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Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of seeds

  • Written by Adriana Craciun, Professor of English and Emma MacLachlan Metcalf Chair of Humanities, Boston University
imageThe entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.Martin Zwick/REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Two-thirds of the world’s food comes today from just nine plants: sugar cane, maize (corn), rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil-palm fruit, sugar beet and cassava. In the past, farmers grew tens of thousands of crop varieties...

Read more: Svalbard Global Seed Vault evokes epic imagery and controversy because of the symbolic value of...

Osteoporosis, the silent disease, can shorten your life − here’s how to prevent fractures and keep bones healthy

  • Written by Ting Zhang, Research Scholar of Orthopedics, University of Pittsburgh
imageWith some simple lifestyle changes, you can lower your risk of osteoporosis.MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Because there are typically no symptoms until the first fracture occurs, osteoporosis is considered a silent disease. Some call it a silent killer.

Osteoporosis is a bone disease characterized by decreased bone density and...

Read more: Osteoporosis, the silent disease, can shorten your life − here’s how to prevent fractures and keep...

The racist ‘one-drop rule’ lives on in how Trump talks about Black politicians and whiteness in America

  • Written by Marya T. Mtshali, Lecturer in Studies in Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University
imageDonald Trump watches a video of Vice President Kamala Harris during a campaign rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2024.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Americans who heard former President Donald Trump claim that Vice President Kamala Harris previously identified as “not Black” in a July 2024 interview may wonder why he continuously emphasized...

Read more: The racist ‘one-drop rule’ lives on in how Trump talks about Black politicians and whiteness in...

Undoing the ‘deep state’ means Trump would undo over a century of progress in building a federal government for the people and not just for rich white men

  • Written by Joseph Patrick Kelly, Professor of Literature and Director of Irish and Irish American Studies, College of Charleston

If elected, Donald Trump has vowed to demolish what he calls the “deep state” – a conspiratorial term for the American federal bureaucracy. A second Trump administration, running mate JD Vance has said, should fire thousands of civil servants and replace them with MAGA loyalists.

Trump has said he would tap the billionare Elon Musk...

Read more: Undoing the ‘deep state’ means Trump would undo over a century of progress in building a federal...

Election anxiety doesn’t need to win − here are 3 science-backed strategies from a clinical psychologist to rein in the stress

  • Written by Shannon Sauer-Zavala, Associate Professor of Psychology & Licensed Clinical Psychologist, University of Kentucky
imageThe world won't end if you stop scrolling.georgeclerk/E+ via Getty Images

Uncertainty about the election getting to you? Is anxiety the dominant feature of your emotional landscape, maybe with a small sprinkling of impending doom?

You are not alone. A recent survey found 69% of American adults are seriously stressed about the 2024 presidential...

Read more: Election anxiety doesn’t need to win − here are 3 science-backed strategies from a clinical...

Massachusetts could be the next state to get rid of the ‘subminimum wage’ for tipped workers

  • Written by Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Research Professor, Political Economy Research Institute, UMass Amherst
imageA Massachusetts ballot initiative would get rid of the state's tipped minimum wage.AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

The federal minimum wage for tipped workers has stood at US$2.13 an hour since 1991. Back then, it amounted to half the $4.25 regular minimum wage. But Congress has failed to increase the tipped minimum while periodically raising the regular...

Read more: Massachusetts could be the next state to get rid of the ‘subminimum wage’ for tipped workers

Massachusetts votes to keep its ‘subminimum wage’ for tipped workers

  • Written by Jeannette Wicks-Lim, Research Professor, Political Economy Research Institute, UMass Amherst
imageA Massachusetts ballot initiative would have gotten rid of the state's tipped minimum wage.AP Photo/Marta Lavandier

The federal minimum wage for tipped workers has stood at US$2.13 an hour since 1991. Back then, it amounted to half the $4.25 regular minimum wage. But Congress has failed to increase the tipped minimum while periodically raising the...

Read more: Massachusetts votes to keep its ‘subminimum wage’ for tipped workers

Jobs report gives a final lackluster snapshot prior to election − but overall, the economy under Biden has been a tale of 2 eras

  • Written by Christopher Decker, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageFor the past four years, President Joe Biden has been the man with his finger on the economic trigger.Win McNamee/Getty Images

The U.S. economy added just 12,000 jobs in October 2024, less than most economists expected and providing voters with a downcast bit of data as they head to the polls.

But the figures aren’t that surprising, given the...

Read more: Jobs report gives a final lackluster snapshot prior to election − but overall, the economy under...

