https://phys.org/science-news/sci-other en-us The latest news on chemistry, math, archaeology, biology, chemistry, mathematics and science technologies. This week in our wrap up, we lull you into a false sense of security with adorable lion cubs then ambush you with terrifying pulsars. We do this not out of a sense of malice but to prepare your mind for the possibility of a giant cosmic void. Also, Japan has launched a new fusion research facility. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-saturday-citations-adorable-kittens-violent.html Other Sat, 02 Dec 2023 09:00:02 EST news620652209 It seems like we have free will. Most of the time, we are the ones who choose what we eat, how we tie our shoelaces and what articles we read on The Conversation. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-professor-science-free-doesnt-mistaken.html Other Social Sciences Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:18:41 EST news620648318 The scientific worldview has made great contributions to humanity's flourishing. But, as science advances into territory once firmly held by religion—attempting to answer questions about the origins of the universe, life and consciousness—science communication often paints a fairly pessimistic picture of the world. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-opinion-science-communicators-universe-meaningless.html Other Social Sciences Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:25:03 EST news620483101 This week, we reported on new developments in lithium-ion batteries, and a real industrial pollution hat trick with stories on coal, lead and microplastics. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-saturday-citations-microplastics-coal-filthy.html Other Sat, 25 Nov 2023 07:30:01 EST news620055434 Venice announced on Thursday that it would introduce a fee for day tourists to enter the city's overcrowded historic center on 29 days next year as it seeks to come to grips with overtourism. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-venice-tourist-tickets.html Other Fri, 24 Nov 2023 02:48:37 EST news620016509 A seasoned deer hunter is shocked when his hound dog trots up with a human femur clenched between its teeth. A woman veers off her normal urban walking path and happens upon a human skull. New property owners commission a land survey that reveals a set of human remains just below a pile of leaves. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-forensic-anthropologists-human-skeletal-uncover.html Other Social Sciences Thu, 23 Nov 2023 14:40:01 EST news619878854 Newly published research reexamines the evaluation of scientific findings, proposing a network-based methodology for contextualizing a publication's impact. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-method-impact-scientific.html Mathematics Other Mon, 20 Nov 2023 16:51:20 EST news619721473 A bottle of The Macallan 1926, described by Sotheby's auction house as the "most valuable whisky in the world", on Saturday went under the hammer for a record £2.1 million. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-world-priciest-bottle-whisky-london.html Other Sun, 19 Nov 2023 06:27:23 EST news619597638 This week's news roundup includes a Bronze Age discovery that calls into question existing ideas of gender representation from the period. More research confirms that bonobos are actually nice. Plus: Actual good climate news? https://phys.org/news/2023-11-saturday-citations-bronze-age-gender-representation.html Other Sat, 18 Nov 2023 09:10:02 EST news619443781 Jennifer L. Mnookin, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and one of the most cited evidence law scholars in the nation, this week authored an editorial in the journal Science calling for a national commission of leading judges, scientists, legal academics and forensic practitioners to develop a framework ensuring forensic science that is admitted in courtrooms is valid and reliable. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-expert-stronger-standards-courts-scientific.html Other Political science Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:39:15 EST news619436352 More than 1,000 state scientists in California took to the picket line Thursday on day two of a three-day strike, calling for higher wages for work they say often goes unrecognized in a state that sets environmental policy trends on the national and global stage. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-california-scientists-higher-pay-day.html Other Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:50:03 EST news619418995 On a summer's day in July 1943, a U.S. B-25 Mitchell bomber left Tunisia in North Africa on a mission to attack the Sciacca Aerodrome in Sicily, Italy. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-forensic-scientists-world-war-decades.html Archaeology Other Thu, 16 Nov 2023 16:40:04 EST news619375201 Thousands of scientists who work for California began a rolling three-day strike Wednesday—the first walkout by a state civil service union. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-thousands-california-scientists-stalled.html Other Thu, 16 Nov 2023 04:15:48 EST news619330544 This week, we covered developments about a record-breaking black hole, the continued plight of polar bears, ChatGPT trying to learn intuition and more. Don't worry if you missed those stories. We've got you covered here. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-saturday-citations-big-black-hole.html Other Sat, 11 Nov 2023 07:30:02 EST news618839229 An exceptionally rare blue diamond went under the hammer in Geneva Tuesday, selling for more than $40 million, making it one of the most expensive diamonds ever sold at auction, Christie's said. