Building on a previous study that supported the ancient philosopher Plato’s conjecture—that Earth is mostly made from cubes—geophysicist Douglas Jerolmack of the University of Pennsylvania teamed up with longtime collaborator, mathematician Gábor Domokos of Budapest University of Technology and Economics, to use their framework for understanding fracture patterns on Earth to survey fracture networks across the solar system. Their findings could offer insights into detecting potentially habitable environments on other planets.

How where you live, what you eat, and which friends you keep affect how you age is the focus of a new study from The University of Texas at Arlington. Researchers are enrolling volunteers for the Arlington Study of Healthy Aging (ASHA), which will use advanced imaging, genetics, exercise science, neuroscience, and remote monitoring to investigate age-related health decline. The goal is to help individuals and health care practitioners better prevent the impact of disease on older adults.

The University of Texas at Arlington has once again earned the prestigious R1 designation from the Carnegie Classifications of Institutions of Higher Education, signifying the highest level of research activity. UTA is among just 187 institutions—4.7% nationwide—earning the R1 designation in 2025. First earning R1 status in 2015, UTA has maintained this classification through reaffirmations in 2018, 2021 and 2024, as part of Carnegie’s three-year review cycle. With research expenditures reaching $155 million in FY 2024—a 5% increase over FY23—UTA continues to demonstrate its commitment to innovation and academic excellence.

An international research team led by the University of Zurich has published a review of more than 200 academic studies, revealing that success isn’t just about talent, hard work, or luck – it’s deeply shaped by hidden social forces. The study shows that our intuition about how these social forces shape success is often misleading, and it maps how recent research has challenged long-held assumptions. The collected findings have implications for policy, education, and careers. The authors explained that future efforts to better understand success could pave the way toward social systems where success better reflects quality, talent, and societal values – and where everyone has equal opportunities to flourish, regardless of their backgrounds.