Dr. Karl Kaiser, professor of marine and coastal environmental science in the College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies at Texas A&M University at Galveston is exploring an innovative idea: using satellites to spot microplastics in the ocean. How? By studying how tiny plastic particles change the way light reflects off the water — and how that changes the color we see from space. If this connection works, it could give scientists a powerful new tool to track microplastic pollution across the globe without ever leaving orbit.

Ages ago, when societies were organized around small villages, a person’s security and sense of belonging depended partly on how close they were to the village chiefs and elders. If the village was attacked, those closest to the powerful had a better chance of survival.

Today, gossip magazines such as People and Us Weekly fill a similar psychological need for inclusion, according to new research from Rajagopal Raghunathan, professor of marketing at Texas McCombs. Reading personal news about celebrities lets people feel some connection to them. That sentiment, in turn, helps alleviate feelings of social isolation.

A new study challenges the idea that climate change drove early human innovation. Instead, researchers find that cultural developments arose under different environmental conditions, shaped by movement, interaction, and knowledge sharing.

From George Mason University researchers, the first nationwide analysis shows incentives reshaped staffing patterns, but left many areas critically underserved.

Teenagers who are pathological liars also tend to struggle with executive function deficits, such as poor memory or impulse control, researchers have found.