The Ig Nobel Prizes, awarded annually by Improbable Research since 1991, were handed out this year in Zurich to ten offbeat studies. Winners included researchers who crafted a cross-species scientific definition of kissing, a team linking higher social class to unethical behavior, and a chemistry study on the nutritional value of cockroach milk. Other honored work reportedly examined nose-blowing techniques and used buried underwear to gauge soil health.
wired.com
· 2026-09-08
Researchers examined the physics of toilet flushing and found that the aerosol plume generated can rise rapidly and disperse droplets to roughly face height within seconds. They identified specific factors, including flush design and water pressure, that increase how far and how high these microbial-laden particles travel.
gizmodo.com
· 2026-09-08
Counterpoint Research's Q2 2026 report found global smartwatch shipments fell 4% year over year, even as Apple, Huawei and Garmin posted gains. Apple grew 14% to capture a 20.1% share, trailing only Huawei's 21.8% share, with the Watch Series 11 and Watch SE 3 driving over 80% of Apple's volume. Huawei's growth was concentrated in China, which made up about 80% of its shipments.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-08
Xiaomi released the Xiaomi 18 Fold and Huawei unveiled the Mate XT2 trifold this week, both timed just ahead of Apple's Wednesday event where the company is expected to reveal its first foldable iPhone under CEO John Ternus. Analysts say the Chinese manufacturers are trying to lock in buyers before Apple enters the foldable market.
cnbc.com
· 2026-09-08
A design educator who teaches a course on behavior change argues that every design decision—whether for a book cover, app, or ad—is ultimately an attempt to influence user actions, most often to boost sales or shareholder value. The essay contrasts public companies, B corps, and nonprofits, noting that even mission-driven organizations use design to drive fundraising or other outcomes, and that designers rarely know an employer's true motives until they're inside.
cwodtke.com
· 2026-09-08
Counterpoint Research projects global foldable phone shipments will exceed 100 million units this year, with Apple entering the category via the iPhone Ultra and quickly capturing a quarter of the market—putting it second behind Samsung and ahead of Huawei. The firm expects Apple's share to climb to 40% the following year, surpassing Samsung. Separately, Xiaomi has launched its book-style 18 Fold in China just a day before Apple's own hardware event.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-08
Google Research, working with HHMI Janelia Research Campus, published the first complete map of an adult male fruit fly's brain and central nervous system, called MaleCNS v1.0. The AI-assisted project stitched together millions of 2D images into a 3D model reconstructing more than 166,000 neurons. Within days, software engineers used the connectome data to train a simulated version of the fly's neural circuitry to play Doom and Super Mario 64.
tomshardware.com
· 2026-09-08
Ecologist Mira Grönroos of the Finnish Environment Institute had participants rub their hands with soil, peat and moss for 20 seconds. Even after washing with tap water, their skin showed a marked increase in the number and variety of microbes, despite looking visibly clean.
bbc.com
· 2026-09-08
The World Bank has begun attaching 'reproducibility packages'—containing raw data and analysis code—to all research it publishes, following concerns that findings in social and behavioural sciences are often hard for independent researchers to replicate. The move, underway since 2023 and standard since 2025, follows broader studies this year documenting widespread reproducibility problems across scientific fields.
nature.com
· 2026-09-08
Responding to Ming Li's proposal to separate academic 'titles' from resource allocation in Chinese universities, a Nature correspondence argues the reform is unlikely to succeed. The author agrees that suppressed performance indicators tend to resurface under different labels, but contends university administrators benefit from the current metric-based system and thus have little incentive to change it.
nature.com
· 2026-09-08
Rene Haas, chief executive of Arm Holdings, told the BBC that AI will eventually cure cancer by modelling complex cellular and DNA processes beyond current human or computing capability, though he said this progress is being constrained by a shortage of chips needed to build data centres. He also predicted humanoid robots would become widespread within five years, while expressing doubt that chip manufacturing could realistically be built up in the UK.
bbc.co.uk
· 2026-09-07
After his daughter Lucy suffered a brain hemorrhage that left her blind, billionaire Bill Ackman used his connections to secure her advanced care at Mount Sinai and pursue an experimental treatment. In May, the FDA granted her medical team first-time emergency authorization to transplant mitochondria from her leg muscle into her eyes in an attempt to repair her optic nerves. Ackman has since pledged over $400 million to establish an institute focused on longevity and brain health research.
science.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-07
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