US government tries to rein in an out-of-control subscription economy

  • Written by David Arditi, Professor of Sociology, University of Texas at Arlington
imageA new rule set to go into effect in 2025 will make canceling subscriptions much easier.violetkaipa/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Signing up for a subscription to a streaming service or newspaper has never been easier.

Canceling it, on the other hand, can be a cumbersome journey involving phone calls, letters or finding the option to cancel buried in...

Read more: US government tries to rein in an out-of-control subscription economy

‘Safe route’ or ‘sushi route’ − 2 strategies to turn yuck to yum and convince people to eat unusual foods

  • Written by Alexandra Plakias, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Hamilton College
imageBy the 1980s, many New Yorkers were all in on sushi, a food that seemed weird just decades before.Allan Tannenbaum/Getty Images

What will the diets of the future look like? The answer depends in part on what foods Westerners can be persuaded to eat.

These consumers are increasingly being told their diets need to change. Current eating habits are...

Read more: ‘Safe route’ or ‘sushi route’ − 2 strategies to turn yuck to yum and convince people to eat...

More Articles ...

  1. How to overcome your device dependency and manage a successful digital detox
  2. St. Augustine was no stranger to culture wars – and has something to say about today’s
  3. The colonial legacy lurking beneath economic unrest in the French Caribbean
  4. Monkeys know who will win the election – primal instincts humans share with them shape voters’ choices
  5. No, America’s battery plant boom isn’t going bust – construction is on track for the biggest factories, with over 23,000 jobs planned
  6. No, America’s battery plant boom isn’t going bust – construction is on track for the biggest factories, with thousands of jobs planned
  7. For one survivor, the 1920 Election Day massacre in Florida was ‘the night the devil got loose’
  8. Elon Musk misses Philly court date, stalling ‘illegal lottery’ case against him − an expert on Philadelphia politics weighs in
  9. Trump’s Detroit insults are based on old narratives local media are rewriting every day
  10. Denver slaughterhouse ban could affect food systems in Colorado and beyond
  11. Denver voters reject slaughterhouse ban, allowing Superior Farms to continue selling lamb in Colorado and nationwide
  12. International election monitors can help boost people’s trust in the electoral process − but not all work the same way
  13. Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?
  14. Sudan’s civil war has left at least 62,000 dead by our estimate − but the true figure could be far higher
  15. With Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, Republicans’ ‘strict father’ has become the creepy uncle
  16. Independent voters think for themselves and stay out of politics – 3 essential reads
  17. Tariffs are back in the spotlight, but skepticism of free trade has deep roots in American history
  18. New Orleans schools still separate and unequal 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education
  19. In Hawaii, parasites and viruses team up in the battle against fruit flies – an entomologist explains the implication for global pest control
  20. Rust Belt voters aren’t all white, but election coverage of the region often ignores the concerns of people of color there
  21. The next president will play a key role in shaping US trade policy – here’s what voters need to know
  22. Americans own guns to protect themselves from psychological as well as physical threats
  23. Fear, hope and the economy: what is motivating Americans as they decide who to vote for – podcast
  24. Slow vote-counting, flip-flopping leads, careful certification and the weirdness of the Electoral College – people who research elections look at what to expect on election night
  25. ‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land
  26. A new president will be elected − but it may take some time to determine who wins
  27. The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’
  28. Religion in the workplace is tricky – but employers and employees both lose when it becomes a total taboo
  29. Simple science summaries written by AI help people understand research and trust scientists
  30. Fighting antibiotic resistance at the source – using machine learning to identify bacterial resistance genes and the drugs to block them
  31. Scholar’s new rap album seeks to turn the tables on the ‘masters’ from the Old South
  32. Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial
  33. People with blindness and low vision are squeezed by high costs of living − new research
  34. What the presidential candidates have done − and where they stand − on education
  35. Nationalism is not patriotism: 3 insights from Orwell about Trump and the 2024 election
  36. Why vote for Harris or Trump? A cheat sheet on the candidates’ records, why their supporters like them and why picking one or the other makes sense
  37. Misinformation is more than just bad facts: How and why people spread rumors is key to understanding how false information travels and takes root
  38. Abortion and marijuana ballot measures may bring out Florida Democrats, but the GOP has 1M more active voters in the Sunshine State
  39. Why Pennsylvania’s election results will take time to count
  40. Defender su voto: Pasos a seguir si su derecho al voto es cuestionado el día de las elecciones
  41. Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box
  42. Making a Snickers bar is a complex science − a candy engineer explains how to build the airy nougat and chewy caramel of this Halloween favorite
  43. The ancient Irish get far too much credit for Halloween
  44. Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans
  45. On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns
  46. Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes
  47. How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics
  48. Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests
  49. RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline
  50. For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state