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Today's briefReading hidden topology in light, even when energy leaks awayphys.org · 2d ago
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Reading hidden topology in light, even when energy leaks away

When I explain topology to students, I start with a knot in a rope. You can stretch it, twist it or shake it, but the knot stays until you cut the rope. Physicists have found that some materials and devices carry similar "knots" in how waves move through them. These are topologic

Brief phys.org · 2d ago · 1 min
Clay tablets reveal how Babylonian students learned about their gods

When it came to religious education in ancient Babylonia, in what is now Iraq, students had a lot to learn, ranging from the names of gods to their divine characteristics. A new study published in the journal Iraq has taken a deep dive into ancient texts and surviving clay tablet

Brief phys.org · 5d ago · 1 min
Unlocking AI as a research tool for plant microscopy

Software created by University of Queensland scientists could help AI platforms overcome a blind spot limiting their value in plant research. UQ Ph.D. student Tianqi Wei said even advanced vision-language models (VLMs) had difficulty interpreting images of microscopic plant detai

Brief phys.org · 6d ago · 1 min
Biologists may have discovered two of the world's loudest birds

University of Massachusetts Amherst's Jeff Podos and his former graduate student João C.T. Menezes have identified two contenders for the title of world's loudest bird: the bare-throated bellbird and the red-legged seriema. Their findings also help explain why some birds are so m

Brief phys.org · 6d ago · 1 min
For principals, not all stress is equal

Student discipline, staffing problems, frustrated parents—school principals spend their days moving from one problem to the next.

Brief phys.org · 7d ago · 1 min
Digital textbooks significantly boost students' intrinsic learning motivation

A research team from The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK) and East China Normal University (ECNU) has published a meta-analysis demonstrating the impact of digital textbooks (DTs) on student motivation. Synthesizing 27 experimental and quasi-experimental studies conducte

Brief phys.org · 9d ago · 1 min
Natural proteins can guide active ingredients to diseased cells

After taking a pill, the drugs it contains are distributed throughout the body, reaching the tissues and cells affected by disease and performing their intended function. However, they also enter healthy cells, where they often cause more harm than good.

Brief phys.org · 10d ago · 1 min

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Attention can't be bought, so brands turn to memes

The funniest post you saw this week may not have come from a friend; it may have come from a brand. Whether it is Kohl's, Wendy's, or Netflix, brands are behaving more like internet users than traditional advertisers.

phys.org · 14m ago
Unusual senses: The secret superpowers of amphibians and reptiles

The Surinam toad is one of the strangest frogs on Earth. Flat-bodied, tiny-eyed and adapted to the murky waters of the Amazon basin, it hunts well despite having very poor vision. When a fish swims close, the frog suddenly opens its mouth and sucks the prey inside in a fraction o

phys.org · 34m ago
What a locust can teach us about how neuromodulators alter odor processing

When you walk into a bakery and smell fresh cookies, the enticing smell draws you in. After you eat a handful of cookies, though, the same smell likely doesn't send you back for more. Researchers in the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis sought t

phys.org · 54m ago
Rare insect discovery reveals a new species from the dinosaur age

Some 99 million years ago, during the age of the dinosaurs, a tiny insect belonging to a species previously unknown to science became trapped in tree resin. The resin hardened and turned into amber, and the fossil preserved within it has now enabled a team of researchers from the

phys.org · 2h ago
How psychopathic traits shape language

Popular culture often depicts people with psychopathy as cold, emotionless and hollow, but a recent University of Mississippi study found that the language associated with psychopathic traits is more complicated than often described.

phys.org · 2h ago

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