As loneliness reaches epidemic levels worldwide, work has become one of the main settings where connection is either strengthened or lost. In 2023, Vivek Murthy, the former surgeon general of the United States, labeled loneliness an "epidemic," warning that its consequences rival those of other major health risks. [...]
In 1532, in the city of Cajamarca, Peru, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro and a group of Europeans took the Inca ruler Atahualpa hostage, setting the stage for the fall of the Inca Empire. [...]
There's a peculiar ritual in many kitchens: reaching past the crisp, pristine tea towel hanging on the oven door to grab the threadbare, slightly graying one shoved in the drawer. [...]
Astronomers want to collect as much data as possible using as many systems as possible. Sometimes that requires coordination between instruments. The teams that run the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the upcoming Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey (Ariel) missions will have plenty of opportunity for that once both telescopes are online in the early 2030s. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv, from the Ariel-JWST Synergy Working Group details just how exactly the two systems can work together to better analyze exoplanets. [...]
Chalcolithic cornets are conical ceramic vessels produced exclusively during the Chalcolithic period, recovered in abundance at some archaeological sites but absent at others. Their function has long been debated. However, in a study published in Tel Aviv, Sharon Zuhovitzky and her colleagues, Paula Waiman-Barak and Yuval Gadot, present the first systematic study of one of the most extensive cornet collections discovered at the Chalcolithic site of Teleilat Ghassul. [...]
The Swiss job market is a popular location for workers from outside the country. At the end of 2024, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office reported about 400,000 cross-border commuters in Switzerland—that is, people who live outside the country and commute to work in Switzerland. By contrast, there are about 1.9 million foreign employees who live and work in Switzerland. [...]
Two or more graphene layers that are stacked with a small twist angle in relation to each other form a so-called moiré lattice. This characteristic pattern influences the movement of electrons inside materials, which can give rise to strongly correlated states, such as superconductivity. [...]
Families with children who have dyslexia have long pushed lawmakers to respond to a pressing concern: Too many young students struggle for years to learn to read, before schools recognize the problem. [...]
Extreme rainfall is reshaping coastal waters along South Korea's shoreline, flushing nutrients from land into the sea and fueling the growth of algal blooms. A new multi-year study, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, tracked water quality in and around a major river estuary and shows how intense downpours can shift where and when these blooms appear, with consequences for marine ecosystems and coastal communities. [...]
Tiny highly uniform magnetic fields are known to pervade the universe, influencing various cosmological processes. To date, however, the physical mechanisms underpinning the generation of these fields remain poorly understood. Recently, researchers at McGill University and ETH Zurich have described a novel mechanism that may lead to the generation of cosmological magnetic fields. This mechanism, outlined in a paper published in Physical Review Letters, involves a (pseudo-scalar) quantum field that may give rise to the existence of ultralight dark matter consisting of particles with extremely low mass that interact with ordinary matter only very weakly. [...]
It's well established that the universe is expanding, but there's serious disagreement among scientists over how fast it's happening. [...]
Concrete is all around you—in the foundation of your home, the bridges you drive over, the sidewalks and buildings of cities. It is often described as the second-most used material by volume on Earth after water. [...]
A new study co-authored by McGill University researchers suggests people can be taught to reject unfair advantages. "We often benefit personally from an unequal distribution of resources, a phenomenon known as advantageous inequity—for example, receiving a higher salary than a colleague with the identical role," said senior author Ross Otto, a psychology professor. "Here we ask whether people can learn to punish advantageous inequity merely by observing the inequity-averse preferences of another person." [...]
When Hurricane Katrina struck the U.S. in 2005, nearly 2000 people lost their lives and the cost of the catastrophe exceeded $100 billion. Now, 21 years later, new research from The University of Manchester has found that Katrina left another, less visible legacy long after the storm clouds had cleared. [...]
In the face of widespread pessimism about the political fate of the United States and growing political polarization, scholars and citizens across the country are reimagining how American democracy could better serve the needs of the whole population. [...]
The Mediterranean Sea is rapidly changing under ongoing climate change. In the eastern basin, tropicalization is already well documented and driven by a combination of strong warming and the influx of tropical species through the Suez Canal. In contrast, the western Mediterranean has, until now, shown fewer such signals. However, a recent study demonstrates that the expansion of microscopic warm-water species provides a clear and early indication of tropicalization impacts on marine ecosystems. [...]
Children who spend time learning outside may reap benefits physically, academically, and emotionally, according to a Texas A&M University researcher. Dr. Arianna Pikus, an assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development who studies how nature can be used as a learning environment, said the benefits of outdoor learning may even extend beyond students—to teachers. [...]
The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned young people will suffer the most as an AI "tsunami" wipes out many entry-level roles in coming years. [...]
The Japanese priest and his parishioners gathered before dawn, hoping that climate change had not robbed them of the chance to experience an increasingly rare communion with the sacred. [...]
It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. [...]
The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday's arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. [...]
The U.S.'s ocean regulator plans to make industry-friendly changes to a longstanding rule designed to protect vanishing whales, prompting criticism from environmental groups who cite the recent death of an endangered whale. [...]
An international team of scientists has identified how to pinpoint and predict hotspots for some of the most dangerous species of scorpion in the world. The researchers have established the key environmental conditions that determine where lethal, venomous arachnids thrive—findings that could help shine a light on flashpoints for scorpion stings in tropical regions across the globe. [...]
Love and hate seem like obvious opposites. Love, whether romantic or otherwise, involves a sense of warmth and affection for others. Hate involves feelings of disdain. Love builds up, whereas hate destroys. [...]
What really holds people back from stepping up as allies in support of their marginalized colleagues? For example, why don't more men say something when they see a colleague or a customer make a sexist remark about a female co-worker? [...]
The deep sea is cold, dark and under immense pressure. Yet life has found a way to prevail there, in the form of some of Earth's strangest creatures. [...]
The 20th-century French philosopher Simone Weil once said that compassion was an impossibility. She said it is "a more astounding miracle than walking on water." The word she used for meeting the needs of the sufferer is not love or charity, but justice. Today, there is plenty of research that points to a decline in compassion. [...]
A camera-trap survey conducted throughout 2025 has revealed the bewildering breadth of biodiversity hidden within the Annamite Mountains, a largely unexplored forest haven stretching for 1,100 kilometers through Laos and Vietnam to northeast Cambodia. The Annamites are the sole stronghold for some of Southeast Asia's most spectacular and super-rare species, from the aptly named Annamite striped rabbit to the mystical saola. [...]
After a long search, RIKEN researchers have identified an enzyme crucial for keeping lipid-linked sugar chains in check in yeast cells. This finding, published in the Journal of Cell Biology, reveals a novel regulatory mechanism for sugar-donor levels. [...]
Supermarket shelves can look full despite the food systems underneath them being under strain. Fruit may be stacked neatly, chilled meat may be in place. It appears that supply chains are functioning well. But appearances can be deceiving. [...]
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