Self-driving buses in China can now read human gestures, predict traffic moves, and learn from experience. Using advanced AI that mimics human social intelligence, these vehicles navigate complex road interactions—like yielding to waving pedestrians or overtaking safely—while earning high trust scores from passengers.

In this study, researchers developed a regional modeling framework to characterize and quantify how forests in the northeastern United States may respond to ongoing environmental change by the mid-21st century, with particular emphasis on the complex interactions occurring in urbanized landscapes.

Analysing longitudinal data from 2,121 adolescents aged 13–15, researchers found that problematic social media use predicted increases in depressive symptoms one year later, particularly among younger teenagers and girls. Published in Scientific Reports, the study highlights how loss of control over social media use—rather than time spent online—may be a key mental health risk factor during early adolescence.

A new study co-authored by an Illinois Institute of Technology (Illinois Tech) researcher explores the decision-making strategies behind when people choose to stay with what they know and when they decide to try something new. The research sheds light on how individuals balance short-term rewards with the potential benefits of exploring unfamiliar options, with implications for understanding consumer behavior, technology adoption, and innovation more broadly.

With the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, national and international media attention is once again turning to Paralympic sport. But how is it presented to the public? The study “It should just be about sport!”: exploring Italian athletes' perspectives in paralympic media coverage – conducted by Athanasios Pappous and Pablo Iniesta at the University of Bologna’s Department for Life Quality Studies and published in the international journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living – collected the direct testimonies of 17 high-level Italian Paralympic athletes to investigate how they perceive their representation in the media.