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NSF Announces Competition for Developing Next “Big Ideas” for Funding
The National Science Foundation has announced the NSF 2026 Idea Machine, a competition dedicated to investing in the cutting-edge scientific questions of the next decade. It is open to everyone and will identify the NSF’s next 10 Big Ideas for future funding.
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Do You Like ‘Dogs Playing Poker’? Science Would Like to Know Why
If you’ve ever wondered whether the title on a work of abstract art — say “Blue No. 2” — influences how you feel about it, you’ll be intrigued by a new study from the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers there found that people prefer works with straightforward titles like “Curved Lines” or “Dots of Color” to those with figurative titles like “Ice Dancing” or “Sabotage.” Another study released last month by psychologists at Boston College found that a big reason people favor an artist’s work over an identical copy is their belief that some essence of the artist is left behind in the original.
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How casual daily interactions protect your health
Close relationships with family and friends, we know, are important for our health and well-being. But what about the people who make up our broader social networks: the parents at school drop-off, the neighbor down the street or that colleague in another department who always makes you laugh? While research on the benefits of social connections has generally focused on the importance of “strong ties,” or the intimate relationships we have with family and close friends, a growing body of research is shedding light on the hidden benefits of casual acquaintances, too.
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Three key conditions to create a healthy workplace
Current research underscores the importance of creating workplace cultures that foster the psychological health and wellness of employees within their team and work environments. Healthy workplaces support employee wellbeing, are psychologically safe, and provide the basis for effective team functioning. Organizations can be proactive by taking targeted actions to safeguard the wellbeing of employees and ensuring the creation of positive and healthy workplace cultures, according to research by Emma Seppala, science director at the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, and Kim Cameron, a professor with the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.
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When a Mars Simulation Goes Wrong
The drive to the little white dome on the northern slope of Mauna Loa is a bumpy one. Mauna Loa, the “Long Mountain,” is a colossal volcano that covers half of the island of Hawaii. The rocky terrain, rusty brown and deep red, crunches beneath car tires and jostles passengers. Up there, more than 8,000 feet above sea level and many miles away from the sounds of civilization, it doesn’t feel like Earth. It feels like another planet. Like Mars. For the past five years, small groups of people have made this drive and moved into the dome, known as a habitat. Their job is to pretend that they really are on Mars, and then spend months living like it.
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How Music Can Fight Prejudice
The outpouring of hostility toward immigrants and refugees has reminded us that ethnocentrism remains a fact of life in both Europe and the United States. Combating it will require teaching a new generation to view members of different cultures as potential friends rather than threatening outsiders. But what mode of communication has the power to stimulate such a shift? New research from Portugal suggests the answer may be music. It reports schoolchildren around age 11 who learned about the music and culture of a faraway land expressed warmer feelings toward immigrants from that country than those who did not.
