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Phys.org / Nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed medical papers have fake citations, AI-assisted audit finds

A new Columbia University School of Nursing AI-assisted audit reveals nearly 3,000 peer-reviewed medical papers have fake citations that do not exist in scientific databases. The results highlight an alarming trend in academic ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / A tale as old as time: Young, attractive femme fatale lore appears in nearly every culture

From James Bond movies to water spirits in mythology, the tales of attractive, dangerous female forms that distract the hero from his path or lure men to their deaths have been around for quite some time. A recent study revisits ...

May 6, 2026
Science X / Could patchouli oil save your skin from mosquito bites?

Summertime hikes and afternoons in the backyard can be ruined by mosquito bites. So, many people apply topical synthetic repellents like DEET before heading outside, but there is a growing market for natural repellants that ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / Small talk shapes big trends: Physics predicts how language patterns spread

A new model to predict how language changes over time has been developed by a statistical physicist at the University of Portsmouth. The model is a step towards understanding the "statistical physics of language," a scientific ...

May 5, 2026
Medical Xpress / Key magic mushroom ingredient makes fish less aggressive and lazier

More than 200 mushrooms—primarily those belonging to a genus of gilled mushrooms called Psilocybe—contain the psychoactive compound psilocybin. In the brain of mammals, this chemical can bind to serotonin receptors and influence ...

May 7, 2026
Phys.org / Why infected stink bugs lift their wings: Hidden parasite escape caught on camera

Male strepsipterans develop inside a host insect during their larval stage and, upon reaching the adult stage, emerge from the host body to begin a free-living phase. In a new study, researchers at University of Tsukuba directly ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / Conspiracy theories meet real news: How QAnon tries to hijack the Internet

"When people think of extremists, they tend to think of neo-Nazis," said Francesco Campisi, a lecturer at Université de Montréal's School of Criminology. "But there are many other fringe groups that may not be violent yet ...

May 9, 2026
Phys.org / In mafias, marriages are strategic tools, analysis suggests

A new analysis of inter-family marriages in the mafia-type organized crime group 'Ndrangheta, suggests that matrimonial ties between non-powerful families may play a previously under-appreciated role in maintaining the resilience ...

May 6, 2026
Phys.org / Ultrasound waves rupture COVID-19 and flu viruses without damaging cells

Researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil have discovered that high-frequency ultrasound waves similar to those used in medical exams can eliminate viruses such as SARS-CoV-2 and H1N1 without damaging human ...

May 7, 2026
Medical Xpress / Inside the brains of 800 incarcerated men: High psychopathy linked to expanded brain surface area

People with high levels of psychopathic tendencies are often incapable of feeling empathy for other people. From a brain science perspective, empathy isn't a single emotion but a multi-part neural process. It involves brain ...

May 5, 2026
Medical Xpress / Common asthma drug shows promise for reversing fatty liver

MUSC researchers are tackling MASH, or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, a liver disease affecting hundreds of millions worldwide. It is also a leading cause of liver transplantation, yet treatment options ...

May 8, 2026
Phys.org / How a strange fruit fly became a bloodthirsty underwater hunter

A carnivorous fruit fly living in bubbling African streams may sound like a fever dream. However, with the help of DNA analysis of a pinned insect from a museum in Zurich, researchers have managed to draw an evolutionary ...

May 8, 2026