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Hate crimes laws passed in Washington have been remarkably ineffective in protecting LGBTQ people for decades

  • Written by Christopher Ewing, Assistant Professor of History, Purdue University
imageA painted rainbow peels off a wall in Laramie, Wyo., where nearly 26 years ago Matthew Shepard was killed. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

On Feb. 23, 2024, Daqua Lameek Ritter was found guilty of a hate crime for the murder of Dime Doe, a transgender woman from South Carolina believed to be in a relationship with Ritter.

The ruling marks...

Read more: Hate crimes laws passed in Washington have been remarkably ineffective in protecting LGBTQ people...

For the ancient Maya, cracked mirrors were a path to the world beyond

  • Written by James L. Fitzsimmons, Professor of Anthropology, Middlebury
imageThe Maya used mirrors as channels for supernatural communication. In this image, a supernatural creature speaks into a cracked, black mirror.K2929 from the Justin Kerr Maya archive, Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, D.C., CC BY-SA

Some people fear that breaking a mirror can lead to seven years of misfortune. The history...

Read more: For the ancient Maya, cracked mirrors were a path to the world beyond

Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop

  • Written by Stephen Wooding, Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Heritage Studies, University of California, Merced
imageA grower shows off his lush cassava garden.Stephen Wooding, CC BY-ND

The three staple crops dominating modern diets – corn, rice and wheat – are familiar to Americans. However, fourth place is held by a dark horse: cassava.

While nearly unknown in temperate climates, cassava is a key source of nutrition throughout the tropics. It was dome...

Read more: Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop

Climbers have turned Mount Everest into a high-altitude garbage dump, but sustainable solutions are within reach

  • Written by Suzanne OConnell, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan University
imageTrash collected in a 2019 cleanup that removed 24,000 pounds (10,000 kilograms) of garbage from Mount Everest.Narayan Maharjan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Spring is go time for climbers who hope to summit Mount Everest, Earth’s highest peak above sea level. Hundreds of mountaineers from around the world travel to Asia in April and May, headed...

Read more: Climbers have turned Mount Everest into a high-altitude garbage dump, but sustainable solutions...

Electric air taxis are on the way – quiet eVTOLs may be flying passengers as early as 2025

  • Written by Jamey Jacob, Executive Director, Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education, Oklahoma State University

Imagine a future with nearly silent air taxis flying above traffic jams and navigating between skyscrapers and suburban droneports. Transportation arrives at the touch of your smartphone and with minimal environmental impact.

This isn’t just science fiction. United Airlines has plans for these futuristic electric air taxis in Chicago and New...

Read more: Electric air taxis are on the way – quiet eVTOLs may be flying passengers as early as 2025

The power of touch is vital for both reading and writing

  • Written by Naomi S. Baron, Professor Emerita of Linguistics, American University
imageIn an increasingly digital world, children still enjoy the sensory power of being able to touch the books they read.Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

“Pat the Bunny,” the 1940 classic touch-and-feel book, is still in print – a testament to the value of touch in introducing infants and toddlers to the world of reading. Later, when...

Read more: The power of touch is vital for both reading and writing

New EPA regulations target air, water, land and climate pollution from power plants, especially those that burn coal

  • Written by Patrick Parenteau, Professor of Law Emeritus, Vermont Law & Graduate School
imagePacifiCorp's Hunter coal-fired power plant in Utah is scheduled to shut down by 2032.George Frey/Getty Images

Electric power generation in the U.S. is shifting rapidly away from fossil fuels toward cleaner and lower-carbon sources. State clean energy targets and dramatic declines in the cost of renewable electricity are the most important reasons.

Bu...

Read more: New EPA regulations target air, water, land and climate pollution from power plants, especially...

Gen Zers and millennials are still big fans of books – even if they don’t call themselves ‘readers’

  • Written by Kathi Inman Berens, Associate Professor of Book Publishing and Digital Humanities, Portland State University
imageSome Gen Zers and millennials might not identify as readers because they assume the reading that they do doesn't 'count.'Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty ImagesimageThe Conversation, CC BY

Identifying with an activity is different from actually doing it.

For example, 49% of Americans play video games, but only 10% identify as gamers.

According to a...

Read more: Gen Zers and millennials are still big fans of books – even if they don’t call themselves ‘readers’

Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning

  • Written by Barry C. Burden, Professor of Political Science, Director of the Elections Research Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imageIndependent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks on March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Once again, the U.S. is entering a presidential campaign with some voters expressing curiosity about independent and minor-party candidates. None of those candidates has a real shot at victory in November, but they might...

Read more: Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and...

