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On complex political issues, most Americans take shortcuts to simplicity
Science News

On complex political issues, most Americans take shortcuts to simplicity

A core assumption in any democracy is that citizens with access to information will make reasoned decisions on political candidates and policy issues. But a new study by UC Berkeley social scientists finds that Americans usually don't consider the full scope of difficult issues, instead basing their opinions on mental shortcuts that sidestep complexity.

📅 2026-10-02 20:40:02    •    Phys.org
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Colorful wildflowers bloom across Chile's Atacama Desert in wake of 'super' El Niño
Science News

Colorful wildflowers bloom across Chile's Atacama Desert in wake of 'super' El Niño

This year's exceptionally strong El Niño has brought a rare gift to Chile's Atacama Desert: rain. In one of the driest places on Earth, that rare moisture has awakened millions of seeds and bulbs that can remain dormant underground for years, transforming the landscape into a spectacular carpet of color. Known locally as "desierto florido," or "flowering desert," the phenomenon is one of nature's most remarkable transformations. Patches of purple, pink, white, red and yellow now spread across hillsides and plains that for much of the year appear almost completely lifeless. "It is a unique phenomenon; there are more than 200 plant species," Jorge Carabantes, head of the Protected Areas Depart...

📅 2026-10-02 20:34:57    •    Live Science
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American beech trees may carry genetic resistance to deadly leaf disease
Science News

American beech trees may carry genetic resistance to deadly leaf disease

A study led by scientists at the Holden Arboretum has found evidence that beech leaf disease (BLD) symptom development is genetically controlled, providing the first evidence that some American beech trees may have genetic resistance. This finding supports further investigation and development of breeding populations for BLD resistance. Nearly a third of beech trees near BLD's epicenter in northeastern Ohio, the majority of which were smaller trees, have died since the disease was discovered in 2012.

📅 2026-10-02 20:20:06    •    Phys.org
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Plasma-activated water tests show concentration matters for effective bacterial disinfection
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Plasma-activated water tests show concentration matters for effective bacterial disinfection

In a study published in npj Clean Water, researchers from EPFL investigated how Escherichia coli responds to different concentrations of plasma-activated water (PAW) under nutrient-rich conditions. The team combined conventional colony-forming unit (CFU) counting with nanomotion sensing, a technique that detects nanoscale oscillations produced by metabolically active bacteria.

📅 2026-10-02 20:20:01    •    Phys.org
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MIT releases financials and endowment figures for 2026
Research Institutions

MIT releases financials and endowment figures for 2026

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Investment Management Company (MITIMCo) announced today that MIT’s unitized pool of endowment and other MIT funds generated an investment return of 10.3 percent during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, as measured using valuations received within one month of fiscal year end. At the end of the fiscal year, MIT’s endowment funds totaled $29.2 billion, excluding pledges. Over the 10 years ending June 30, 2026, MIT generated an annualized return of 11.7 percent.The endowment is the bedrock of MIT’s finances, made possible by gifts from alumni and friends for more than a century. The use of the endowment is governed by a state law that requires MIT t...

📅 2026-10-02 20:00:00    •    MIT News
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Met Warehouse dedication ceremony launches new era
Research Institutions

Met Warehouse dedication ceremony launches new era

MIT formally dedicated its newly transformed Met Warehouse (Building W41) on Wednesday, in an energetic evening ceremony heralding the start of a new era for the practice of design on campus. The ceremony highlighted “the essential vision of the Met: connecting people, disciplines, and ideas, and inviting everyone to see where those connections might be,” said Mark Gorenberg ’76, chair of the MIT Corporation, during introductory remarks.MIT President Sally Kornbluth called the new building “a testament to the transformative power of design, which has been central to MIT from the very beginning.” She also heralded the building as a cornerstone of MIT’s “magnetic new West Campus district for a...

📅 2026-10-02 20:00:00    •    MIT News
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Motivation matters more than working memory for improving student math skills, study finds
Science News

Motivation matters more than working memory for improving student math skills, study finds

Why do some students become ever better at mathematics, while others plateau? Many people may think that mathematics is primarily about cognitive skills. A new study from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) provides a more nuanced view. The paper is published in the journal Contemporary Educational Psychology.

📅 2026-10-02 19:40:08    •    Phys.org
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Computer-designed protein targets immune receptor linked to inflammation at new 'undruggable' site
Science News

Computer-designed protein targets immune receptor linked to inflammation at new 'undruggable' site

To sense their environment and respond accordingly, cells enlist membrane proteins as communication hubs, receiving molecular messages from outside and triggering responses inside. One of these proteins is Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), an immune receptor that plays an essential role in protecting against infections. But overactivity of TLR4 has been linked to inflammatory disorders like sepsis, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, making it an attractive target for therapies. Despite its appeal, TLR4 is difficult to manipulate precisely, and no FDA-approved drugs specifically block it.

