Are the healing powers of chicken soup real?

New class of recyclable polymer materials could one day help reduce single-use plastic waste

Katherine Harry, Colorado State University; Emma Rettner, Colorado State University

A team of scientists has developed a method for creating a new class of plastic materials that are potentially more recyclable than single-use plastics.

Quantum dots − a new Nobel laureate describes the development of these nanoparticles from basic research to industry application

Louis Brus, Columbia University

Louis Brus explains some of the foundational research – and how even the letter carrier wants to shake your hand when you’ve just won a Nobel Prize.

Why Google, Bing and other search engines’ embrace of generative AI threatens $68 billion SEO industry

Ravi Sen, Texas A&M University

Search engines run by generative AI could fundamentally change the online ecosystem.

A memorial in Yiddish, Italian and English tells the stories of Triangle Shirtwaist fire victims − testament not only to tragedy but to immigrant women’s fight to remake labor laws

Karla Goldman, University of Michigan

On Oct. 11, 2023, a new memorial was unveiled at the site of the 1911 fire. A cadre of young Jewish women helped push for change in the wake of the tragedy.

Health care workers gain 21% wage increase in pending agreement with Kaiser Permanente after historic strike

Michael McQuarrie, Arizona State University

Beyond higher wages and improved benefits, the terms of the Kaiser settlement would ensure better staffing, which the unions have argued is critical for providing quality patient care.

Will we still have antibiotics in 50 years? We asked 7 global experts

André O. Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology; Fidelma Fitzpatrick, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences; Juliana Côrrea, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo da Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV/EAESP); Lori L. Burrows, McMaster University; Raúl Rivas González, Universidad de Salamanca; Roy Robins-Browne, The University of Melbourne; Yori Yuliandra, Universitas Andalas

We asked 7 global experts in microbiology and biochemistry if we are headed towards a future with no antimicrobial agents.

New research helps explain why Indian girls appear to be less engaged in politics than Indian boys

Sara Wilf

A survey of over 600 teens and young adults across India found boys are more politically engaged than girls and also less aware of the barriers women face to becoming active in politics.

Slow solutions to fast-moving ecological crises won’t work – changing basic human behaviors must come first

Mike Joy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Phoebe Barnard, University of Washington

Ecological overshoot is driven by human consumption and a belief in endless economic growth. Could the marketing and media industries that feed those habits also help change them?

How morbid curiosity can lead people to conspiracy theories

Joe Stubbersfield, University of Winchester; Coltan Scrivner, Arizona State University

The answers lie in early human evolution.

Billions of birds collide with glass buildings – but architecture has solutions

Paul Dobraszczyk, UCL

By adding stickers to glass walls and dimming lights, cities can be safer places for migrating birds.

Saudi plans to ‘de-risk’ region have taken a hit with Gaza violence − but hitting pause on normalization with Israel will buy kingdom time

House speaker paralysis is confusing – a political scientist explains what’s happening

New technique uses near-miss particle physics to peer into quantum world − two physicists explain how they are measuring wobbling tau particles

A tip of the quiz cap to professor Barry Markovsky for last week's excellent Friday the 13th quiz!

Here’s the first question of this week’s edition:

The war between Israel and Hamas is centered in and around the Gaza Strip. Do you know which body of water borders Gaza?

1. A. Jordan River
2. B. Gulf of Aqaba
3. C. Mediterranean Sea
4. D. Dead Sea

Test your knowledge