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AI-based system developed to better detect toxic online content

16 June 2026 at 23:00
A Concordia-led team of researchers has developed a new artificial intelligence-based method of detecting toxic online content that is faster and more accurate than existing tools. The system is designed to ensure social media platforms can reliably prevent user-generated content they deem harmful from appearing online.

A new explanation for the mystery death of Botticelli's Birth of Venus model, Simonetta Vespucci

16 June 2026 at 22:30
A paper on new research into the cause of death of Simonetta Vespucci, model for the world-renowned Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, has been published by researchers at Queen Mary University of London, Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and the University of California in the journal Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism.

Subscription required? Newspaper paywalls scatter most readers but provide surprising value

16 June 2026 at 22:20
Paywalls are essential to the financial sustainability of news organizations, yet little is known about how readers respond when they encounter one. Do they subscribe, continue reading free content, look for ways around the paywall or leave the site altogether?

Data suggest 'red flag' laws are linked to sustained reductions in arrests

16 June 2026 at 21:10
Individuals subject to extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or "red flag" laws, were significantly less likely to be arrestedβ€”including for violent and firearm-related offensesβ€”while the orders were in effect than in the six months before. Strikingly, the drop in arrests did not end when the orders expired and continued for months afterward, according to a new study published in PNAS Nexus.

Millions of people can't access civil justice. New report shows why four decades of reform have failed

16 June 2026 at 21:00
Every year, more people in England and Wales are involved in disputes before the civil courts than in the criminal courts. More than 1 million claims a yearβ€”for personal injury, debt, housing disrepair, faulty consumer goods or breach of contract, for exampleβ€”are dealt with in the county court.

The Handala hacker group uses cyberterrorism as psychological warfare, study finds

16 June 2026 at 19:40
A new study by Prof. Gabriel Weimann, a senior researcher at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at Reichman University and professor emeritus in the Department of Communication at the University of Haifa, and Daniel Haberfeld, a researcher and head of the Cyberterrorism Desk at ICT, explored the activities of the Handala hacker group, which is linked to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). The study sought to determine whether the group's operations are best characterized as cyberterrorism or psychological warfare.

Older LGBTQ+ people fear discrimination in housing and care settings, but one simple intervention is effective

16 June 2026 at 18:20
The Life House Impact Project, led by Dr. Georgia Bowers, Professor Andrew King and Dr. Richard Green, worked with older LGBTQ+ people to document their real concerns about housing and social careβ€”and then brought those experiences into training for the people responsible for that care. The report shows that the proportion of staff who said they regularly or always met their LGBTQ+ service users' needs rose from 55% to 85% in the weeks following the training.

Dominance-oriented views of masculinity widespread among young men, finds study

16 June 2026 at 17:40
Half of young men in Switzerland are concerned that "real men" are increasingly being marginalized in society. A large-scale study by the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the University of Zurich (UZH), in collaboration with mΓ€nner.ch, shows how prevalent restrictive and dominance-based concepts of masculinity are. These ideas go hand in hand with misogyny, a propensity for violence and opposition to gender equality. Prevention efforts should start in schools.

Why hotel crisis plans collapse when panic sets in, according to hospitality leaders

16 June 2026 at 17:20
Hospitality leaders are being forced to handle far more than operational disruption when crises hit, according to new research from the University of Surrey. Researchers found that modern crises demand emotional resilience, ethical judgment and rapid decision-making under intense public scrutiny.

2,700-year-old standing stone may provide fresh evidence for King Hezekiah's religious reforms

16 June 2026 at 16:40
A new study by Prof. Avraham Faust of Bar-Ilan University's Department of General History presents new evidence that may shed light on one of the most debated questions in the study of Israelite religion: Did King Hezekiah's religious reforms actually occur, and did they transform religious practices throughout the Kingdom of Judah?

Public school closings in Chicago linked to more gun violence in nearby neighborhoods

16 June 2026 at 16:20
In 2013, Chicago Public Schools closed 49 elementary schoolsβ€”the largest mass public school closure in U.S. history at the time. A new study from researchers at the University of Chicago and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in Social Science & Medicine, shows that, in addition to limiting access to education, the school closures also led to increases in gun violence.

What we misunderstand about absent fathers

16 June 2026 at 15:40
"What do dads do on Tuesdays?" This wasn't a rhetorical question when I posed it to my wife as our daughter's birth approached. Before my daughter was born, I had seen my father just once in the past 27 years. That's more than 1,400 Tuesdays. In fact, as a kid I hardly saw fathering any day of the week, save for on TV sitcoms; absent dads were prevalent within my family and among my peers.

World Cup Fever Study now open to all major smartwatches

16 June 2026 at 13:49
At the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Bielefeld University is looking for fans of all national teams. The Football Fever Study uses smartwatch data to record how match events affect fans' heart rates and stress levels. Anyone wearing a device from one of 13 supported brands, such as Apple, Google, Samsung and Garmin, can take part.

Radiocarbon dating confirms 10,000 years of continuous human occupation in the Pyrenees

16 June 2026 at 13:40
Researchers from the Universitat AutΓ²noma de Barcelona (UAB) have created an open database with 124 carbon-14-dated samples that have made it possible to construct the chronological sequence of 380 sites located in the AigΓΌestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. The evidence confirms continuous human occupation for several thousand years at sites found at more than 2,000 meters (6,562 feet).

Jury service boosts public trust in courts, but fewer Americans are serving

16 June 2026 at 12:20
As public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court continues to fall, new research from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania finds that jury service is associated with more positive attitudes toward courts and judgesβ€”but that Americans' opportunities to serve are shrinking as jury trials become increasingly rare.

New research suggests writing with AI demands more thought from students, not less

16 June 2026 at 12:00
Writing with AI can look deceptively simple. Effortless, even. Type in a prompt and a polished paragraph appears in seconds. Tidy, confident, clean. But that apparent ease is also deceiving, says Abram Anders, associate professor of English and the Jonathan Wickert Professor of Innovation at Iowa State University.

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