Joshua Tree National Park/Michelle Boston
“What Pokémon can teach us about language”
The popular media franchise holds lessons in how the human mind makes the connection between sounds and their meanings, according to research by USC Dornsife linguist Stephanie Shih.
Have you ever imagined what is living beneath the ocean floor? The deep biosphere is one of the largest — and least understood — ecosystems on the planet. Researchers at the Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations have set their sights on understanding its depths.
"A comedian walks into a neuroscience lab"
What exactly is going on in your brain when you come up with joke? Well, that appears to depend on whether or not you tell jokes for a living.
"Positive language is on the decline in the United States"
Although recent election coverage may suggest otherwise, research shows that people are more likely to use positive words than negative words on the whole in their communications. Behavioral scientists have extensively documented this phenomenon, known as language positivity bias (LPB), in a number of different languages. However, a new study conducted by researchers at USC Dornsife and the University of Michigan, suggests that our tendency to use positive language has been on the decline in the United States over the past 200 years.
"A Physicist Gets Graphic About the Nature of the Universe"
Ever wonder how the universe came into being? Or, what exactly a black hole is? With a graphic book that will tackle these questions and more, Clifford Johnson of physics and astronomy at USC Dornsife reminds us that science is not just for scientists.
As the sun shone against a clear blue sky on Catalina Island, 17 students gathered around a long, rectangular pit filled with dirt, garden clippings and bits of food — banana peels, lettuce leaves, waffles. Eleven five-gallon plastic drums sat in a row nearby.
“What we’re going to be doing today is making compost,” Liz Gustin said.