Experts see peer recognition as important to student success in physics, and a new study gives college-level physics instructors insight into how students perceive the message from their classmates that “you’re good at physics.” Even when women receive similar amounts of recognition from peers as men for excelling in physics classes, they perceive significantly less peer recognition, the researchers found.

Diminished trust in public education in crisis-hit Lebanon is worsening inequality in the country and forcing parents to make difficult decisions, a new study warns. 

On February 26th, 2025, the Arab States Research and Education Network (ASREN), Training Centre in Communication (TCC Africa), and Public Library of Science (PLOS) hosted a dynamic virtual webinar to officially launch their strategic partnership aimed at promoting and strengthening open science principles and practices across North Africa.  This collaboration brings together ASREN’s regional network infrastructure, TCC Africa’s expertise in research capacity building, and PLOS’ global leadership in open access and open science to enhance research visibility, accessibility, and scientific collaboration in the region. The webinar, attended by over 100 participants, served as a platform for meaningful discussions on advancing open science initiatives and fostering a more inclusive and globally connected research ecosystem. A highlight of the event was an interactive session where participants shared challenges, explored opportunities, and proposed potential areas for collaboration to strengthen open science efforts in the region. The partnership was officially launched by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the three organizations, formalizing their commitment to driving change and promoting open science among researchers, policymakers, and institutions.

In a new article published in Contemporary Educational Psychology, University of Delaware Associate Research Professor Leigh McLean offers a new tool for measuring teachers’ emotional expressions and studying how these expressions affect their students’ attitudes toward learning. With co-author Nathan Jones of Boston University, McLean uses this tool to gather new data showing emotional transmission between teachers and their students in fourth-grade classrooms. 

Technology is changing how physicians think about assessing patients and, in turn, how patients expect to be able to measure their own health. Apps designed for smartphones and wearable devices can provide unique insights into users’ brain health.  

It is estimated that 55 million individuals worldwide suffer from some form of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias being the leading causes, with numbers expected to triple by 2050. Early education and detection of cognitive changes empower individuals to enact lifestyle modifications and initiate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic approaches to slow or prevent decline. In fact, up to 45% of global dementia cases could be prevented or delayed through targeted lifestyle changes and risk factor management, according to the 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care. This highlights how individuals can be empowered to protect and improve their brain health through proactive measures.

A new study in the journal Nature Medicine has found widely used consumer grade digital devices, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch, can be effective in assessing an individual's cognitive health without requiring in-person visits or supervision. This is the largest cognition study of its kind to demonstrate that self-administered cognitive assessments can be leveraged to accurately assess cognitive health over time.