Have a look at this image. Do you perceive that the central black hole is expanding, as if you’re moving into a dark environment, or falling into a hole? If so, you’re not alone: a new study shows that this ‘expanding hole’ illusion, which is new to science, is perceived by approximately 86% of people. Dr....
Science & Technology
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Researchers Develop a Test That Uses a Cell Phone to Simply and Quickly Detect Gluten in Food
Today is International Celiac Day; close to one percent of the global population suffers from celiac disease, a complex auto-immune disorder caused by the ingestion of gluten, for which there is no treatment besides eliminating gluten from the diet. As such, the detection of gluten before the product reaches the consumer is essential, in order...
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Older Latinos Redefine Family to Include Friends, Neighbors, Other Community Members
Latinos view the support of friends, neighbors and other community members as so vital to their well-being in later life that they redefine these relationships as family, researchers say in a new study that explored older Latinos’ perspectives on positive aging. This redefinition of social relationships in old age, called “convivir,” which means to coexist,...
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Amazon Rainforest Foliage Gases Affect the Earth’s Atmosphere
Plant-foliage-derived gases drive a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon over the Amazon rainforest, according to a recent study by researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The findings have important applications for atmospheric science and for climate change modeling. “The tropical Amazon rainforest constitutes the lungs of the Earth, and this study connects natural processes in the forest to...
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A Tool for Predicting the Future
Whether someone is trying to predict tomorrow’s weather, forecast future stock prices, identify missed opportunities for sales in retail, or estimate a patient’s risk of developing a disease, they will likely need to interpret time-series data, which are a collection of observations recorded over time. Making predictions using time-series data typically requires several data-processing steps...
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With Threats of Nuclear War and Climate Disaster Growing, America’s ‘Bunker Fantasy’ Is Woefully Inadequate
At the end of the Academy Award-nominated film “Don’t Look Up,” with a meteor hurtling toward Earth, the movie’s three scientist-protagonists gather with family and friends for a last supper around a dinner table in central Michigan. Having exhausted their efforts at action, they eat the food they’ve prepared and purchased, give thanks and pray...
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How the Brain Encodes Social Rank and “Winning Mindset”
If you’re reaching for the last piece of pizza at a party and see another hand going for it at the same time, your next move probably depends both on how you feel and whom the hand belongs to. Your little sister—you might go ahead and grab the pizza. Your boss—you’re probably more likely to...
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Enjoy Better-Cooked Pasta with … Physics and a Ruler?
Multitudes of amateur chefs will soon enjoy perfect al dente pasta and cleaner kitchen walls, as new research shows how measurements with a ruler — not the mythologized throwing against the nearest vertical surface — may be the best way to confirm when pasta is fully cooked. In their presentation at the American Physical Society...
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The Tech Industry Talks About Boosting Diversity, but Research Shows Little Improvement
The U.S. tech sector is growing 10 times faster and has wages twice as high as the rest of the economy. This industry also wins the race for high profits and stock returns. At the same time, the tech sector’s professional, managerial and executive labor forces are overwhelmingly white and male. It is not surprising,...
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The Digital Skills Gap: What Workers Need for the Jobs of the Future
The COVID-19 pandemic quickened the pace of digital development around the world, as everything from meetings to movie premiers went online. That may sound like a silver lining. For tens of millions of workers, it’s not. They don’t have the skills to compete. They’re the bookkeepers, the data-entry clerks, the executive secretaries, looking for work...
