Examining the supernatural beliefs of medieval people, from elves and fairies to abductions and the undead
Medieval people have a reputation for being superstitious—and many of the supernatural phenomena found in the pages of medieval chronicles, miracle stories and romances are still alive in modern culture. Think ghosts, werewolves, demons, vampires,.....»»
Prototype lenses can block epileptic-seizure causing wavelengths
People with photosensitive epilepsy could benefit from a prototype pair of glasses with lenses that block out wavelengths that are known to cause seizures in some people......»»
Study: Brilliant white male characters more believable, some viewers say
Brilliant characters often play key roles in movies and TV shows. However, when these characters are played by women and people of color, some audience members dismiss them as unrealistic, even if they portray real people and events, a recent study f.....»»
Educating young people about social media could be far more effective than a ban—Finland can show us how
The federal government's proposed social media ban for under-16s has sparked widespread debate, affecting millions of young Australians, their families and educators. But will it actually work?.....»»
Smarter city planning: Researchers use brain activity to predict visits to urban areas
Urbanization, the process by which cities and towns expand in size and population, is rapidly advancing globally, and the percentage of people living in urban environments has increased from 33% in 1960 to 57% in 2023......»»
Illegal mining clampdown in South Africa: Treating desperate people like criminals is an injustice
Illegal artisanal gold mining in South Africa is in the spotlight again. Under Operation Vala Umgodi ("plug the hole"), South African authorities have since December 2023 been trying to disrupt the illicit gold mining economy by cutting off water, fo.....»»
COP29 viewpoint: "Climate finance" for the Pacific is mostly loans, saddling small island nations with more debt
As this year's UN climate summit reaches its final stage of negotiations, Pacific scholars are calling on world leaders to improve the dispersal system of climate finance to support people living in small island nations......»»
Light-activated, drug-carrying liposomes show potential for minimally invasive glaucoma treatments
More than 4 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma, a group of eye diseases that can damage the optic nerve and lead to vision loss. It's the second-leading cause of blindness worldwide and there's currently no cure, but there's a way to help preve.....»»
R sounds are rough, and L sounds are smooth: Cross-cultural study finds these associations may be universal
People around the world associate a trilled R sound with a rough texture and a jagged shape, and an L sound with a smooth texture and a flat shape, according to the findings of a new study. Researchers believe this association may be more universal t.....»»
Report shows disparity in views of child participation in community services
Western Sydney University is highlighting a report titled "Did you hear me? Children and Young People's Experiences of Participation in Community Services," developed by The Practice Project, this UNICEF's World Children's Day, Wednesday, 20 November.....»»
Idea thieves tend to target early concepts, experiments find
People who steal ideas from creative workers prefer to do so in earlier conceptual stages than creators expect, according to new Cornell research......»»
Why people would rather clean the toilet than check their bank balance—and the spending problems this leads to
"One in three people would rather deep clean their bathroom—deep clean with rubber gloves and everything—rather than check their savings," according to AJ Coyne, chief marketing officer at online bank Monzo. While this might sound like marketing.....»»
Northerners, Scots and Irish excel at detecting fake accents to guard against outsiders, study suggests
People from Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin and the north-east of England are better at detecting someone imitating their accent than people from London and Essex, new research from the University of Cambridge has found. People from Belfast proved most able.....»»
Hackers were caught hiding password-stealing tricks in people’s physical mail
It's not how you're used to hearing about stolen passwords, but hackers are now targeting your physical mailbox to steal your sensitive data and more......»»
Apple TV+ spent $20B on original content. If only people actually watched.
Apple TV+ has a lot of prestige, but not a lot of viewers. In the streaming world, Apple has a reputation for quality, thanks to its Apple TV hardware and Apple TV+ streaming serv.....»»
Concussions Are Remarkably Common and Can Cause Long-Term Problems
New diagnostic techniques can pick up these brain injuries and ensure people get help.....»»
How the Science of Curiosity Boosts Learning
Understanding curiosity can help people—and robots—learn faster.....»»
Genetic analysis of hazelnut trees in British Columbia shows wide dispersal by Indigenous people
A team of environmental management specialists, dendrologists and Indigenous studies researchers found evidence showing that Indigenous people living in British Columbia cultivated hazelnut trees long before colonists from Europe arrived......»»
How to enable and use RCS for secure cross-platform messaging
Apple's messaging app Messages has adopted a new cross-platform messaging standard called RCS. Here's how to be sure you have it enabled on your iPhone, and what new features it gives you when messaging people on other platforms.RCS messaging brings.....»»
Confinement may affect how we smell and feel about food
New research from RMIT University found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas......»»
Flies carry bacteria, and some are resistant to antibiotics—evidence from three South African hospices
Houseflies live close to humans and domesticated animals and because they are so mobile they can easily spread bacteria that make people sick......»»