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bleu-royal-diamond-rakes-mn.html Other Tue, 07 Nov 2023 14:26:31 EST news618589586 A rapid rise in the number of academic articles being published could undermine public trust in science, warns an international study posted to the arXiv preprint server. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-avalanche-published-academic-articles-erode.html Other Education Mon, 06 Nov 2023 15:43:34 EST news618507810 Good morrow and a cheerful week's end to you. This week, we reported on notable developments in the lack of starfish body development. Physicists used a new method to revisit the planetary collision that likely formed the moon and might have found chunks of doomed planet Theia deep in the Earth's mantle. And in experiments, rats, as seen in the subway, are demonstrating the power of imagination, as seen on LeVar Burton's "Reading Rainbow." Worlds collide! https://phys.org/news/2023-11-saturday-citations-moon-rat-whimsy.html Other Sat, 04 Nov 2023 09:00:01 EDT news618227224 The watchdog office overseeing the National Science Foundation is sending investigators to Antarctica's McMurdo Station after hearing concerns about the prevalence of sexual violence at the U.S. research base. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-base-antarctica-sexual-violence.html Other Fri, 03 Nov 2023 05:28:27 EDT news618208104 If you had been in London on September 2, 1666, the chances are you'd remember exactly where you were and who you were with. This was the day the Great Fire began, sweeping across the city for almost five days. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-great-london-uncovered-flames.html Archaeology Other Wed, 01 Nov 2023 11:49:39 EDT news618058173 This week, we reported on LIGO upgrades, parasitic fungi and a new analysis of Curiosity rover data. Also, did you know that viruses also attack bacteria? But at that scale, it's a lot less like catching a cold and a lot more like Harry Dean Stanton encountering the xenomorph in "Alien." https://phys.org/news/2023-10-saturday-citations-mars-limnology-phage.html Other Sat, 28 Oct 2023 10:00:01 EDT news617628345 Visitors lined up Saturday to tour the southern New Mexico site where the world's first atomic bomb was detonated in what officials believe could be a record turnout amid ongoing fanfare surrounding Christopher Nolan's blockbuster film, " Oppenheimer." https://phys.org/news/2023-10-visitors-mexico-atomic-site-fueled.html Other Sun, 22 Oct 2023 04:25:58 EDT news617167553 This week, we reported on the totality of the universe. We reported on some other subjects, as well, but since they're obviously encompassed by that first thing, enough said. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-saturday-citations-golden-humans-cosmologists.html Other Sat, 21 Oct 2023 07:10:02 EDT news617025768 This week, researchers proved empirically that life isn't fair. Also, you'll notice that, in a superhuman display of restraint, I managed to write a paragraph about the simulated universe hypothesis without once referencing "The Matrix." (Except for this reference.) https://phys.org/news/2023-10-saturday-citations-gravitational-simulated-universe.html Other Sat, 14 Oct 2023 09:40:01 EDT news616419448 A RUDN University economist has developed a new typology of theoretical approaches to innovations study, expanding theoretical knowledge in this field of science. Based on the new typology, the scientist named the most promising areas for further research on innovation. The results were published in the International Journal of Innovation Studies. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-economist-modern-typology.html Other Economics & Business Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:58:02 EDT news616424281 A climate researcher hit back against his dismissal from a German think-tank after refusing to take a flight back from a fact-finding mission in Papua New Guinea. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-climate-fly.html Other Fri, 13 Oct 2023 09:44:29 EDT news616409067 The University of Liverpool is part of a new study that reveals for the first time how particular scents can influence our perception of color. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-reveals-perception.html Other Social Sciences Fri, 13 Oct 2023 09:40:03 EDT news616408801 The Nobel prize in economics was on Monday awarded to American economist Claudia Goldin for research that has helped bring understanding to the role of women in the labor market. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-claudia-goldin-nobel-women-labor.html Other Economics & Business Mon, 09 Oct 2023 07:48:25 EDT news616056496 They announced the Nobel prizes this week! But did any of the recipients teach an AI to play Street Fighter? Here are a few of this week's stories not yet lauded by international committees of scientists, but which we thought were pretty good: https://phys.org/news/2023-10-saturday-citations-hippo-maxillofacial-issues.html Other Sat, 07 Oct 2023 07:20:01 EDT news615809750 The most prestigious and secretive prize in science ran headfirst into the digital era Wednesday when Swedish media got an emailed press release revealing the winners of the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the news prematurely went public. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-oops-nobel-chemistry-winners-early.html Other Wed, 04 Oct 2023 15:55:02 EDT news615653694 Researchers Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman won the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday for work on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology that paved the way for groundbreaking COVID-19 vaccines. https://phys.org/news/2023-10-kariko-weissman-nobel-mrna-covid.html Other Mon, 02 Oct 2023 06:01:47 EDT news615445299