A new study of online communities suggests that their interaction dynamics can amplify small, local imbalances in opinions, rapidly turning initially mixed-opinion communities into highly-polarized ones—even without the algorithms and homogeneity-seeking behaviors typically blamed for sculpting echo chambers. Petter Törnberg of the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, presents these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 6, 2026.

A new analysis of inter-family marriages, in the mafia-type organized crime group ’Ndrangheta, suggests that matrimonial ties between non-powerful families may play a previously under-appreciated role in maintaining the resilience of the entire ’Ndrangheta network. Maurizio Catino and colleagues at the University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy, present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on May 6, 2026.

The field unites principles in biology, engineering and earth sciences to develop scalable solutions to urgent environmental, social and economic challenges.

A new study challenges one of the most widely accepted ideas in psychology and linguistics: that the meaning of words is fundamentally organized around expressing emotion. Instead, a team of scientists at the University of Vermont have looked at the use of billions of words and discovered that language is structured by something deeper—and more consequential: the need for safety and survival.

University of Houston researchers are applying the principles of marketing science to public health, proposing that the way vaccines are “framed” could be a factor in overcoming hesitancy.

A first-of-its-kind study of U.S. adults suggests that all of those strangers you’re friends with on social media are not helping you to feel less lonely.