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

a teen girl weaing pajamas looks at a phone while sitting on a bed in a dark room

a teen girl weaing pajamas looks at a phone while sitting on a bed in a dark room

How Instagram addictiveness lawsuit could reshape social media – platform design meets product liability

Carolina Rossini, UMass Amherst

Petroglyphs carved into a rock, with a long exposure of stars circling one point in the background.

Petroglyphs carved into a rock, with a long exposure of stars circling one point in the background.

Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons?

Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Researchers are combining drones and AI to make removing land mines faster and safer

Sagar Lekhak, Rochester Institute of Technology

in the foreground a red sign with skull and crossbones, in the background a person wearing protective gear coineeling in a field

in the foreground a red sign with skull and crossbones, in the background a person wearing protective gear coineeling in a field

Billions of dollars, decades of progress spent eliminating devastating diseases may be lost with undoing of USAID

Sarah Greene, Washington University in St. Louis and Philip Budge, Washington University in St. Louis

Patient sitting in chair while two people in white coats hunch over a table of medical and research supplies

Patient sitting in chair while two people in white coats hunch over a table of medical and research supplies

A panel of four people sitting in front of a screen reading 'Artemis Update'

A panel of four people sitting in front of a screen reading 'Artemis Update'

With Artemis II facing delays, NASA announces big structural changes to the lunar program

Marcos Fernandez Tous, University of North Dakota

Are heroes born or made? Role models and training can prepare ordinary people to take heroic action

Catherine A. Sanderson, Amherst College

little girl's silhouette flexing her muscles with shadow of a caped superwoman

little girl's silhouette flexing her muscles with shadow of a caped superwoman

I study why zebrafish larva prefer to circle left or right, to understand how and why human brains encode right- and left-handedness

Eric Horstick, West Virginia University

Close-up of a pair of hands holding writing utensils against a surface

Close-up of a pair of hands holding writing utensils against a surface

AI and 3D printing help researchers create heat- and pressure-resistant materials for aerospace and defense applications

Houlong Zhuang, Arizona State University and Vitor Rielli, UNSW Sydney

A small aircraft streaking across the sky, with a large plume of smoke coming from its exhaust.

A small aircraft streaking across the sky, with a large plume of smoke coming from its exhaust.

A Plan B for space? On the risks of concentrating national space power in private hands

Svetla Ben-Itzhak, Johns Hopkins University

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off a launchpad with a plume of flame and a cloud of smoke beneath it, with a building labeled 'SpaceX' in the foreground.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off a launchpad with a plume of flame and a cloud of smoke beneath it, with a building labeled 'SpaceX' in the foreground.

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Space

An illustration showing a human silhouette with the brain outlined, with a diagram of the solar system overlaid. Two astronauts push at the front and back of the brain.

An illustration showing a human silhouette with the brain outlined, with a diagram of the solar system overlaid. Two astronauts push at the front and back of the brain.

Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull – new research

Rachael Seidler, University of Florida and Tianyi (Erik) Wang, University of Florida

NASA’s Artemis II plans to send a crew around the Moon to test equipment and lay the groundwork for a future landing

Margaret Landis, Arizona State University

A banner reading 'Lets Go!' with the NASA Artemis program and Artemis II mission patch is attached to a fence in front of the Artemis II rocket stack after it rolled out to the launchpad.

A banner reading 'Lets Go!' with the NASA Artemis program and Artemis II mission patch is attached to a fence in front of the Artemis II rocket stack after it rolled out to the launchpad.

NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission to the Moon shows how US space strategy has changed since Apollo – and contrasts with China’s closed program

Michelle L.D. Hanlon, University of Mississippi

A partial view of the Moon from space

A partial view of the Moon from space

From a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition – will make 2026 an exciting year for space

Grant Tremblay, Smithsonian Institution

A photo of the Moon taken from above its surface.

A photo of the Moon taken from above its surface.

Rural areas have darker skies but fewer resources for students interested in astronomy – telescopes in schools can help

Emma Marcucci, Smithsonian Institution

A tree and a mountain ridge silhouetted against a star-filled sky

A tree and a mountain ridge silhouetted against a star-filled sky

More articles about space

Digital life

two metal gears meshing with the word 'past' on one and the word 'future' on the other

two metal gears meshing with the word 'past' on one and the word 'future' on the other

Will AI accelerate or undermine the way humans have always innovated?

