Scientists Find a Surprising Link Between Cats And Happiness Across 93 Countries - ScienceAlert

Cat people have long been cast as lonely weirdos, devoted to an animal that would probably eat their face if they died on the kitchen floor. Now there’s research suggesting countries with more cats are also happier, so who’s the lonely weirdo now? A new study in PLOS One compared happiness scores across 93 countries with the number of cats living in each one. Countries with more cats generally reported higher happiness.

Want to feel happier? That “treat yourself” self-care strategy may not help as much as you think. Happiness may be more about connecting with other people. “What a lot of research is now showing is that when we orient ourselves outwards to other people, that leads to greater increases in happiness,” says Katherine Nelson-Coffey, an associate professor of psychology in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, part of the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University. She says social connection is one of the strongest predictors of happiness and well-being — in the moment and over time. Activities that bring people together strengthen relationships and decrease loneliness, which boosts well-being. Students: Add some happiness to your class scheduleLooking to thrive while meeting your General Studies Gold requirements in spring 2027? Sign up for PSY 213: ABCs of Happiness. Psychology students can also take PSY 335: Positive Psychology and PSY 336: Flourishing Across Contexts. ASU also offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in positive psychology — including online delivery options — as well as a graduate certificate.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher Isaiah Santistevan led the development of three-dimensional simulations exploring how a nuclear device could deflect or disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth. Credit: Blaise Douros/LLNL Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers are developing three-dimensional simulations to examine how a nuclear device could be used to deflect or potentially disrupt an asteroid threatening Earth.

Milky Way’s first microblazar candidate sits 12,000 light-years away, offering a rare ground-level lab for studying relativistic jetsA black hole 12,000 light-years away is firing a jet of plasma almost directly toward Earth. At that distance, no known or expected danger to Earth has been identified by the researchers or the institutions involved. What astronomers have actually found is rarer and more interesting than a threat. Researchers have identified IRAS 18293-0941 as a compelling candidate for the Milky Way’s first microblazar, a class of object that gives astrophysicists a close-up laboratory for studying some of the most violent physics in the galaxy. What Astronomers FoundThe discovery centers on a binary system whose black hole expels plasma jets at close to three-quarters the speed of light, pointed almost directly toward Earth. The system pairs a hot, massive star with a black hole that completes a full orbit roughly every 11.38 days. Material drawn from the companion star feeds the black hole, and some of that matter gets expelled outward as opposing jets traveling at approximately three-quarters the speed of light. Terminology matters here.