📅 2026-10-02 19:40:01    •    Phys.org
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Computational tools for society’s most complex challenges
Research Institutions

Computational tools for society’s most complex challenges

As far back as she can remember, Cathy Wu ’12, MNG ’13 wanted to find ways to solve problems to improve people’s lives. Her parents were Taiwanese immigrants, and her father had a long commute to his job, which took him away from the family. On a tight budget, the rest of the family often stayed home on a street that was too busy for playing outdoors. Wu and her siblings ended up playing a lot of computer games. Wu says her desire to make the world a better place, her dad’s daily battle against traffic, and the games she played, like “SimCity,” were the seeds of her motivation to design safe, efficient transportation systems. Wu is an associate professor in the MIT Department of Civil and En...

📅 2026-10-02 19:30:00    •    MIT News
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Small changes can have a big impact on sustainability transitions
Science News

Small changes can have a big impact on sustainability transitions

In her dissertation, Hanna Entsalo examines how public policies, such as policy strategies and legislation, influence transitions toward the circular economy and sustainability. Entsalo works as a researcher in the Circular Economy Solutions Unit at the Finnish Environment Institute. Her work focuses on circular economy policy instruments, sustainability transitions and innovation policy, particularly at the national and EU levels.

📅 2026-10-02 19:20:13    •    Phys.org
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Black holes may grow quietly alongside galaxies even without violent mergers
Science News

Black holes may grow quietly alongside galaxies even without violent mergers

Astronomers analyzed 2,435 galaxies hosting actively feeding black holes using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). Among them, they identified 546 "bulgeless" galaxies—systems with little or no central stellar bulge. Their paper, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, suggests that galaxies without a central bulge grow black holes just as effectively as galaxies that have one—a surprising sign that black holes don't need galaxy mergers to grow normally.

📅 2026-10-02 19:20:02    •    Phys.org
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How does interdisciplinary collaboration work in practice? Three takeaways for teachers
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How does interdisciplinary collaboration work in practice? Three takeaways for teachers

When we speak with Luyao Huang, her Ph.D. project at Leiden University is in full swing. Two papers—a systematic literature review and a case study on an interdisciplinary course—are already behind her. Next year, she will carry out a study in which teachers react to various scenarios. Today, Huang tells us about her most recent study: a deep dive into student collaboration.

📅 2026-10-02 19:00:01    •    Phys.org
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Q&A: How will quantum computers change society?
Science News

Q&A: How will quantum computers change society?

Once called a "pipe dream," quantum computers are now approaching practical use. Companies and research institutes around the world are in fierce competition to develop this technology, which has the potential to rapidly perform some calculations that are extremely difficult even for conventional supercomputers.

📅 2026-10-02 18:20:08    •    Phys.org
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Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests
Science News

Animals may have evolved vastly earlier than fossil evidence suggests

The earliest animals may have evolved hundreds of millions of years before their first unmistakable fossils appear in the fossil record, according to a new study led by the University of Oxford. The findings, published in Science Advances, suggest animals may have originated deep in the Neoproterozoic Era, even before some of the most extreme ice ages in Earth's history.

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:13    •    Phys.org
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Physicists who uncovered the first particle accelerator were honored with a Nobel Prize 75 years ago
Science News

Physicists who uncovered the first particle accelerator were honored with a Nobel Prize 75 years ago

While scientists are known for their dedication to their research, crawling on the floor to avoid electrocution for the sake of a measurement seems a little excessive. But this is what British physicist John Cockcroft and Irish physicist Ernest T.S. Walton had to do in the early 1930s while studying the structure of atomic nuclei. Luckily, their efforts led to their receiving the Nobel Prize in 1951.

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:01    •    Phys.org
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Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than previously thought, new study suggests
Science News

Animals may have evolved 200 million years earlier than previously thought, new study suggests

The first animals may have appeared on Earth hundreds of millions years earlier than their fossils suggest, a new modeling study suggests. Previously, the earliest fossil evidence of animals dated to around 574 million years ago, during the Ediacaran period (635 million to 538 million years ago). In the new paper, a research team argues that we can't just rely on the spotty fossil record, and suggests that animals first appeared up to 200 million years earlier than the oldest known animal fossils. In the study, published Friday (Oct. 2) in the journal Science Advances, the researchers argue that the absence of animal fossils in some exceptionally well-preserved ancient rocks doesn't mean the...

📅 2026-10-02 18:00:00    •    Live Science
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