A new study adds to evidence suggesting that people’s perceptions of others’ tears as sincere or manipulative likely depends on a variety of contextual factors. The findings suggest tears may be perceived as more honest when shed in non-manipulative social situations and by people who are less expected to cry. Monika Wróbel of the University of Lodz, Poland, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on July 16, 2025.

A new study reveals how political conditions in the home countries of ultra-wealthy elites may influence their strategies for concealing their finances offshore. Ho-Chun Herbert Chang, Brooke Harrington and Daniel Rockmore from Dartmouth College, U.S., present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One on July 16, 2025       

A first-of-its-kind study traces the rise of ant- and termite-eaters, revealing how mammals returned to the evolutionary table — at least a dozen times — to hone traits for feasting on the social insect bonanza that exploded after the extinction of the dinosaurs.

At the center of the study is Indigo, a 235-acre master-planned community in Fort Bend County, Texas, where residents will begin to move later this month. The neighborhood will have 42 acres dedicated to agriculture, including crop fields and a livestock pasture. Plans also emphasize walkability, with more than half of the land dedicated to car-free green spaces. The study will recruit 350 participants total, comprised of 175 Indigo residents and 175 residents of a comparison community in Fort Bend County. Located about 20 miles away from Indigo, the comparison neighborhood has similar demographics but is a traditional planned community without the features of an agrihood. Participants will complete a comprehensive survey about their lifestyle before moving in to establish a baseline and will be surveyed again at three and six months.

Immigrants in the United States earn 10.6% less than similarly educated U.S.-born workers, largely because they are concentrated in lower-paying industries, occupations and companies, according to a major new study published today in Nature, co-authored by a University of Massachusetts Amherst sociologist who studies equal opportunity in employment. The research—one of the most comprehensive global comparisons of immigrant labor market integration to date—analyzes linked employer-employee data from over 13 million people across nine advanced economies in Europe and North America.