Culture
If you've ever stayed in a relationship too long or stuck with a project that was going nowhere, you're not alone. Humans are generally reluctant to give up on something they've already committed time and effort to. It's called the "sunk costs" phenomenon, where the more resources we sink into an endeavor, the likelier we are to continue--even if we sense it's futile.
But why would we engage in such potentially self-defeating behavior?
Those who consider themselves healthy will be more willing to comply with COVID restrictions if they believe, according to their own estimations, that the expected losses from the disease will be significant, suggest researchers of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at HSE University.
Scientists from Japan and NASA have confirmed the presence in meteorites of a key organic molecule which may have been used to build other organic molecules, including some used by life. The discovery validates theories of the formation of organic compounds in extraterrestrial environments.
ITHACA, N.Y. - By delving into scientific, technological, environmental and economic data, Cornell University engineering researchers examined whether New York could achieve a statewide carbon-free economy by 2050. Their finding: Yes, New York can reach this goal - and do it with five years to spare.
New research from Brigham Young University finds college students could be just as at risk for developing skin cancer in the dead of winter as they are in the middle of summer.
The study, published by researchers in BYU's College of Nursing, finds college students almost never use sunscreen, and they use tanning beds far too often, with a significant uptick in colder months. Those two factors, combined with increased exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays reflecting off snow and ice, means that winter can be just as devastating to skin.
A combination of astrophysical measurements has allowed researchers to put new constraints on the radius of a typical neutron star and provide a novel calculation of the Hubble constant that indicates the rate at which the universe is expanding.
WSU researchers have developed a sustainable wastewater treatment system that relies on electron-producing microbial communities to clean the water.
The work could someday lead to reduced reliance on the energy-intensive processes that are used to move and treat wastewater, which accounts for as much as two percent of the total electrical energy consumption in the United States.
Osaka, Japan - Researchers from the Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research at Osaka University have devised a new method to determine the degree of fibrillation in wood pulp. By taking advantage of the intrinsic optical birefringence of cellulose, they were able to measure the morphology change through optical retardation distribution. This work may lead to clear grading and smart utilization of renewable biomass, cellulose nanofibers.
When the corona pandemic began in March, it fundamentally changed many people's everyday lives. A normal working day, vibrant public life, carefree social contacts - all these things now seem like a memory from another age. In order to find out what effects these restrictions are having on people's emotional well-being, the researchers carried out a survey on how people dealt with the pandemic. "Our analyses showed that most people have been doing relatively well during these times," explains Lara Kröncke from Münster University's Institute of Psychology.
An international team of researchers has developed a new nanomaterial from the silk produced by the Tetranychus lintearius mite. This nanomaterial has the ability to penetrate human cells without damaging them and, therefore, has "promising biomedical properties".
Armed conflict activities increased in five countries during the first wave of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic says new research from the University of Melbourne.
India, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and the Philippines all saw an escalation of civil wars because conflict parties exploited either state weakness or a lack of international attention due to the pandemic.
"I looked at the countries that had the most palpable records of conflict," said researcher Dr Tobias Ide, a Discovery Early Career Researcher Fellow from the School of Geography.
More than half of the matter in our universe has so far remained hidden from us. However, astrophysicists had a hunch where it might be: In so-called filaments, unfathomably large thread-like structures of hot gas that surround and connect galaxies and galaxy clusters. A team led by the University of Bonn (Germany) has now for the first time observed a gas filament with a length of 50 million light years. Its structure is strikingly similar to the predictions of computer simulations. The observation therefore also confirms our ideas about the origin and evolution of our universe.
Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques* in the patient's brain. These plaques sequester copper, and contain approximately five times as much as a healthy brain. Two CNRS scientists from the Coordination Chemistry Laboratory recently developed, with their colleagues from the Guangdong University of Technology and Shenzhen University (China), a molecule that regulates the circulation of copper in the brain.
Implicit racial bias refers to the automatic non-conscious behaviours, even if one's explicit attitude is not biased at all. Several studies have shown these prejudices are reduced in white people after being in the body of a black person in virtual reality. Now, a study carried out by researchers of the University of Barcelona shows that when the virtual scenario is affectively negative, implicit bias increases, and even the illusion of owning a virtual body is lessened.