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While video games can be engaging, some have a higher potential of becoming addictive. However, the mechanisms underlying this addiction are difficult to analyze mathematically. Now, researchers from JAIST, Japan apply the concept of "motion in the mind" to investigate the subjective aspects of different games via analogies with physical models of motion. Their findings explain what makes certain videogames more addictive by nature and will help us tailor games better for specific purposes.

Researchers found that the process of activation of stem cells in the brain responsible for the production of neurons (nerve cells) is not random, but coordinated. According to the researchers, these findings are very important for understanding the proper development of the brain. The findings may form the basis for the development of future treatments using brain stem cells, such as for brain cancer, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and various brain injuries.

In stark contrast to the current prevailing view that extreme El Niño frequency would increase by two-folds in warmer climate, Prof. Luo and his research team found that this view was misled by common biases in CMIP5's projection of the Pacific mean-state change in the future. Results after removing the bias impacts suggest that extreme El Niño frequency would hardly change, highlighting the great impacts of models' biases on the projection of future climate change.

St. Petersburg, like other cities in the Russian Federation, is actively participating in the establishment of the "Smart City" program, which will provide new services for residents of the megalopolis, increasing the safety of citizens. Digital services are essential for such a system. Due to the Internet of Things (IoT) systems, the environment can adapt to the needs of humanity on its own accord. Cybersecurity threats are especially dangerous for such infrastructure.

The most energetic earthquakes occur where oceanic plates submerge beneath continental plates during plate tectonics. Quakes in these subduction zone settings commonly carry the risk of triggering severe tsunamis. But when the earth shook with a moment magnitude of 8.1 near the northern Chilean city of Iquique on 1 April 2014, the resulting tsunami was relatively small. A unique seismological data set, now published by researchers from GEOMAR provides a possible explanation.

Considered extinct as a breeding species in the early 2000s, the Saker Falcon was recovered when the first active nest from the new history of the species in Bulgaria was discovered in 2018, built by two birds that were reintroduced back in 2015. The results of the world's first reintroduction programme for this species are described in detail in the open-access, peer-reviewed Biodiversity Data Journal.

To better understand how PIF proteins affect apical hook development, scientists from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently investigated their roles in an organ specific manner.

When trauma, illness, or injury causes significant muscle loss, reconstructive procedures for bioengineering functional skeletal muscles can fall short, resulting in permanent impairments. Finding a synergy in the importance of biochemical signals and topographical cues, researchers developed an efficient technique for muscle regeneration and functional restoration in injured rats. They describe results from the technique in Applied Physics Reviews.

Statins are prescribed to less than half of eligible U.S. patients, and a new study shows time of day may affect doctors' likelihood of writing a script

What The Study Did: This global observational study included patients with COVID-19 representing 13 countries and four continents, and its findings suggest neurological manifestations are prevalent among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and associated with higher in-hospital death.

A paper published today in JAMA Network Open presents early results of the global effort to gather information about the incidence, severity and outcomes of neurological manifestations of COVID-19 disease.

Improved ventilation can lower the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, but large numbers of decades-old public school classrooms lack adequate ventilation systems. A systematic modeling study of simple air cleaners using a box fan reported in Physics of Fluids shows these inexpensive units can greatly decrease the amount of airborne virus in these spaces, if used appropriately.

New study from Joshua Jacobs (Columbia Engineering) and Itzhak Fried (UCLA) demonstrates the existence of phase precession in the human brain for the first time, and show sthat this neural code not only links sequential positions, as in animals, but also abstract progression towards specific goals. Says lead author Salman Qasim, "We were convinced that phase precession held a lot of promise as a widespread neural code that could be used for learning and cognition."

Network scientists from Beijing Normal University and Bar-Ilan University address the effect of team freshness on the originality and multidisciplinary impact of produced work, by systematically investigating prior collaboration relations between team members. Among other things their study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, reveals that papers of fresher teams are significantly more effective than those of older teams in creating studies of higher originality and greater multidisciplinary impact.

YouTube channels run by zoos focus on entertainment over education, according to a new study.

It was commonly assumed that wildlife products are exported from low-income countries to meet the demand of consumers in wealthy economies, and therefore, a widening wealth gap may drive up the volume of global trade and endanger wildlife. Recently, a research team co-led by the University of Hong Kong and Lingnan University corroborated this premise by analysing global wildlife trade databases. The findings are published in Science Advances.

In recent decades, Spain has undergone rapid social changes in terms of gender equality, despite starting from a more backward position than most European countries. This process is hampered by the economic downturn that began in 2008, underlining the importance of the economic context in the development of gender inequality levels. Little attention has been paid in academia to how this gender revolution is associated with factors related to individual wellbeing.

Young children in deprived areas see nature and outdoor spaces as being associated with "happy places", according to a new study published in the journal Child Indicators Research.

A new study from the University of Portsmouth calls for further government oversight to curb potential illegal activity through these zones.

A new study from the University of Surrey has revealed 'real world' factors that influence people's interest in adopting a dietary pattern called time-restricted feeding.