Music Choice Can Harm Productivity

Summary: A new study shows that background music in workplaces can harm employee mood, energy, and job performance when it doesn’t match individual needs. This “music misfit” effect leads to…

Details on material composition now available for Germany’s entire building stock could promote sustainability

by Heike Hensel, Leibniz-Institut für ökologische Raumentwicklung e. V. View of an office building that is being demolished. Credit: Ricardo Vigh The construction sector is one of the world’s biggest…

Small model approach could be more effective than LLMs

Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Small language models are more reliable and secure than their large counterparts, primarily because they draw information from a circumscribed dataset. Expect to see more chatbots…

New app hopes to empower artists against AI

Artists have voiced increasing concern over the rapid growth of AI and its threats to creative livelihoods. In 2008, scriptwriter Ed Bennett-Coles said he experienced a career “death moment”: he…

Nostalgia fuels UK boom in vintage video game repairs

Luke Malpass repairs a hand-held Sega Game Gear video game console. The shelves lining Luke Malpass’s home workshop are a gamer’s treasure trove stretching back decades, with components of vintage…

Hackers have hit major super funds—a cyber expert explains how to stop it from happening again

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Several of Australia’s biggest superannuation funds have suffered a suspected coordinated cyberattack, with scammers stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of members’ retirement savings. Superannuation funds…

The Subtle Power of Self-Deprecating Humor

Summary: Self-deprecating humor, when used thoughtfully, can help people regulate emotions, build trust, and foster connection—especially in therapeutic settings. Far from being purely negative, this type of humor signals humility,…

Serotonin Signals the Brain’s Best Guess About Future Rewards

Summary: A new study reveals that serotonin neurons in the brain may play a crucial role in helping us estimate the value of future rewards. Rather than simply responding to…

Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed

The Switch 2 retains its detachable ‘Joy-Con’ controllers. Gaming specialists who have handled Nintendo’s new Switch 2 say the console is a clear upgrade on its predecessor, but it lacks…

Trump gives TikTok extra 75 days to find buyer

US President Donald Trump suggested tariffs could be wielded to persuade Beijing to approve the sale of social media app TikTok. US President Donald Trump on Friday extended the deadline…