A computational study has uncovered unusual patterns in the electronegativity and hardness of elements when under the influence of strong magnetic fields.1 The exotic behaviour of chemical systems in this type of environment has long been a topic of interest across chemistry and physics. Now, researchers in Belgium and the UK have extended a method […]

The MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium (MCSC) has awarded 20 projects a total of $5 million over two years in its first-ever 2022 MCSC Seed Awards program. The winning projects are led by principal investigators across all five of MIT’s schools. The goal of the MCSC Seed Awards is to engage MIT researchers and link the […]

Sometimes when we are reading a good book, it’s like we are transported into another world and we stop paying attention to what’s around us. Researchers at the University of Washington wondered if people enter a similar state of dissociation when surfing social media, and if that explains why users might feel out of control […]

The drug gabapentin, currently prescribed to control seizures and reduce nerve pain, may enhance recovery of movement after a stroke by helping neurons on the undamaged side of the brain take up the signaling work of lost cells, new research in mice suggests. The experiments mimicked ischemic stroke in humans, which occurs when a clot blocks […]

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have boosted the sensitivity of their atomic radio receiver a hundredfold by enclosing the small glass cylinder of cesium atoms inside what looks like custom copper “headphones.” The structure — a square overhead loop connecting two square panels — increases the incoming radio signal, or […]

People who deny the existence of structural racism are more likely to exhibit anti-Black prejudice and less likely to show racial empathy or openness to diversity, according to research published by the American Psychological Association. However, there were no similar findings for people who claimed they ignore race, which was instead associated with greater openness […]

Nearly half of Sun-size stars are binary. According to University of Copenhagen research, planetary systems around binary stars may be very different from those around single stars. This points to new targets in the search for extraterrestrial life forms. Since the only known planet with life, the Earth, orbits the Sun, planetary systems around stars […]

Salamanders that live their entire lives in the crowns of the world’s tallest trees, California’s coast redwoods, have evolved a behavior well-adapted to the dangers of falling from high places: the ability to parachute, glide and maneuver in mid-air. Flying squirrels, not to mention numerous species of gliding frogs, geckos, and ants and other insects, […]

A new instrument that can fine tune the properties of a catalyst has been developed by US scientists. The ‘catalytic condenser’ can make cheap and abundant metals act like more expensive ones by simply varying the applied voltage. With the new device, it’s now also possible to bypass the ‘speed limit ’ that governs each […]

Young children who grow up with a dog or in a large family may have some protection later in life from a common inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn’s disease, according to a study to be presented at Digestive Disease Week® (DDW) 2022. “Our study seems to add to others that have explored the ‘hygiene […]