of the moon had two very different faces: a crescent-beaked white bird and a silver-coated baboon. Now, researchers think they may have found the common thread connecting them all. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-moonlight-fur-feathers-egyptian-god.html Archaeology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 11:00:01 EDT news704365393 Koç University researchers have developed a conservation method that combines photogrammetry, digital modeling, 3D printing and embedded sensors to replace missing sections of archaeological amphorae. The customized fills can also monitor environmental and physical changes affecting the artifacts, offering a systematic approach to their conservation and long-term preservation. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-sensor-embedded-3d-ancient-pottery.html Archaeology Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:00:07 EDT news704378511 Grounding intermittent art festivals such as the Setouchi Triennale within the resource capacities and social thresholds of the island communities that host them is a path to the sustainable, long-term revitalization of these communities. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-art-festivals-revive-island-communities.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 17:20:01 EDT news704722622 Climate change, land-use change and socioeconomic pressures are turning wildfires from a primarily ecological process into a complex, systemic risk that cuts across ecosystems, infrastructure, public health, water resources, cultural heritage and rural livelihoods. Despite substantial investments in firefighting capacity, wildfires are projected to become more frequent, extreme and devastating, underscoring the need for cross-cutting solutions. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-policy-eu-wildfire-tool.html Political science Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:40:05 EDT news704721901 Just 34% of people arrested by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during President Donald Trump's second term have a criminal conviction, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. That's a near-historic low, the authors note. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-people-ice-criminal-conviction-reveals.html Political science Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:40:03 EDT news704711881 Ancient Rome's greatest threat to food security wasn't the weather but the challenge of getting grain to the capital, according to a new study. By comparing hundreds of years of historical records with reconstructions of past climate, researchers found that periods of unusual heat, cold, drought or heavy rainfall rarely lined up with reported food shortages. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-rome-food-shortages-logistics.html Archaeology Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:20:03 EDT news704705829 Consumer sentiment confirmed its early-July reading, landing almost 12% above June, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-consumer-confidence-straight-month-views.html Economics & Business Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:05 EDT news704715361 The majority of California's roughly 300,000 teachers don't have access to the state-funded paid leave program that most new parents in the private sector do. Instead, many local school districts deduct the cost of a substitute teacher from educators' pay during parental leave. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-newsom-reverses-sought-paid-benefit.html Economics & Business Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:40:01 EDT news704709387 Temporary anxiety can often surface before the first day of school. Sometimes, that can help kids get in the right mindset for a big day. But when anxiety becomes a constant feature of children's and teenagers' days, that stress doesn't switch off when they leave the classroom or finish an exam. It can become the body's norm, staying with learners long after graduation. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-students-anxious.html Education Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:00:01 EDT news704707862 Recent reports have highlighted AI-generated "doctors" spreading dubious health advice to millions of social media users. Fabricated wellness trends can travel just as quickly. A supposed "pink jelly" weight-loss treatment, for example, reportedly fooled at least one celebrity. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-bad-health-convincingand-ways-resist.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:20:02 EDT news704703542 A James Cook University study is challenging the belief that the greatest cost of going to court is losing a case, arguing the legal process itself can leave lasting psychological scars. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-exposing-hidden-toll-litigation.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 07:20:05 EDT news704697362 Sexual and reproductive health has largely been shaped by perspectives from wealthier developed nations in the Global North. To correct this imbalance, public health experts call for centering Global South knowledge, lived experience and culturally grounded understandings of sexuality—including sexual pleasure. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-reenvisioning-sexual-health-perspectives-global.html Social Sciences Fri, 31 Jul 2026 07:00:04 EDT news704697302 Mathematicians have shown that completely fair elections are—in a sense—impossible. No electoral system can guarantee both that local votes translate directly into local seats and that total seat distribution matches overall vote shares—not without an indefinitely growing parliament. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-math-vote.html Mathematics Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:05 EDT news704551291 A scientific paper reads as a clean progression from question to result. And yet, research almost never happens that way. Experiments fail, conversations redirect projects, and none of it survives into print. When the founders of a field retire, their tacit knowledge goes with them, and nothing records that it existed. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-inverting-seminar-recover-scientific-papers.html Education Fri, 31 Jul 2026 05:00:01 EDT news704619901 As artificial intelligence becomes part of how people work, learn and solve problems, a new University of Phoenix survey conducted by The Harris Poll finds that recent working learners see meaningful opportunities for AI to support accessibility. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-survey-highlights-ai-potential-advance.html Economics & Business Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:40:03 EDT news704621471 Ancient plant seeds provide important archaeological evidence for studying the evolution of human civilization. Lingnan University and Shandong University have jointly developed the world's first artificial intelligence (AI) archaeological system dedicated to identifying ancient Chinese plant seeds. The system emulates the identification process of archaeobotanical experts and achieves a classification accuracy of more than 90%. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ancient-chinese-seeds-spanning-years.html Archaeology Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:00:09 EDT news704640122