Soccer formations analysis suggests home advantage is result of execution
An automated analysis by Disney Research Pittsburgh of team formations used during an entire season of professional soccer provides further evidence that visiting teams are less successful than home...
View ArticlePhysicists test aerodynamics of soccer ball types prior to World Cup (w/ Video)
(Phys.org) —A pair of physicists with Japan's University of Tsukuba has tested the aerodynamics of several types of soccer balls to determine which fly the most true when kicked. Sungchan Hong and...
View ArticleNew ball to showcase talent in World Cup
University of Adelaide physics experts believe the new soccer ball created for the 2014 FIFA World Cup starting next week is a "keepers' ball".
View ArticleWomen appear in only five percent of sports newsprint
Women are the subject of news in sports papers in only 5.11% of the cases, sometimes alone (2.18%) and others accompanied by men (2.93%). On the other hand, men are the focus of this kind of...
View ArticleEven the best refs play favorites
(Phys.org) —Along with Neymar, Ronaldo and Messi, the world's best soccer referees are heading to Brazil for the World Cup.
View ArticleExplained: How does a soccer ball swerve?
It happens every four years: The World Cup begins and some of the world's most skilled players carefully line up free kicks, take aim—and shoot way over the goal. The players are all trying to bend the...
View ArticleMESSENGER spies a soccer ball on Mercury
Olé, Olé, Olé! Good news World Cup fans, a soccer ball has been found on Mercury! This 'soccer ball' is actually an old impact crater in Goethe Basin that has been flooded with volcanic lava flows,...
View ArticleSoccer's key role in helping migrants to adjust
New research from the University of Adelaide has for the first time detailed the important role the sport of soccer has played in helping migrants to adjust to their new lives in Australia.
View ArticleWhat shape is the universe?
The universe. It's the only home we've ever known. Thanks to its intrinsic physical laws, the known constants of nature, and the heavy-metal-spewing fireballs known as supernovae we are little tiny...
View ArticleVortex robot wants to join kids for play and programming
You can't argue with doting parents. From yesterday's huggable teddy bears to fingerpaint sets to today's cute spaceman robots, they easily conclude there is always room for one more toy. This time...
View ArticleStudy explains science of soccer
With the attention of sports fans worldwide focused on South Africa and the 2010 FIFA World Cup, U.S. scientist John Eric Goff has made the aerodynamics of the soccer ball a focus of his research.
View ArticleGame theorists devise way to even the odds in soccer shootouts
Penalty shootouts in soccer favor the team kicking first—an advantage that is widely recognized by both statisticians and coaches. In order to level the playing field in these tie-breaking sessions, a...
View ArticleNanoparticle-based cancer therapies shown to work in humans
A team of researchers led by Caltech scientists have shown that nanoparticles can function to target tumors while avoiding adjacent healthy tissue in human cancer patients.
View ArticleTop soccer players are under-performing because of gambling, research says
Some top soccer players are under-performing because of worries about gambling losses, new research says.
View ArticleVideo game feeds soccer's growth in the U.S.
The popularity of soccer in the United States has grown exponentially in the past decade due to increased media exposure, demographic changes and the proliferation of social media.
View ArticleNegative stereotypes affect female soccer performance
Subjecting female soccer players to a negative stereotype about their abilities reduced their dribbling speed significantly, according to a new study published in Psychology of Sport and Exercise. The...
View ArticleWorld's most powerful X-ray takes a 'sledgehammer' to molecules
An international team of more than 20 scientists has inadvertently discovered how to create a new type of crystal using light more than ten billion times brighter than the sun.
View ArticleTwo Taiwanese teenagers win World Robot Olympiad in India
Whizzing around a green felt table chasing a soccer ball beaming infrared light, the boxy robot shoots—and scores—and wins its Taiwanese teenage creators first prize at this year's student robot games.
View ArticleStudy shows European soccer increasingly popular in the USA
European professional soccer has a growing fan base also in the USA: "A representative survey reveals that almost fifty percent of US citizens have at least a basic interest in soccer games," say...
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