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Summary: Researchers found that bonobos and chimpanzees have a long-term social memory very similar to humans.
Abstract: There are cute stories of zoo-living apes that seem to recognize their former caregivers. They also seem to recognize familiar apes and tell them apart from strangers. But we don’t know how detailed their memory is. We also don’t know how long their memory lasts. Humans have good social memories, and other great apes are our closest living relatives. We wanted to know if long-lasting social memory is a trait we share with other great apes.
We tested the ability of apes to recognize familiar individuals after spending years apart. We used an eye-tracker to see how long apes looked at two side-by-side images of other apes. We found that apes looked longer at previous groupmates than at strangers. They also looked longer at groupmates with whom they had positive interactions. This helps us understand the evolutionary history of social memory in great apes.
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Read this article at: or watch at: https://youtu.be/0hTsKN9snwU
Summary: Researchers reviewed studies to summarize the effects of e-cigarette vaping on the body’s cells.
Abstract: Did you know that most people who vape are teens? E-cigarette (e-cig) companies market vaping as a safe alternative to traditional smoking. Well, vaping is safer than traditional smoking, but it is still dangerous to human health. We wanted to summarize the effects that vaping has on the body’s cells. We reviewed scientific studies about vaping and the human body. We found that vaping causes inflammation of the mouth and lungs. It also damages DNA. Long-term inflammation and high levels of DNA damage can cause cancer. Some e-cig users have reported mouth cancer, but not many yet. That is because cancer formation takes a long time. We will need more studies to know the long-term effects of vaping. But current studies show that using e-cigarettes is not safe.
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Summary: Researchers investigated the impact of the accuracy of COVID-19 beliefs and metacognition on public health compliance and vaccine willingness.
Abstract: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts asked people to take steps to help stop the spread of the virus. These included wearing face masks, limiting contact with other people, and getting vaccinated. We wondered why some people followed recommendations while others did not. We thought what people believed about COVID-19 mattered. We also thought the way they think about their beliefs may be important.
We asked people about their COVID-19 beliefs. Some beliefs were true, and some were not. Then we asked these people how confident they were that their beliefs were correct.
We found that people who evaluated their beliefs more correctly were more likely to follow public health advice. Our results show that it’s important to be right, but it’s also important to know you might be wrong.
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-does-the-brain-adapt-to-blindness/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/SvF3TX1iO2Q
Summary: Scientists tested how blind and sighted people used sound in tracking motion to learn more about how the brain works.
Abstract: You hear footsteps behind you. They’re getting louder! You turn around quickly. Your friend was trying to sneak up on you. How did you know they were there? Your brain was hard at work! It took clues from your senses and turned those clues into information. But not everybody’s senses work the same way. When someone is blind or deaf, their brains learn to use the other senses differently. We were interested in knowing how blind people use sounds to learn about moving objects. We found that people who became blind during early childhood were better at following sounds than sighted people. Both blind and sighted people tracked moving sounds in a similar way. But blind people were much better at ignoring background noise.
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-air-travel-produce-fewer-greenhouse-gas-emissions/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/d8mS4bH_G2E
Summary: Researchers compare nine different possible scenarios to determine how the aviation industry could reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Abstract: When you think about the causes of climate change, what comes to mind? Do you think of gasoline-powered cars? Or do you think about coal and natural gas power plants? It turns out that a big source of greenhouse gas emissions is flying. To prevent Earth from becoming too warm, many countries have set net-zero emission goals. So, the aviation industry needs to make changes. We analyzed the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced in nine different scenarios in the years up to 2050. Each scenario included a change in the demand for flying, a change in the efficiency of the airplanes, and a change in the type of fuel used. We found making changes to these factors can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, the aviation industry will also need to invest in carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. With these changes, it is possible for the aviation industry to reach net-zero emissions by 2050!
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Read this article at: or watch at: https://youtu.be/QsLFuo8TvhI
Summary: Researchers explore what causes online political discussions to get so mean.
Abstract: Online discussions about politics can be very nasty. But why is that? Researchers have proposed two theories. One talks about the disagreement over ideas. And the second theory is that people see others as rivals. But there is a third theory called the "troll hypothesis". It suggests that mean people are mean, regardless of the topic. To see if this is right, we analyzed comments on Reddit. We found that people who often argue and are rude in political discussions are also mean when they talk about other things. Plus, those who make comments on communities of both political sides turn out to be the meanest! So, online discussions get mean largely because of these people rather than the topic.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/why-dont-whales-get-cancer/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/C11YMSLV_e4
Summary: Researchers wanted to discover how the genomes of the humpback whale have evolved to help them avoid developing cancer.
