Science + Technology – The Conversation – new research, AI, space, psychology and more

yellow staircases zigzag against a blue wall

Hard work feels worth it, but only after it’s done – new research on how people value effort

Piotr Winkielman, University of California, San Diego and Przemysław Marcowski, University of California, San Diego

Vitamin D builds your bones and keeps your gut sealed, among many other essential functions − but many children are deficient

Jacqueline Hernandez, Florida International University and Cristina Palacios, Florida International University

Smiling children in swim clothes on a beach, running toward the camera

23andMe is potentially selling more than just genetic data – the personal survey info it collected is just as much a privacy problem

Kayte Spector-Bagdady, University of Michigan

Genetric sequence map, resembilng expanding circles of colorful barcodes radiating from a black circle

woman lying in bed looking at phone forlornly

Feeling FOMO for something that’s not even fun? It’s not the event you’re missing, it’s the bonding

Jacqueline Rifkin, Cornell University; Barbara Kahn, University of Pennsylvania, and Cindy Chan, University of Toronto

Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic, like in Europe and Middle East

Ben Marwick, University of Washington

Two people crouched on a dirt surface carefully excavate

Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans − but there are ways to slow down viral evolution

Ron Barrett, Macalester College

Two people in PPE looking at rows of chickens in cages

Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for life in the universe

David Garofalo, Kennesaw State University

A swirling cloud of gas with a small black hole in the middle, and rays of light protruding from the center.

Why do dogs love to play with trash?

Nancy Dreschel, Penn State

Dog chews on a dirty paper towel it found in the trash.

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Space

An illustration of a Mars colony, including a habitation dome, communication antenna and astronauts.

3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars

Sven Bilén, Penn State

Mission possible − parastronaut programs can make space travel more inclusive and attainable for all

Jesse Rhoades, University of North Dakota and Rebecca Rhoades, University of North Dakota

Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

Benjamin Roulston, Clarkson University

Colliding plasma ejections from the Sun generate huge geomagnetic storms − studying them will help scientists monitor future space weather

Shirsh Lata Soni, University of Michigan

An illustration of a thread of energy moving out into space from the surface of the Sun.

Lightning strikes link weather on Earth and weather in space

Lauren Blum, University of Colorado Boulder

Lightning bolts in the sky over a copse of trees.

Digital life

Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app

Frederick Scholl, Quinnipiac University

Helper bots in online communities diminish human interaction

John Lalor, University of Notre Dame

cartoon of three people seated at desks in an open space with nine humanoid robots standing around them

What are AI hallucinations? Why AIs sometimes make things up

Anna Choi, Cornell University and Katelyn Xiaoying Mei, University of Washington

two disembodied faces with colored dots connected by lines floating between the faces

Social media design is key to protecting kids online

Abdulmalik Alluhidan, Vanderbilt University

closeup of a group of people showing seven phones of different colors

The fediverse promises social media without Big Tech – if it can avoid familiar pitfalls

Aram Sinnreich, American University School of Communication and Robert W. Gehl, York University, Canada

Numerous circles containing one of three logos connected by fine lines

More articles about artificial intelligence

New research

Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action

Conner Philson, University of California, Santa Barbara and Daniel T. Blumstein, University of California, Los Angeles

three furry brown animals look toward the right

Genomic sequencing reveals previously unknown genes that make microbes resistant to drugs and hard to kill

Nneka Vivian Iduu, Auburn University

Illustration of cocci and rod-shaped bacteria, embossed against a liliac background

Atlantic sturgeon were fished almost to extinction − ancient DNA reveals how Chesapeake Bay population changed over centuries

Natalia Przelomska, Smithsonian Institution and Logan Kistler, Smithsonian Institution

gray spiny fish swimming in greenish blue water

Researchers created sound that can bend itself through space, reaching only your ear in a crowd

Jiaxin Zhong, Penn State and Yun Jing, Penn State

Illustration of human ear with sound waves entering it

Plastic pyrolysis − chemists explain a technique attempting to tackle plastic waste by bringing the heat

Kevin A. Schug, University of Texas at Arlington and Alexander Kaplitz, University of Texas at Arlington

Cells lining your skin and organs can generate electricity when injured − potentially opening new doors to treating wounds

Sun-Min Yu, UMass Amherst and Steve Granick, UMass Amherst

Microscopy image of a skin cell -- an oblong blob encasing three other layers of oblong blobs of varying textures

‘Pac-Man with a ponytail’ proteins regulate everything from night vision to heartbeats – studying what GRKs look like could improve an array of drugs

Priyanka Naik, Purdue University

Oblong array of spiral ribbons in two segments

What’s that microplastic? Advances in machine learning are making identifying plastics in the environment more reliable

Ambuj Tewari, University of Michigan

A petri dish full of tiny shards of colorful plastics

Brain and mind

Rethinking repression − why memory researchers reject the idea of recovered memories of trauma

Gabrielle Principe, College of Charleston

Humans aren’t the only animals with complex culture − but researchers point to one feature that makes ours unique

Eli Elster, University of California, Davis

two people in masks and costume dancing with a third

The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy

Julia Standefer, Iowa State University and L. Alison Phillips, Iowa State University

Anger is a flow of emotion like water through a hose − at work, it helps to know when to turn it up or down and how to direct it

Laura Rees, Oregon State University and Ray Friedman, Vanderbilt University

hand holds a hose with a spray nozzle aimed at greenery

Curious Kids

Real kids ask real questions and real experts answer them

A close-up shot of a garden fly, with a blue and yellow thorax and compound eyes of orange.

How many types of insects are there in the world?

Nicholas Green, Kennesaw State University

What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy

James Byrne, University of Colorado Boulder

relief of three people approaching a seated person, a crescent moon is visible next to three columns of hieroglyphs

Kids ask the questions. Scholars answer them.

Be sure to include your name, age and where you live. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

Send in your question!

Graphic that says 'connecting experts with curious kids', with words in background saying 'how? why? who?'

Is ranch dressing a liquid or a solid? A physicist explains

Rae Robertson-Anderson, University of San Diego

stream of white dressing flows down onto a salad

How are clouds’ shapes made? A scientist explains the different cloud types and how they help forecast weather

Ross Lazear, University at Albany, State University of New York

Clouds over a rocky coastline. One over mountains is circular.