https://phys.org/science-news/sci-other/ en-us The latest news on chemistry, math, archaeology, biology, chemistry, mathematics and science technologies. Highlights from the last week of May, 2026: A key climate tipping point is disrupting the Arctic Ocean food chain (more of a lowlight, I guess). Scuba-diving tourism may not be the benefit to coral reef systems that we once thought, and might actually be unsustainable. And an experimental mRNA vaccine showed promising results against strains of Ebola. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-failure-cellular-mortality.html Other Sat, 30 May 2026 09:20:02 EDT news699280662 Many of the most exciting discoveries in science involve highly specialized knowledge and making connections between far-flung facts. Scientists must combine deep analysis with broad reasoning strategies. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-ai-scientists-reveal-fundamental-limits.html Other Sun, 24 May 2026 15:00:02 EDT news698500420 John Hammond voice: "Welcome... to Saturday Citations." We're talking about different types of T. rexes today, along with some unwelcome news about cardiovascular health, but this week also brought news about the connection between poor grip strength and depression; scientists have improved knowledge of sea level rise and confirm it's accelerated since 1960; and researchers provided new insights into how the human hand developed from those of our ape-like ancestors. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-rexes-guidance-scientists.html Other Sat, 23 May 2026 08:50:01 EDT news698671661 Another day, another literary scandal involving AI. It has been alleged that the judges of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize have been duped by an author using AI in his winning entry. Jamir Nazir's The Serpent in the Grove, which won for the Caribbean region, was then published in leading literary magazine Granta, along with other winning entries. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-commonwealth-writers-prize-ai-allegations.html Other Fri, 22 May 2026 07:40:05 EDT news698650261 The American academic research engine has long been the envy of the world. Generally well-funded, labs in the United States have been able to attract the best minds who generate breakthroughs and train the next generation workforce that powers the U.S. economy. But since the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, new federal policies have destabilized the American scientific enterprise. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-trump-administration-science-policies-affected.html Other Tue, 19 May 2026 23:20:04 EDT news698413520 One of the last outsiders to make authorized visits to India's only "uncontacted" tribe says it may be time to reconnect with the isolated people—in order to shield them from an encroaching world. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-encroaching-world-threatens-india-uncontacted.html Other Mon, 18 May 2026 05:20:01 EDT news698298740 This week in science news: Are you a mosquito magnet? Here's why. Researchers using topological mathematics have uncovered a hidden rule in abstract art that corresponds to people's perceptions. And scientists developed a technology to create new electrical connections between specific neurons that could improve resilience to stress. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-prehistoric-dentistry-aging.html Other Sat, 16 May 2026 09:00:02 EDT news698063559 British chemists David Klenerman and Shankar Balasubramanian joined French biophysicist Pascal Mayer in winning Spain's top science award on Wednesday for DNA sequencing research that helped combat coronavirus. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-british-scientists-winners-spanish-award.html Other Wed, 13 May 2026 16:40:01 EDT news697905190 This week, researchers reported that the human brain is capable of sophisticated language processing while in an unconscious state during general anesthesia. An informatics and computing professor found that the Climate TRACE consortium has underestimated vehicle carbon emissions in cities by a staggering 70%. And archaeologists excavated and photoscanned a prehistoric man-made island located in a Scottish loch. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-psychedelic-therapeutics-interoception.html Other Sat, 09 May 2026 08:30:02 EDT news697453274 The Pentagon on Friday released a first batch of secret files documenting reported sightings of unidentified flying objects—some dating back to the 1940s—fanning speculation over whether alien life exists. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-flying-discs-orbs-newly-pentagon.html Other Fri, 08 May 2026 13:36:47 EDT news697466184 Readers don't need false information to get the wrong idea. In the online attention economy, UC San Diego research finds that making science more clickable or shareable can help some readers learn more—but leaves many others with an incomplete understanding. The study is published in the journal American Economic Review. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-misinform.html Other Thu, 07 May 2026 15:40:01 EDT news697386791 Researchers at the University of Vermont have uncovered a powerful new insight about how language works—one that overturns a cornerstone assumption in psychology, linguistics, and artificial intelligence that has stood for more than 70 years. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-human-language-deep-safety-bias.html Other Wed, 06 May 2026 14:00:02 EDT news697292341 We're focusing on space news this week, but we did cover the usual amount of local news down here in Earth's gravity well: A new Tokamak reactor regime sustained stable plasma fusion for one full minute. An anomaly in global sea level rise turns out to be due to deep ocean heating. And Chinese researchers report that they found microplastics in every part of both healthy and diseased human brains. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-saturday-citations-spaaa-aaace.html Other Sat, 02 May 2026 09:00:01 EDT news696857370 Artificial intelligence can undoubtedly help scientists with their academic papers by summarizing research and helping to improve writing. However, one downside is that it has led to a wave of poorly written submissions and reviews, according to a new study published in Organization Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-05-journal-ai-academic-publishing-quality.html Other Fri, 01 May 2026 14:40:06 EDT news696849537 Your goofy but lovable cousin just told you that you should stop eating eggs because he read somewhere that a study showed they are bad for you. How much should you trust your relative on such matters? More importantly, how much should you rely on one newly published bit of research when deciding what to make for breakfast? https://phys.org/news/2026-05-isnt-scientific-knowledge-incrementally-revisit.html Other Fri, 01 May 2026 11:20:01 EDT news696846722 "On behalf of President Donald J. Trump," read 22 emails sent from the White House Presidential Personnel Office on Friday afternoon, April 24, 2026, "I am writing to inform you that your position as a member of the National Science Board is terminated, effective immediately." https://phys.org/news/2026-05-politics-science-vice-versa-national.html Other Fri, 01 May 2026 10:40:08 EDT news696846421 This week, researchers reported that malaria influenced population distribution in Africa thousands of years ago. Mathematicians at MIT report that classical physics formulations can explain quantum phenomena. And a study found that electron spin causes mirror-image molecules to behave differently from one another. