Scholars from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the University of Vienna and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem unveil a unique papyrus from the collections held by the Israel Antiquities Authority, offering rare insights into Roman legal proceedings and life in the Roman Near East. In a new publication in the international scholarly journal Tyche, the research team reveals how the Roman imperial state dealt with financial crimes – specifically, tax fraud involving slaves – in the Roman provinces of Iudaea and Arabia. The new papyrus furnishes a strikingly direct view of Roman jurisdiction and legal practice, as well as important new information about a turbulent era shaken by two massive Jewish revolts against Roman rule. 

Nudging with carbon footprint labeling and product categorization motivates online shoppers to select plant-based foods, according to new research published by agricultural economists at Purdue University and the University of Kentucky. 

“A lot of research has been done on point-of-purchase nudges, but that has been done in a physical setting. In this study, we look at that in the growing domain of online grocery shopping,” said Bhagyashree Katare, associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University. “It provides actionable evidence that small interventions can increase the selection of plant-based products or healthy products.” 

University of Missouri researchers and collaborators have developed a new chemical tool that could help lower the cost of prescription medications. The tool, called AshPhos, is a ligand, or molecule, that makes it easier to create special carbon-nitrogen bonds. These bonds are the backbone of more than half of all medicines on the market today.