Abstract: Every day, the cells in your body are super busy growing and dividing. When something goes wrong, mutations appear. Our immune system usually detects cells with mistakes and kills them before they become a problem. But sometimes they go undetected and the rogue cell multiplies, turning into cancer. So, if an animal has more cells and a longer life, it should get more cancer. Whales have up to 1,000 times more cells than humans and some live for over 200 years. But their cancer rates are no higher than ours! To figure out why this is, we compared the humpback whale and other whale genomes to other mammal genomes. Our DNA analysis showed that in whales there was duplication of cancer-suppressing genes. We also found that whales have the slowest rate of genetic changes. Our findings help us understand the role of DNA in preventing cancer. It could also help us fight cancer in humans!
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-ai-make-online-chats-kinder/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/kgt424nIx6k
Summary: Researchers wanted to see if AI assistants can improve online political discussions.
Abstract: Imagine a world where everyone can talk and share their ideas. Even if they don't agree, they listen to each other. This is what should happen in a democracy. But sometimes, when people chat online, things can get a bit mean. We wanted to see if artificial intelligence (AI) could make online talks kinder.
So, we did an online experiment with pairs of people discussing a tricky topic: laws about who can own guns. One participant in each pair had an AI assistant that made suggestions. The participants could accept or ignore the suggestions. Most participants took the AI's advice, which made people more positive and polite. Even if they disagreed, they understood and respected each other. The good thing is that the AI didn't change the topic, it just helped people to talk to each other more kindly.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-doctors-treat-endometriosis/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/LWDUiEuk-GY
Summary: Researchers studied how different types and amounts of macrophages affect endometriosis in mice.
Abstract: Normally, the tissue that makes up each of your body’s organs only grows in the place it should. But that’s not the case for people with endometriosis. With this disease, tissue that lines the uterus grows outside the uterus as lesions. These cause pain and infertility. Endometriosis affects about 10% of women worldwide as well as some trans people. On very rare occasions it has been detected in men.
Scientists know that people with endometriosis have high levels of a type of white blood cell called macrophages. We wanted to find out how macrophages affected the growth of lesions as well as pain in people with endometriosis. So, we studied mice with endometriosis in a laboratory. We changed the number and type of macrophages present in the mice to learn how these cells affect the development of lesions. We discovered that certain types of macrophages may help to treat endometriosis. Others encourage the development of lesions. Our findings could lead to new treatments for endometriosis patients!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-do-bumble-bees-play/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/gT0LECbcxHk
Summary: Researchers wanted to find out whether bumble bees take part in object play.
Abstract: Have you watched cute cat videos or funny dog compilations? Or primates “monkeying around”? Then you know that mammals love to play. Even the dancing cockatiel has gone viral! But have you ever considered whether insects play “for fun”?
We did an experiment to test whether bumble bees take part in object play. We wanted to see whether they would interact and play with wooden balls. We found that the bumble bees did play with a ball-rolling action. Their behavior fulfilled our expectations of play in animals. What's more, they also found it rewarding! We ruled out the possibility that the ball rolling was an attempt to look for food or to mate. This suggests that bumble bees may be more capable of feeling than we had thought!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-we-tell-whether-we-are-talking-to-a-computer-or-a-person/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/ST2dC1eQT64
Summary: Researchers studied the rules of thumb people use to tell computer-generated and human-made text apart, and found that people often used rules of thumb that were wrong.
Abstract: How can you tell if you are talking to a computer? New computer programs called language models have gotten very good at mimicking people. It can be really hard to tell if you’re talking to a person or a computer. We wanted to know how people try to recognize computer-generated text and if they could do it accurately. We learned that people unconsciously use rules of thumb to figure out whether they are talking to a computer. These are often wrong, which means that people are vulnerable to scams.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-have-the-life-choices-of-women-in-india-changed-over-time/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/4ZI4Ye9tDQ8
Summary: Researchers analyze data to determine if the life trajectories of young women in India have changed over time.
Abstract: What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? Do you have a job? Are you married? Do you have children? Throughout your life, there will be decisions to make that determine your path through life. This life trajectory is often affected by different factors. These factors are different from one country to another. They can include social status, religion, and government policies. Life trajectories can affect the success of a country. That is because they can determine how many people are part of the workforce. They also determine if the country’s population grows.
We analyzed survey data to determine how the life trajectories of women in India changed over time. We learned that more women are graduating from high school, so they are getting married later. We also found out that social status and religion affect their decisions about having children and getting a job.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-do-animals-behave-during-a-solar-eclipse/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/KsAYuSCgE9U
Summary: Researchers examined the behavior of zoo animals during a total solar eclipse.
Abstract: When was the last time you were at the zoo? You probably saw lots of animals doing lots of different things there. We wanted to know what zoo animals do when a solar eclipse happens. People have observed animals during solar eclipses before. But these were mostly just casual observations.
We designed a study to observe 17 different types of animals at the zoo. First, we observed their normal behaviors. Then we recorded what happened during a solar eclipse. We saw that a lot of animals did something that wasn’t normal. Most of them started behaving like it was nighttime – in the middle of the day! Some of them even seemed anxious – like the eclipse stressed them out. This helps us understand how complex animal behavior can be.
