What's in a name? AI associates Jewish names with stereotypical traits

A cynical doctor. A ruthless chemist. An arrogant billionaire. A calculating mafia boss. These are not only some of today's most iconic fictional characters—they are also the figures that artificial intelligence models found most similar to fictional biographies of people with Jewish names.

Black hole collisions may follow entropy law, offering simpler remnant predictions

When two black holes orbit each other, they eventually spiral inward and collide in one of the most violent phenomena in the universe. The event is so energetic that it significantly distorts the universe around it. It emits gravitational waves—ripples in the fabric of spacetime—that are strong enough to be detected with precision instruments on Earth even when they originate billions of light-years away.

Global warming, increasing wildfire risk threaten viability of some California winery regions

The U.S. is the fourth-largest wine-producing country by output volume, and approximately 80% of its production occurs in California. Ever since the 19th century, California's premier wine-growing regions have been the Napa Valley and Sonoma County, thanks to their favorable microclimate. But grape yield and quality are very sensitive to the local environment, which means the climate crisis could shake up California's wine industry.

Opportunities across childhood best predict degrees, earnings for low-income youth

A new study led by a Boston College researcher has found that experiencing educational opportunities in all stages of childhood and adolescence is the best predictor of higher educational attainment and earnings for disadvantaged American youth, as opposed to the impact of learning access during any single phase.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft wakes from its longest hibernation in good health

Following its longest hibernation period ever of nearly a year, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft has emerged in good health and is ready to begin transmitting science data gathered in the distant Kuiper Belt far beyond Pluto.

Island life changed how Brazil's Noronha skink reproduces, but the lizard's strategy might be failing

by Henrique B. Braz, Selma Maria Almeida-Santos, Serena Najara Migliore, The Conversation

Visitors to the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, located about 340 miles (545 kilometers) off the coast of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, soon notice a small lizard. Seemingly ubiquitous, it roams among rocks, trails and urbanized areas, approaching people and stealing food in plain sight when it can, and rarely flees.

Measuring iron in motion at Earth-core conditions

It was a journey to the center of the Earth, if only for the briefest of moments. But rather than tunneling thousands of miles from Earth's surface, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and several universities used the National Ignition Facility (NIF) to recreate the extreme temperature and pressure conditions of Earth's inner core. This enabled the first-ever simultaneous measurement of iron's dynamic strength at relevant temperatures and pressures.

Baseline tool could separate alien life signals from geology on ocean worlds

When it comes to the search for life elsewhere in the universe, methane and other chemical compounds are seen as signs of biology because they are often produced by living microbes. However, scientists can be misled because certain geological processes can produce chemical signatures identical to those of living organisms.

Much of Earth's 'space dust' may come from unidentified near-Earth asteroids

Like a shelf in an old house, the Earth collects a lot of dust from its surroundings. This "space dust" is mostly made up of micrometeorites that survive atmospheric entry and provides researchers with a cheap and easy way to obtain samples to study our cosmic neighbors. However, it can be difficult to determine which objects certain samples originated from if their parent bodies aren't already in available catalogs. A recent study, published in Science Advances, describes a new subset of space dust with such mysterious origins and how researchers are tracking down potential sources.

Simple cell migration mechanism may explain how hair follicles organize before birth

In mammals, hair follicles emerge during embryonic development, forming geometric patterns that vary from one species to another. But how is the position of each hair determined? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has shown that a simple mechanism based on the movement of cells in response to chemical signals can reproduce the formation of hair follicles in two mammalian species.