‘It’s a deep emotional ride’ – 12 young people in Philly’s toughest neighborhoods explain how violence disrupts their physical and mental health

  • Written by Kalen Flynn, Research Scientist, Center for Guaranteed Income Research, University of Pennsylvania
imageAn interaction with police caused one young man's heart rate to spike to 130 beats per minute, and it stay elevated for 30 minutes.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

In 2023, 410 people were murdered in Philadelphia – more than a quarter of them under age 25. In addition to the people who died, countless others lost loved ones and people they relied...

Read more: ‘It’s a deep emotional ride’ – 12 young people in Philly’s toughest neighborhoods explain how...

More Articles ...

  1. ‘What is a fact?’ A humanities class prepares STEM students to be better scientists
  2. Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations
  3. Electric vehicles are usually safer for their occupants – but not necessarily for everyone else
  4. US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed
  5. How famines are formed: In Gaza and elsewhere, an underlying pattern that can lead to hunger and death
  6. International prosecution of Israeli or Hamas leaders wouldn’t bring quick justice − and even bringing them to court will be difficult
  7. Teens see social media algorithms as accurate reflections of themselves, study finds
  8. Greater Detroit is becoming more diverse and less segregated – but Asians and Hispanics increasingly live in their own neighborhoods
  9. Midwest tornadoes: What a decaying El Niño has to do with violent storms in the central US
  10. Japan’s diplomatic charm offensive in US aims to keep Washington in committed relationship
  11. Why are some people faster than others? 2 exercise scientists explain the secrets of running speed
  12. Ghosted, orbited, breadcrumbed? A psychotherapist breaks down some perils of digital dating and how to cope
  13. College administrators are falling into a tried and true trap laid by the right
  14. Trust in the shadows: How loyalty fuels illicit economic transactions
  15. Cybersecurity researchers spotlight a new ransomware threat – be careful where you upload files
  16. Under the influence and under arrest − what happens if you’re drunk in the interrogation room?
  17. Philadelphia has a lot more deadly shootings than expected for a big city − and NYC is much safer, new study says
  18. Trump trial reveals details about how the former president thinks about, and exploits, the media
  19. Trump’s immunity arguments at Supreme Court highlight dangers − while prosecutors stress larger danger of removing legal accountability
  20. How bird flu virus fragments get into milk sold in stores, and what the spread of H5N1 in cows means for the dairy industry and milk drinkers
  21. The US is one of the least trade-oriented countries in the world – despite laying the groundwork for today’s globalized system
  22. Arizona’s 1864 abortion law was made in a women’s rights desert – here’s what life was like then
  23. Large retailers don’t have smokestacks, but they generate a lot of pollution − and states are starting to regulate it
  24. The Mars Sample Return mission has a shaky future, and NASA is calling on private companies for backup
  25. The costs of workplace violence are too high to ignore
  26. Biden administration tells employers to stop shackling workers with ‘noncompete agreements’
  27. Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems
  28. IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects
  29. Celebrities routinely drop in on this Florida university’s hospitality course
  30. When the Supreme Court said it’s important to move quickly in key presidential cases like Trump’s immunity claim
  31. From shrimp Jesus to fake self-portraits, AI-generated images have become the latest form of social media spam
  32. What is ‘techno-optimism’? 2 technology scholars explain the ideology that says technology is the answer to every problem
  33. How trains linked rival port cities along the US East Coast into a cultural and economic megalopolis
  34. Do implicit bias trainings on race improve health care? Not yet – but incorporating the latest science can help hospitals treat all patients equitably
  35. Nearsightedness is at epidemic levels – and the problem begins in childhood
  36. Gender-nonconforming ancient Romans found refuge in community dedicated to goddess Cybele
  37. For millions of Americans, high-speed internet is unavailable or unaffordable − a telecommunications expert explains how to bring broadband to the places that need it the most
  38. Senate approves nearly $61B of Ukraine foreign aid − here’s why it helps the US to keep funding Ukraine
  39. Supreme Court appears open to Starbucks’ claims in labor-organizing case
  40. Should family members be in charge of family businesses? We analyzed 175 studies to understand when having a family CEO pays off
  41. What you eat could alter your unborn children and grandchildren’s genes and health outcomes
  42. Can states prevent doctors from giving emergency abortions, even if federal law requires them to do so? The Supreme Court will decide
  43. Teacher lawsuits over forced grade inflation won’t fix unfair grading – here’s what could
  44. Opening statements are the most important part of a trial – as lawyers in Trump’s hush money case know well
  45. Passover: The festival of freedom and the ambivalence of exile
  46. What I teach Harvard Law School students about opening arguments
  47. Cannabis legalization has led to a boom in potent forms of the drug that present new hazards for adolescents
  48. Chemical pollutants can change your skin bacteria and increase your eczema risk − new research explores how
  49. Transporting hazardous materials across the country isn’t easy − that’s why there’s a host of regulations in place
  50. What cities can learn from Seattle’s racial and social justice law