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118 articles from PhysOrg

Study: Live chat boosts college women's class participation

Women much more enthusiastically embraced the live chat function during pandemic Zoom classes than men, according to a new University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) study. Researchers hope the data could be a key to broadening underrepresented groups' access to STEM disciplines as colleges incorporate technology into hybrid and even in-person courses.

AI is changing scientists' understanding of language learning—and raising questions about an innate grammar

Unlike the carefully scripted dialogue found in most books and movies, the language of everyday interaction tends to be messy and incomplete, full of false starts, interruptions and people talking over each other. From casual conversations between friends, to bickering between siblings, to formal discussions in a boardroom, authentic conversation is chaotic. It seems miraculous that anyone can...

Researchers posit the idea that cultural knowledge practices have an inner structure that is passed down

A broad array of cultural practices—from the construction of stone tools to the conventions of religious rituals—are highly stable over long periods of time. One might assume that such persistent cultural knowledge is transmitted with highly specific instructions. However, many stable cultural practices are transmitted by means of tacit knowledge—that kind of working knowledge that is passed...

UK lenders continue pursuit of new business through turbulent start to 2022

The latest Bayes UK Commercial Real Estate Mid–year 2022 report shows a new lending volume of £23.7 billion, indicating strong appetite for new business up until June 2022 before deal flow started to dry up. In a dramatically different interest rate environment, lenders are prepared to pass on new opportunities for the second half of the year if it is not a good opportunity.

NASA's Webb takes star-filled portrait of pillars of creation

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape—the iconic Pillars of Creation—where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear—at times—semi-transparent in near-infrared light.

Durable, inexpensive catalyst reduces carbon footprint of ammonia production

The Haber-Bosch process, which is commonly used to synthesize ammonia (NH3)—the foundation for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers—by combining hydrogen (H2) and nitrogen (N2) over catalysts at high pressures and temperatures, is one of the most important scientific discoveries to have helped improve crop yields and increase food production globally.

Climate change is making Arba'een pilgrimage dangerously hot

Around 20 million Shia Muslims participate in Arba'een, one of the world's largest religious gatherings. A new study projects climate change will make dangerous temperatures more common during Arba'een by the end of the 21st century, threatening participants with an increased risk of heat-related illness.

Drones show potential to improve salmon nest counts

Struggling salmon populations could get some help from the sky. A Washington State University study showed that drone photography of the Wenatchee River during spawning season can be effective in estimating the number of rocky hollows salmon create to lay their eggs, also called "redds."

Emerging technologies to improve thermometry reliability

In a recent paper co-authored by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Research Council of Canada and Graham Machin, National Physical Laboratory Senior Fellow, the research team presented an overview of emerging thermometry technologies. Although some of these are in an early stage of development, they have the potential to provide reliable (and indeed...