https://phys.org/science-news/ en-us The latest science news on archaeology, fossils, mathematics, and science technology from Phys.org In 79 CE, the active volcanic system in southern Italy known as Somma-Vesuvius erupted, burying the small Roman town of Pompeii and everyone in it. The "Pompeii eruption" covered everything in a layer of ash that preserved many of the bodies. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-dna-evidence-rewrites-histories-people.html Archaeology Thu, 07 Nov 2024 12:10:07 EST news650203801 The Ice Age camp site of Gönnersdorf on the banks of the Rhine has revealed a groundbreaking discovery that sheds new light on early fishing practices. New imaging methods have allowed researchers to see intricate engravings of fish on ancient schist plaquettes, accompanied by grid-like patterns that are interpreted as depictions of fishing nets or traps. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-oldest-depictions-fishing-ice-age.html Archaeology Thu, 07 Nov 2024 09:30:09 EST news650194201 Asset owners who control substantial capital in the financial system through pension funds, endowments, foundations, and individual holdings can play a crucial role in driving investments in climate change mitigation, according to a new Yale School of the Environment study. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-asset-owners-investment-climate-mitigation.html Economics & Business Wed, 06 Nov 2024 16:36:03 EST news650133361 An international group of researchers led by the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria have uncovered the earliest evidence of Ephedra use from the charred remains of the plant in a 15,000-year-old human burial site in northeastern Morocco. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-earliest-evidence-ephedra-year-moroccan.html Archaeology Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:55:14 EST news650127310 University of Michigan researchers have added a new dimension to the mathematics used to predict the outcomes of all manner of competitions, including sports, games and social hierarchies in both humans and animals. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-shallow-sports-deep-social-hierarchies.html Mathematics Social Sciences Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:00:01 EST news650106241 A study from Queen Mary University of London reveals that the music and soundscapes used in toy commercials are reinforcing rigid gender norms, shaping the way children perceive masculinity and femininity. The research uncovers how gender stereotypes are not only conveyed through visuals and language but are also deeply embedded in the sound and music used in advertisements targeted at children. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-soundtracks-toy-ads-gender-stereotypes.html Social Sciences Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:00:01 EST news650108867 Researchers from Stockholm University, Bocconi University, and the Rockwool Foundation have studied poverty's lasting impact across generations in wealthy countries. By examining the United States, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, the team found that welfare systems play a significant role in whether children born into poverty will remain poor as adults. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-multi-country-significant-differences-poverty.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:38:03 EST news650115482 Graphs are everywhere. In discrete mathematics, they are structures that show the connections between points, much like a public transportation network. Mathematicians have long sought to develop algorithms that can compare any two graphs. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-hard-theory-easy-graph-isomorphism.html Mathematics Wed, 06 Nov 2024 10:54:04 EST news650112841 A new statistical model could help to address the age-old question of how to price non-physical, intangible goods like data, say scientists. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-framework-games-chance-price-intangible.html Mathematics Economics & Business Wed, 06 Nov 2024 09:48:36 EST news650108912 By analyzing online reading behavior across millions of firms worldwide, a new study out of the Complexity Science Hub (CSH) connects how much information companies consume and how the consumption relates to their size. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-firms-online-habits-employees-worldwide.html Economics & Business Tue, 05 Nov 2024 19:00:01 EST news650023317 An international survey involving over 1,600 biomedical researchers has shed light on the perceived causes of irreproducibility in research results. The survey, which included participants from various countries and research institutions, aimed to identify the factors that contribute to the lack of reproducibility in scientific studies. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-survey-highlights-publish-perish-culture.html Social Sciences Education Tue, 05 Nov 2024 14:00:01 EST news650010781 New research reveals a strong link between higher female education and lower fertility rates in sub-Saharan Africa. Educated women are driving a shift toward smaller families and even influencing less educated peers. This new forecasting model offers policymakers valuable insights into how women's education shapes population trends, aiding sustainable development efforts. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-women-fertility-saharan-africa.html Social Sciences Education Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:25:04 EST news650013901 Missing a deadline has more complex consequences than you might think. Researchers at the University of Toronto found that if you submit a piece of work late, people will think it's lower in quality than if you were to submit the exact same work on time or early. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-deadline-bigger-impact.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:19:04 EST news650013542 There's a certain allure to the notion that some of the world's brightest stars burn out at the age of 27. The so-called 27 Club has captivated the public imagination for half a century. Its members include legendary musicians Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse. The idea is as seductive as it is tragic: a convergence of talent, fame and untimely death at a singular age. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-club-isnt-true-real-sociologist.html Social Sciences Tue, 05 Nov 2024 07:10:06 EST news650013001 The origins of writing in Mesopotamia lie in the images imprinted by ancient cylinder seals on clay tablets and other artifacts. A research group from the University of Bologna has identified a series of correlations between the designs engraved on these cylinders, dating back around six thousand years, and some of the signs in the proto-cuneiform script that emerged in the city of Uruk, located in what is now southern Iraq, around 3000 BCE. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-ancient-stone-cylinders-correspond-mesopotamia.html Archaeology Tue, 05 Nov 2024 06:00:02 EST news649957838 Research by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) reveals an unbalanced distribution of the impacts generated by the exploitation of two blocks in the Amazon. