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Smart pen detects pressure and movement to identify children's writing difficulties sooner
Science News

Smart pen detects pressure and movement to identify children's writing difficulties sooner

A study by Politecnico di Milano and the University of Insubria (Varese and Como) has been published in PLOS Digital Health. The study involved more than 700 children from primary and lower secondary school. The participants used the THInkPen (Tele-Health Ink Pen) while completing two BVSCO-3 tasks from the Battery for the Clinical Assessment of Writing and Orthographic Skills. This is the most widely used test in Italy for assessing writing difficulties, dysgraphia and dysorthography.

📅 2026-09-11 18:40:02    •    Phys.org
Fertilizers and extreme heat are damaging coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, isotope analyses reveal
Science News

Fertilizers and extreme heat are damaging coral reefs in the Gulf of Mexico, isotope analyses reveal

Who isn't familiar with the colorful coral reefs from movies like "Finding Nemo" or "The Little Mermaid"? Unfortunately, the reality is often quite different, as these vital ecosystems are under pressure worldwide. Climate change and pollution are causing corals to bleach and die. Even the most resilient coral reefs of the United States are now threatened.

📅 2026-09-11 18:20:06    •    Phys.org
'Oddly shaped rock' unearthed in California turns out to be 'immaculate' mastodon molar
Science News

'Oddly shaped rock' unearthed in California turns out to be 'immaculate' mastodon molar

An exceptionally well-preserved fossilized molar belonging to an adult Pacific mastodon has surfaced in a nature preserve near San Francisco.Upon first glance, the ancient tooth looked like an "oddly shaped rock" to geologists who were conducting fieldwork in the area, according to a statement from the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space (Midpen), which runs the preserve. But the find was quickly unmasked as a valuable fossil from the last ice age and was sent to scientists at Stanford University for carbon dating."The tooth itself is in immaculate condition," Wayne Thompson, a paleontologist and the CEO of Pacific Paleontology, a consulting firm that carried out a preliminary analysis, said in...

📅 2026-09-11 18:11:48    •    Live Science
New study offers a detailed look at how wildfire smoke impacts Reno's air quality
Science News

New study offers a detailed look at how wildfire smoke impacts Reno's air quality

With Western wildfires increasing in size, duration and intensity, millions of Americans are now exposed to wildfire smoke each year. In California, 2020 and 2021 were particularly challenging, with a 10-fold increase in fires compared with any time in the state's history. Northern Nevada is positioned to receive much of the smoke from California wildfires, and Reno residents experienced months of smoke-shrouded skies during this time. Now, a new study gives us a deeper look into the potentially hazardous chemicals lurking in this smoke.

📅 2026-09-11 18:00:05    •    Phys.org
AI extracts interpretable constitutive laws directly from solid-mechanics data
Science News

AI extracts interpretable constitutive laws directly from solid-mechanics data

Researchers at the Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT), Ningbo, have developed a graph-based approach that directly extracts concise, accurate constitutive equations from solid-material experimental data. The study, published in Science Advances, describes a method for discovering constitutive models for alloy steels, lithium metal and filled rubbers. It outperforms mainstream empirical models in predictive accuracy while preserving explicit, physically interpretable mathematical formulations.

📅 2026-09-11 18:00:01    •    Phys.org
'There are no easy answers here': New study forecasts a dire dip in food production if key Atlantic currents collapse
Science News

'There are no easy answers here': New study forecasts a dire dip in food production if key Atlantic currents collapse

Weakening Atlantic Ocean currents could cripple agriculture in some of the world's major breadbaskets, threatening global food security and raising the price of basic commodities, new research finds.The study, which hasn't been peer-reviewed yet, investigated how a roughly 60% decline in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) would impact global food production. The AMOC is a system of ocean currents that regulates the global climate and brings heat from the tropics to the Northern Hemisphere.However, the system is currently the weakest it's been in more than 1,000 years, having lost 10% to 20% of its strength due to climate change, estimates show.In the new study, researcher...

📅 2026-09-11 17:32:31    •    Live Science
Brain's ability to hear a musical beat remains distinctly human, study suggests
Science News

Brain's ability to hear a musical beat remains distinctly human, study suggests

The seemingly trivial ability to hear a regular pulse in music is a remarkable—and perhaps distinctively human—feature of the brain. In a wide-ranging critical review, Gábor Háden of the HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences and Henkjan Honing of the University of Amsterdam evaluate more than two decades of research into how this capacity develops and has evolved. Their paper was published this week in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

📅 2026-09-11 17:20:04    •    Phys.org
Travel bots are making decisions for us—convenient, but should we trust them?
Science News

Travel bots are making decisions for us—convenient, but should we trust them?

Imagine telling your phone that you want a quiet boutique hotel near a city center, below a certain price, with a decent breakfast and late checkout. A few seconds later, an AI assistant compares the options, explains why each one fits and helps complete the booking. This is no longer hypothetical.

📅 2026-09-11 17:20:02    •    Phys.org