Phys Org, Author at Top Charts

Twitter data reveals partisan divide in understanding why pollen season’s getting worse

Two things are clear from a University of Michigan analysis of nearly 200,000 Twitter posts between 2012 and 2022. One, people are really good at identifying peak pollen season: The largest volume of tweets about […]

The book only gets 3 stars… but is considered great literature

A new study from Aarhus University shows that star ratings of books are not always accurate. Average ratings on Goodreads can hide both literary classics and highly divided reading experiences—and can therefore be a misleading […]

Virtual National Science Foundation internships aren’t just a pandemic stopgap. They can open opportunities

Many engineering and science undergraduates are approaching January application deadlines for prestigious summer internships and study abroad programs—or, in some cases, a spot in the National Science Foundation’s highly competitive Research Experience for Undergraduates, a […]

Why are older adults more likely to share misinformation online?

Older adults tend to do well at identifying falsehoods in experiments, but they’re also likelier than younger adults to like and share misinformation online.This article is brought to you by Phys.Org.

Why we talk to people who think differently—or why we don’t

Researchers at the University of Basel have developed a tool that measures when people engage in dialog across political divides. The results show that personal factors play a greater role in people’s willingness to engage […]

Australia needs a school lunch program—like many other high-income countries

Many Australian parents of school-age children will be looking forward to a break from the routine of packing school lunch boxes over the summer holidays. But in some other countries, lunch boxes are increasingly being […]

Voters shrug off scandals, paying a price in lost trust

Donald Trump joked in 2016 that he could “stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody” and not lose support. In 2024, after two impeachments and 34 felony convictions, he has more or […]

Why do South African teachers still threaten children with a beating? A psychologist explains

Corporal punishment—usually referring to adults hitting children—was abolished in South Africa in 1997. The Constitutional Court had already ruled it incompatible with the bill of rights in 1995. In that judgment, the chief justice said […]

From Kathmandu to Casablanca, a generation under surveillance is rising up

In 2025, youth-led protests erupted everywhere from Morocco to Nepal, Madagascar and Europe. A generation refused to remain silent in the face of economic precariousness, corruption and eroding democratic norms and institutions.This article is brought […]

Dyslexic students have the right to read, and in Canada, Manitoba has joined other provinces to address it

Disabled students continue to face barriers constructed and enforced by our schools. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization estimates that globally, children with disabilities are twice as likely to be denied access to […]