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-saturday-citations-cruise-ship-pathogen.html Other Sat, 25 Apr 2026 08:50:01 EDT news696250389 Academia isn't strong on gender equality. Women are underrepresented throughout, in the research workforce and even more so as leaders in scientific organizations. This is true for science academies (prestigious bodies within national science systems) and scientific unions (international organizations representing disciplinary communities). https://phys.org/news/2026-04-women-science-global-presence-power.html Other Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:00:01 EDT news696175742 Spanish Renaissance master El Greco is often considered one of the greatest painters of all time, and many of his artworks are displayed in galleries around the world. His painting The Baptism of Christ is generally believed by art historians to have been unfinished at the time of his death in 1614 and completed by his son, Jorge Manuel. But new research using AI suggests that the artist may have played more of a role in completing the work than previously thought. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-brushstroke-ai-reopens-centuries-mystery.html Archaeology Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:35:52 EDT news695900068 French mathematician Frank Merle, who won a prestigious Breakthrough Prize on Saturday, told AFP that fundamental research must be supported because it is a "foundation stone" for the future. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-fundamental-prize-mathematician-urges.html Other Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news695812435 Big names from the worlds of film, technology, music and sports gathered on Saturday in Santa Monica, California, for the Breakthrough Prizes, popularly known as the "Oscars of Science." https://phys.org/news/2026-04-hollywood-silicon-valley-oscars-science.html Other Sun, 19 Apr 2026 10:13:08 EDT news695812354 People often solve simple arithmetic problems, such as basic addition, subtraction, multiplication or division, in their minds. The precise mental processes they rely on to solve these problems, however, are not entirely clear. Researchers at Université de Bordeaux and UCLouvain recently tried to better understand how humans tackle simple math mentally by tracking the size of their pupils. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-mental-math-shortcut-pupil-dilation.html Mathematics Sat, 18 Apr 2026 13:50:01 EDT news695482943 This week in science news: Researchers are calling to exploit sewage waste and manure to break U.S. synthetic fertilizer dependence. Wasps have begun disrupting the 10-million-year mutualism of ants and plants. And scientists have taken a step toward using CRISPR to silence the extra chromosome in Down syndrome. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-saturday-citations-neuroinflammaging-treatment-stuns.html Other Sat, 18 Apr 2026 09:10:01 EDT news695642585 In an analysis of a video-assisted, pitch-side review of soccer (UK football) referee calls in the English Premier League, referees overturned their original call 95% of the time. However, these decisions had no statistical link to crowd size, the score or quarter when the call was made, or whether the call was regarding the home versus away team. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-referee-decisions-soccer-frequently-overturned.html Other Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:00:08 EDT news695464857 In 2023, about 85% of the roughly five million articles indexed in major global databases covering the natural, medical and social sciences were written in English. In 1990, the proportion was considerably higher: 94%. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-english-dominates-science-fell.html Other Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:20:03 EDT news695468474 The relationship between science and pop culture often looks like a one-way street: scientific discoveries inspire films, television and novels, particularly in science fiction. But the relationship really goes both ways, and extends beyond sci-fi. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-jurassic-ai-doom-culture-science.html Other Sun, 12 Apr 2026 19:30:01 EDT news694777837 Happy Saturday! This week, researchers reported on the familiar phenomenon of speeding away from a slower-driving car only to have it catch up at the next traffic light—they've named it Voorhees law, after the well-known movie slasher who always catches up to his victims. A study finds that nonpsychotropic cannabinoid CBD reverses brain damage in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. And scientists are testing methods to regrow joints damaged by arthritis. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-saturday-citations-octopus-behavior-children.html Other Sat, 11 Apr 2026 09:00:02 EDT news695044047 As the four Artemis astronauts approached a high point of their lunar mission—getting slung around the far side of the moon—NASA staffers crowded into Houston's famed mission control room Monday for a team photo. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-morale-boost-nasa-moon-mission.html Other Tue, 07 Apr 2026 05:20:02 EDT news694753698 The history of science and technology is marked by major breakthroughs—the theory of evolution, the splitting of the atom, the development of antibiotics—and a research team including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, has developed a method to help pinpoint discoveries that reshaped the course of science. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-breakthroughs-science-large-scale-analysis.html Other Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:00:06 EDT news694194001 Magicians often talk while performing their acts, using a type of speech called "patter." This can include scripted dialog, storytelling, and interactions, and is often used to entertain and manage audiences, with many people—including magicians—believing that it can even misdirect spectators and make sleight-of-hand tricks harder to spot. But does patter actually pull focus and make it difficult for viewers to see what's happening? A new study published in Scientific Reports tests that assumption directly—and the results are surprising. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-magicians-doesnt-eyes-card-monte.html Other Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:40:01 EDT news694251354