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Phys.org / Laughing about science more important than ever: Ig Nobel founder

With science increasingly coming under attack, using humor as a way to get people interested in scientific research is more important than ever, the founder of the satirical Ig Nobel prizes said.

Dec 12, 2025 in Other Sciences
Phys.org / Femtosecond lasers push the limits of nanostructures for thermal engineering

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures can be used to control thermal conductivity in thin film solids, report researchers from Japan. Their innovative method, which leverages high-speed laser ablation, produces ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Nanotechnology
Phys.org / Smarter tools for peering into the microscopic world developed

The microscopic organisms that fill our bodies, soils, oceans and atmosphere play essential roles in human health and the planet's ecosystems. Yet even with modern DNA sequencing, figuring out what these microbes are and ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / A new traveling-wave Josephson amplifier with built-in reverse isolation

Traveling-wave parametric amplifiers (TWPAs) are electronic devices that boost weak microwave signals (i.e., electromagnetic waves with frequencies typically ranging between 1 and 100 GHz). Recently, many engineers have been ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Physics
Phys.org / Inequalities exist in even the most egalitarian societies, anthropologists find

There is no such thing as a society where everyone is equal. That is the key message of new research that challenges the romantic ideal of a perfectly egalitarian human society.

Dec 8, 2025 in Other Sciences
Tech Xplore / New window insulation blocks heat, but not your view

Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have designed a new material for insulating windows that could improve the energy efficiency of buildings worldwide—and it works a bit like a high-tech version of Bubble ...

Dec 11, 2025 in Engineering
Phys.org / A new medium for canine stem cells that doesn't contain any human components

Canine induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells possess the ability to differentiate into any type of cell, making them a useful tool for investigating common canine diseases and disease states, including those of humans.

Dec 12, 2025 in Biology
Phys.org / Record-breaking cosmic explosion challenges astronomers' understanding of gamma-ray bursts

Astronomers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have helped uncover new clues about the longest-lasting cosmic explosion ever observed, a gamma-ray burst that lasted nearly seven hours. The event, known as ...

Dec 8, 2025 in Astronomy & Space
Phys.org / Feedback loops from oil fields accelerate Arctic warming and other atmospheric changes, study shows

The climate is changing and nowhere is it changing faster than at Earth's poles. Researchers at Penn State have painted a comprehensive picture of the chemical processes taking place in the Arctic and found that there are ...

Dec 12, 2025 in Earth
Medical Xpress / New model frames human reinforcement learning in the context of memory and habits

Humans and most other animals are known to be strongly driven by expected rewards or adverse consequences. The process of acquiring new skills or adjusting behaviors in response to positive outcomes is known as reinforcement ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Medical Xpress / Extreme heat linked to lower literacy and numeracy skills in young children

More and more, research is showing that increasing temperatures associated with climate change are affecting human health. A study, recently published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, takes a deeper dive ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Psychology & Psychiatry
Phys.org / Short-lived optical flare AT2022zod is an unusual tidal disruption event, astronomers find

An international team of astronomers has investigated a short-lived optical flare designated AT2022zod. As a result, they found evidence indicating that this flare is an unusual tidal disruption event. The findings were presented ...

Dec 9, 2025 in Astronomy & Space