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-great-degree-ecuadorian-oil-profits.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Tue, 05 Nov 2024 03:59:28 EST news650001556 With recent box office hits like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Little Mermaid and Everything Everywhere All at Once, the average viewer might assume that the casts of Hollywood films are more diverse now than they were 10 or 20 years ago. But verifying these perceptions can be tricky. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-facial-recognition-technology-hollywood-diverse.html Social Sciences Mon, 04 Nov 2024 17:09:06 EST news649962542 In an important discovery, archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan have uncovered a multi-layered archaeological site in the Zeravshan Valley, central Tajikistan, shedding rare light on early human settlement in the region. The findings from the site, known as Soii Havzak, provide crucial evidence that Central Asia played a vital role in early human migration and development. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-multi-layered-site-tajikistan-zeravshan.html Archaeology Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:11:03 EST news649944661 A new study highlights key challenges and tensions in research ethics, particularly in light of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and calls for the adoption of new research ethics policies. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-compliance-conversation-guidelines-ethical.html Other Mon, 04 Nov 2024 12:01:59 EST news649944115 A recent preliminary study by Ph.D. student Leonie Hoff of the University of Oxford, published in the Oxford Journal of Archaeology, provides insight into how ancient fingerprints left on terracotta figurines reveal the age and sex of their makers. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-fingerprints-ancient-terracotta-figurines-men.html Archaeology Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:40:01 EST news649935414 A popular new strategy for combating misinformation doesn't by itself help people distinguish truth from falsehood but improves when paired with reminders to focus on accuracy, finds new Cornell University-led research supported by Google. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-psychological-inoculation-combining-simple-tools.html Social Sciences Political science Mon, 04 Nov 2024 05:00:01 EST news649685401 This week, researchers reported the world's second-tiniest toad, winning the silver in the Brachycephalus contest. Chemists at UCLA disproved a 100-year-old organic chemistry rule. And researchers in Kenya report that elephants don't like bees, which could be a conservation boon (for the elephants. And maybe also the bees?). Additionally, scientists addressed an old thought experiment about monkeys and the theater, physicists correlated dark energy with the black hole population in the universe, and a group of Antarctic seals were found to be highly strategic and also adorable: https://phys.org/news/2024-11-saturday-citations-chimpanzee-playwrights-nature.html Other Sat, 02 Nov 2024 08:30:01 EDT news649678408 Political campaigns spend big bucks hiring consultants to craft persuasive messaging, but a new study coauthored by Yale political scientist Joshua L. Kalla demonstrates that political professionals perform no better than laypeople in predicting which messages will sway voters. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-political-pros-messages.html Political science Fri, 01 Nov 2024 14:16:04 EDT news649689362 For many years, the conventional wisdom was that only highly biased, less educated media consumers would put partisanship over truth—in other words, they would believe news that confirmed their worldview, regardless of whether it was true. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-news-consumers-political-alignment-truth.html Social Sciences Political science Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:17:04 EDT news649685821 With just an iPad, students in any classroom across the world could soon reimagine the ordinary diagrams in any physics textbook—transforming these static images into 3D simulations that run, leap or spin across the page. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-textbooks-alive-interactive-ai-tool.html Education Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:24:23 EDT news649682657 Cause and effect. We understand this concept from an early age. Tug on a pull toy's string, and the toy follows. Naturally, things get much more complicated as a system grows, as the number of variables increases, and as noise enters the picture. Eventually, it can become almost impossible to tell whether a variable is causing an effect or is simply correlated or associated with it. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-mathematics-effect.html Mathematics Fri, 01 Nov 2024 12:19:04 EDT news649682341 A study led by the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, has used stable isotope analysis to uncover medieval land-use practices beneath temperate forests in Europe. The research, published in Scientific Reports, provides evidence of agricultural activity at a Cistercian manor site dating back to the thirteenth century, revealing that cereal production rather than animal husbandry dominated the area. The isotopic data shows clear signatures of grain cultivation and fertilization practices. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-isotope-reveals-medieval-people-prioritized.html Archaeology Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:23:02 EDT news649671781 The beliefs someone holds and the environment where they live and work shape how much economic inequality people report seeing, according to new research from the University at Buffalo School of Management. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-reveal-factors-mask-economic-inequality.html Social Sciences Economics & Business Fri, 01 Nov 2024 08:57:03 EDT news649670221 Does a candidate's appearance affect how we vote? There's growing evidence that suggests the answer may be yes. In a recent study published on the preprint server bioRxiv, neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania and the Champalimaud Center for the Unknown in Portugal had monkeys look at pictures of political candidates from past U.S. races. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-monkeys-presidential-candidates.html Social Sciences Political science Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:24:04 EDT news649596241 Artificial intelligence-generated summaries of scientific papers make complex information more understandable for the public compared with human-written summaries, according to my recent paper published in PNAS Nexus. AI-generated summaries not only improved public comprehension of science but also enhanced how people perceived scientists. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-simple-science-summaries-written-ai.html Education Thu, 31 Oct 2024 12:02:04 EDT news649594922