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Phys.org / Hunting dark matter 'stars' that mimic black holes

Hypothetical dark matter stars known as "boson stars" could leave telltale ripples across the cosmos, offering researchers a new way to probe the invisible forces shaping the universe. In 2019, a strange event was observed ...

Feb 13, 2026 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Ancient cone-shaped vessels may have served as beeswax lamps during ritual processions, study finds

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, ...

Feb 15, 2026 in Other Sciences
Medical Xpress / Can you spot an AI face? A new test shows why some people do better

Can you tell the difference between an artificial-intelligence-generated face and a real one? In an era of digital misinformation, where fabricated images can spread widely across news and social media, this skill is proving ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / Study of 65,000 college students links 16 hours a week on social media to higher loneliness

More than half of college students are lonely—and those who use social media the most are particularly likely to feel isolated, a study of tens of thousands of 18 to 24-year-olds in the US shows. Just 16 hours a week—two ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Other Sciences
Tech Xplore / Why AI may overcomplicate answers: Humans and LLMs show 'addition bias,' often choosing extra steps over subtraction

When making decisions and judgments, humans can fall into common "traps," known as cognitive biases. A cognitive bias is essentially the tendency to process information in a specific way or follow a systematic pattern. One ...

Feb 15, 2026 in Computer Sciences
Phys.org / Extreme rainfall is worsening algal blooms along South Korea's coast

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, ...

Feb 15, 2026 in Earth
Phys.org / Slippery ions create a smoother path to blue energy

Osmotic energy, often called blue energy, is a promising way to generate sustainable electricity from the natural mixing of salt and fresh water. It exploits the voltage that arises when ions from saltwater pass through an ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Nanotechnology
Tech Xplore / LLMs violate boundaries during mental health dialogues, study finds

Artificial intelligence (AI) agents, particularly those based on large language models (LLMs) like the conversational platform ChatGPT, are now widely used daily by numerous people worldwide. LLMs can generate texts that ...

Feb 15, 2026 in Consumer & Gadgets
Medical Xpress / Destructive meningitis cases raise concerns about emerging pathogen

Penn State College of Medicine is reporting on two cases of destructive infant meningitis linked to Paenibacillus infection, documenting severe neurologic injury and raising concerns about diagnosis and treatment. Reports ...

Medical Xpress / AI model flags insulin resistance as a risk factor for 12 cancers

Insulin resistance—when the body doesn't properly respond to insulin, a hormone that helps control blood glucose levels—is one of the fundamental causes of diabetes. In addition to diabetes, it is widely known that insulin ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Oncology & Cancer
Phys.org / Large-scale cell screening uncovers molecular glues that trigger protein degradation

Cells constantly monitor and recycle their proteins through a tightly regulated waste-disposal system. Proteins that are no longer needed are tagged and broken down by specialized cellular machinery. Recent advances in drug ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Chemistry
Medical Xpress / Dual brakes on T-cells: New targets found to boost immunity in chronic infections

Northwestern Medicine scientists have identified the cellular mechanisms that cause immune cells to differentiate and ultimately lose function during viral infection, findings that could improve treatments to control chronic ...

Feb 16, 2026 in Immunology