MIT research finds the brain’s language-processing network also responds to artificial languages such as Esperanto and languages made for TV, such as Klingon on “Star Trek” and High Valyrian and Dothraki on “Game of Thrones.”

For years, therapy dogs have ruled the world of animal-assisted services (AAS), offering stress relief to college students, hospital patients, and those in need of emotional support. But new research suggests that some cats might also have what it takes to join the ranks of therapy animals—bringing their purrs, gentle headbutts, and calm demeanor to the field.

The Politecnico di Milano, coordinator of the WORLD – Waste Oils RecycLe and Development project, proposes an innovative, circular and sustainable process to turn used vegetable oil into a valuable resource.  The study was published by the British Royal Society of Chemistry in the prestigious international journal RSC Sustainability and was rewarded for its originality by being featured on the cover.

An openly available generative AI tool can interpret millions of cells in human tissues in hours, revealing new insights and allowing researchers and clinicians to ask questions about conditions such as cancer.    

Teenage friendships happen online as much as they do offline. The final study of a research project investigating the dynamics of adolescents’ friendships in association with their social media use examined how teens’ perception of social media norms and features could contribute to digital stress, which might result in conflicts among friends. The results showed that continuous disappointment from unmet expectations, such as friends not responding to or engaging with posts, was the strongest predictor of friendship feuds after a few months.