R. Alexander Bentley, University of Tennessee

‘Probably’ doesn’t mean the same thing to your AI as it does to you

Mayank Kejriwal, University of Southern California

an illustration depicting a man in a business suit with hands on hips next to a humanoid robot that is pointing up to an arrow that is at the end of a jagged line that shifts upwards from left to right

an illustration depicting a man in a business suit with hands on hips next to a humanoid robot that is pointing up to an arrow that is at the end of a jagged line that shifts upwards from left to right

Algorithms that customize marketing to your phone could also influence your views on warfare

Justin Pelletier, Rochester Institute of Technology

an illustration of people in a crowd looking at phones and tablets

an illustration of people in a crowd looking at phones and tablets

Swarms of AI bots can sway people’s beliefs – threatening democracy

Filippo Menczer, Indiana University

numerous blue human figures and white human silhouettes stand on a grid

numerous blue human figures and white human silhouettes stand on a grid

Fears about TikTok’s policy changes point to a deeper problem in the tech industry

Casey Fiesler, University of Colorado Boulder

More articles about artificial intelligence

New research

Nanoparticles and artificial intelligence can help researchers detect pollutants in water, soil and blood

Andres B. Sanchez Alvarado, Rice University

A small glass square under a microscope lens

A small glass square under a microscope lens

Tiny recording backpacks reveal bats’ surprising hunting strategy

Leonie Baier, Naturalis Biodiversity Center

Fringe-lipped bat wearing a red miniature data logger on its back.

Fringe-lipped bat wearing a red miniature data logger on its back.

Why does pain last longer for women? Immune cells may be the culprit

Geoffroy Laumet, Michigan State University

Person sitting on couch with hands clutching knees, grimacing in pain

Person sitting on couch with hands clutching knees, grimacing in pain

1 protein to rule them all – why crowning the protein that makes jellyfish glow green as a model can help scientists streamline biology

Marc Zimmer, Connecticut College

3D illustration of a barrel-shaped structure composed of interweaving green ribbonlike arrows and squiggles, a tan molecule suspended in its center

3D illustration of a barrel-shaped structure composed of interweaving green ribbonlike arrows and squiggles, a tan molecule suspended in its center

Picky eating starts in the womb – a nutritional neuroscientist explains how to expand your child’s palate

Kathleen Keller, Penn State

Toddler wearing bib, face scrunched up as parent presents a spoon of greens to them

Toddler wearing bib, face scrunched up as parent presents a spoon of greens to them

Coffee crops are dying from a fungus with species-jumping genes – researchers are ‘resurrecting’ their genomes to understand how and why

Lily Peck, University of California, Los Angeles

Close-up of person picking coffee berries

Close-up of person picking coffee berries

3D scanning and shape analysis help archaeologists connect objects across space and time to recover their lost histories

Carlo Rindi Nuzzolo, University of California, Los Angeles

details of a face are overlaid on a larger complete image of a bust

details of a face are overlaid on a larger complete image of a bust

Infusing asphalt with plastic could help roads last longer and resist cracking under heat

Md S Hossain, University of Texas at Arlington

Several trucks driving next to an asphalt road.

Several trucks driving next to an asphalt road.

Brain and mind

Hesitation is costly in sports but essential to life – neuroscientists identified its brain circuitry

Eric Yttri, Carnegie Mellon University

Close-up of skier Emma Aicher in full gear, looking down

Close-up of skier Emma Aicher in full gear, looking down

A human tendency to value expertise, not just sheer power, explains how some social hierarchies form

Thomas Morgan, Arizona State University

man stands at head of a work table with seated people looking at him, all smiling

man stands at head of a work table with seated people looking at him, all smiling

Certain brain injuries may be linked to violent crime – identifying them could help reveal how people make moral choices

Christopher M. Filley, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Isaiah Kletenik, Harvard University, and Patricia Churchland, University of California, San Diego

Nighttime shot of a crime scene blocked off with yellow police tape

Nighttime shot of a crime scene blocked off with yellow police tape

Can shoes alter your mind? What neuroscience says about foot sensation and focus

Atom Sarkar, Drexel University

Illustration of shoe with splashes of color emanating around it

Illustration of shoe with splashes of color emanating around it

More articles about psychology

Curious Kids

Real kids ask real questions and real experts answer them

porcelain station of a naked, bearded man reclining with mini children cavorting over and around him

porcelain station of a naked, bearded man reclining with mini children cavorting over and around him

Why are so many statues naked? An art historian explains this tradition’s ancient roots

Anna Swartwood House, University of South Carolina

What is Bluetooth and how does it work?

Shreyas Sen, Purdue University

a girl wearing wireless earbuds looks at a tablet screen

a girl wearing wireless earbuds looks at a tablet screen

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?'

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

How do people know their interests? The shortest player in the NBA shows how self-belief matters more than biology

Greg Edwards, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Basketball player running with ball on court, a player twice his height running beside him

Basketball player running with ball on court, a player twice his height running beside him

How do scientists hunt for dark matter? A physicist explains why the mysterious substance is so hard to find

David Joffe, Kennesaw State University

Many galaxies shown, with two bright points in the center of the cluster

Many galaxies shown, with two bright points in the center of the cluster

More Curious Kids articles

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