Robots have helped humans in countless work environments to a point that the latter—in some cases—developed strong emotional bonds with them. A new study by University of Michigan and Sungkyunkwan University (South Korea) researchers indicates that these bonds can be detrimental as workers become more attached to the robot than their colleagues. Human-robot teams can […]

The American Chemical Society’s (ACS) first-ever diversity report on its authors, reviewers, editors and editorial advisory board (EAB) members shows some significant but not unexpected disparities. The organisation said it will use this benchmark data to implement changes that can address systemic issues in peer review, editor selection, accessibility and other factors affecting diversity in […]

Chemists have isolated a neptunium complex with a terminal triple-bonded oxygen in the solid state. By providing fundamental insights into the electronic structure and behaviour of the actinides, the research could aid scientists working to improve nuclear waste clean-up processes. Multiple bonds between metals and oxygen are typically observed in the solid state in extended-structure […]

Artificial intelligence systems may be able to complete tasks quickly, but that doesn’t mean they always do so fairly. If the datasets used to train machine-learning models contain biased data, it is likely the system could exhibit that same bias when it makes decisions in practice. For instance, if a dataset contains mostly images of […]

MIT astronomers have obtained the clearest view yet of the perpetual dark side of an exoplanet that is “tidally locked” to its star. Their observations, combined with measurements of the planet’s permanent day side, provide the first detailed view of an exoplanet’s global atmosphere. “We’re now moving beyond taking isolated snapshots of specific regions of […]

An international team of scientists including Rutgers researchers has found that modern rates of sea level rise began emerging in 1863 as the Industrial Age intensified, coinciding with evidence for early ocean warming and glacier melt. The study, which used a global database of sea-level records spanning the last 2,000 years, will help local and […]

A substantial minority of Americans morally opposed to abortion would nonetheless offer help to a friend or close family member who is seeking one, finds a new analysis of both public opinion data and in-depth interviews. New Report Holds Implications for Texas Law, Under Which Those Who “Aided or Abetted” Procedure May be Sued A […]

A new study published in Frontiers in Neural Circuits is the first to analyze the structural connectivity changes that happen in the brain after long-duration spaceflight. The results show significant microstructural changes in several white matter tracts such as the sensorimotor tracts. The study can form a basis for future research into the full scope of brain changes […]

Sildenafil, the generic version of the drug known as Viagra, could be the long-waited remedy for a group of dogs with a rare disorder called megaesophagus. The condition involves an enlargement of the esophagus and a loss of the organ’s ability to move food to the stomach, which leaves food bottling up in the lower […]

More than half of unemployed American men in their 30s have a history of being arrested or convicted of a crime, a stigma that poses a barrier to them participating in the nation’s labor force, according to a new RAND Corporation study. By age 35, 64% of unemployed men have been arrested and 46% have […]