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-do-dolphin-mothers-speak-with-their-babies/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/PDoq8jMBb4g
Summary: Researchers investigated how bottlenose dolphin female whistles change when they are with their calves.
Abstract: Have you ever noticed that people speak differently to babies and toddlers? Caregivers, particularly mothers, change their speech when talking to young children. How? Their speech includes higher pitches. They also use a wider pitch range and shorter sentences. Scientists call these changes in speech patterns child-directed communication, but you can think of it as baby talk. We wanted to find out if bottlenose dolphins also use child-directed communication. We analyzed the sounds made by female dolphins and found that they used higher frequency whistles when they were with their calves. We also found that the frequency range of their whistles increased. Like humans, bottlenose dolphins speak differently to youngsters than to adults.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/what-do-parenting-and-brain-size-have-to-do-with-each-other/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/dNyShbldjGU
Summary: Bird species that spend more energy on their young have larger brains than those with less parental care.
Abstract: Big brains are useful, but they need time and energy to grow. So why do some animals have big brains and others don’t? We looked at 1,176 bird species to see how different things affect brain size. We found that parental provision had the largest impact on brain size. This includes egg size and caring for and feeding babies. We think parental care allowed larger brains to evolve. And not just among birds! This could also explain why human brains are so big!
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-does-fear-speech-spread-on-social-media/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/Fe2RIr9I7Yo
Summary: Researchers examined the rise of fear speech on social media.
Abstract: Are you on social media? There are lots of fun things on social media, but there are also some bad things. Social media platforms try to manage hurtful content like hate speech. But there are other types of hurtful content that are harder to manage. One of these is fear speech. This is when people use words to create fear about a group.
We wanted to know how common fear speech is on social media. So we created a model to identify fear speech and hate speech from 21 million social media posts. Then we examined things like how connected users were, how they interacted with people who didn’t post hurtful things, and the characteristics of their posts. We found that users who post a lot of fear speech are more connected to others. Fear speech posts also have a lot more activity than hate speech posts. This could contribute to the spread of fear speech on social media.
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-does-the-way-we-think-affect-our-choices-about-vaccines/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/UNkZcX-tYTM
Summary: Researchers want to explore whether the way people think is connected to vaccine hesitancy.
Abstract: Vaccines save millions of lives each year. Yet there are more and more people who are unsure about getting them. Why is that? So far, studies have looked at issues related directly to vaccines. But we think it might be something else. Could it have to do with how people's minds work? To find out, we asked 356 people different questions about what and how they think, and what they believe.
What did we discover? People who like to trust their feelings and believe in supernatural things are more likely to be against vaccines. But those who think carefully and have some scientific knowledge generally trust vaccines. It seems the way our minds work can affect what we think about vaccines. This is important to remember when we talk about the importance of vaccines.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com -
Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/why-are-women-hunters-important/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/bXcOQ94P63Q
Summary: Researchers investigated the role of women hunting in foraging societies.
Abstract: Have you heard that women should make dinner for their family? Or that only men should work outside the home? Unfortunately, many people believe in these ideas about gender roles. It makes it hard to look at new situations without bias.
For a long time, scientists have thought that in foraging societies, men are hunters and women are gatherers. We questioned these ideas. We investigated how often women take part in hunting, what they hunt, and how they hunt. We found that women do hunt intentionally in a lot of foraging societies. They sometimes hunt with different tools than men. We also found women are more flexible in whom they hunt with. They often take dogs and children with them. We can use this information to rethink our historical biases about the role of women in hunting.
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-can-humans-and-ai-work-together-to-detect-deepfakes/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/jcYwojytZbk
Summary: Researchers wanted to test whether humans or AI programs were better at detecting deepfake videos.
Abstract: Fake news is not new on the internet, and people often change images and videos for a joke. However, deepfakes aren’t only meant to make you laugh. Instead, they can spread misinformation or discredit a person or a group. As more deepfakes find their way onto the internet, we need to find the best way to detect these harmful videos. We tested whether the leading AI model or humans were better at detecting deepfakes online. We found that humans and the AI model were each good at identifying certain types of deepfakes. Maybe we could merge the abilities of both AI and humans to create the best deepfake detection model!
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Read this article at: https://www.sciencejournalforkids.org/articles/how-does-dark-energy-affect-galaxies/ or watch at: https://youtu.be/OpMe1Gyqey4
Summary: Researchers found a way to quantify the effect dark energy is having on our universe.
Abstract: Scientists have known for a while that the universe is expanding, and it’s doing so faster and faster. This strange phenomenon is caused by something we call dark energy. To understand this better, we need to think about a special number called the Cosmological Constant. It helps us describe how things move in space.
In our research, we aimed to uncover how dark energy causes objects like stars and galaxies to interact. As an example, we’ve been studying our neighbor galaxy – Andromeda. By looking at how it moves and at its mass, we can see how dark energy affects it.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sciencejournalforkids.substack.com - Vis mere
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