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Genome sequencing is rewriting the history of disease outbreaks – but without social context, it can tell only part of the story

  • Written by Marc Zimmer, Professor of Chemistry, Connecticut College
imageA pathogen's genome acts as a biological record of where it came from and how it spread.Westend61/Getty Images

Fingerprinting transformed police investigations by making it possible to place a suspect at a crime scene with physical evidence. Similarly, genome sequencing has changed how disease detectives study outbreaks by allowing them to read a...

Read more: Genome sequencing is rewriting the history of disease outbreaks – but without social context, it...

Button-pushing explorers: How to grasp that AI agents can do amazing things while knowing nothing

  • Written by Ji Y. Son, Professor of Psychology, California State University, Los Angeles
imageThe simple process of taking an action, assessing what happens and adjusting can lead to smart-seeming behavior.Westend61 via Getty Images

The nonprofit ARC Prize Foundation on May 1, 2026, released the results of a new benchmark: a test of an AI system’s ability to solve a game. The results were striking – humans scored 100%, while the...

Read more: Button-pushing explorers: How to grasp that AI agents can do amazing things while knowing nothing

Trump-Xi summit will be no ‘Nixon in China’ moment – that they are talking is enough for now

  • Written by Rana Mitter, Professor of U.S.-Asia Relations, Harvard Kennedy School
imageXi and Trump: A plastic friendship at best?Pedro Pardo/AFP via Getty Images

Meetings between Chinese and American leaders are not exactly routine, but few are historically groundbreaking.

The exceptions include the very first visit by a sitting U.S. president to China, when Richard Nixon met with Chairman Mao Zedong in Beijing in February 1972...

Read more: Trump-Xi summit will be no ‘Nixon in China’ moment – that they are talking is enough for now

Why political gerrymandering in the South will likely continue to consider voters’ race despite Supreme Court ruling

  • Written by Claire B. Wofford, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston
imageA recent Supreme Court decision is sparking a major push for partisan redistricting.Douglas Rissing, iStock/Getty Images Plus

The outrage was swift and severe when the U.S. Supreme Court, by an ideologically divided 6-3 vote, recently struck down Louisiana’s majority Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander....

Read more: Why political gerrymandering in the South will likely continue to consider voters’ race despite...

Racial gerrymandering may be here to stay

  • Written by Claire B. Wofford, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston
imageA recent Supreme Court decision is sparking a major push for partisan redistricting.Douglas Rissing, iStock/Getty Images Plus

The outrage was swift and severe when the U.S. Supreme Court, by an ideologically divided 6-3 vote, recently struck down Louisiana’s majority Black congressional district as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander....

Read more: Racial gerrymandering may be here to stay

What makes a good teacher? Ask a Republican and a Democrat, and they are likely to agree

  • Written by Gustavo E. Fischman, Professor of Education Policies and Comparative Studies, Arizona State University
imageSupport for students is one value that both Democrats and Republicans alike value in a teacher. Brittany Murray/MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

If you follow the headlines, it can seem like K-12 schools in the United States are a political battlefield.

Some conservative parents and advocacy groups are lobbying to remove...

Read more: What makes a good teacher? Ask a Republican and a Democrat, and they are likely to agree

We studied what happened when financially struggling artists received $1,000 a month, no strings attached, for 18 months

  • Written by Joanna Woronkowicz, Associate Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
imageA few commissions, contracts or cancellations can dramatically change an artist's annual earnings.Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Though artificial intelligence is making it easier than ever to produce images, music and text, the technology is also making it harder for the people who have traditionally produced this work to earn a...

Read more: We studied what happened when financially struggling artists received $1,000 a month, no strings...

When you don’t have the facts, argue the law: How Trump’s EPA is limiting its own ability to protect public health far into the future

  • Written by Janet McCabe, Visiting Professor of Law and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
imageThe Trump administration is trying to tie the hands of future administrations when it comes to regulating pollution, including greenhouse gas emissions.Chris Sattlberger/Tetra Images via Getty Images

As the Trump administration moves to weaken America’s air pollution rules, it is deploying new legal interpretations that are intended to tie...

Read more: When you don’t have the facts, argue the law: How Trump’s EPA is limiting its own ability to...

The missing link in America’s critical minerals push isn’t mining – it’s processing expertise

  • Written by Hélène Nguemgaing, Assistant Clinical Professor of Critical Resources & Sustainability Analytics, University of Maryland
imageMP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine and processing facility in California was for years the only U.S. rare earth elements mine. Tmy350/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The United States is spendingbillionsof dollars to secure access to critical minerals – minerals and metals that are essential to modern technology, from electric vehicles to...

Read more: The missing link in America’s critical minerals push isn’t mining – it’s processing expertise

‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ shows how Christian imagery circulates in unusual ways through the fashion industry

  • Written by Lynn S. Neal, Professor of Religious Studies, Wake Forest University
imageActress Meryl Streep attends the world premiere of 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' in New York. Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images

At the world premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” actress Meryl Streep leaned into her character’s devilish persona. She wore the character’s signature sunglasses along with long black gloves and a...

Read more: ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ shows how Christian imagery circulates in unusual ways through the fashion...

More Articles ...

  1. What to do if someone you know in Philadelphia or elsewhere is detained by ICE
  2. Why did ‘Tyrannosaurus rex’ have such short arms?
  3. Delta-8, delta-9, THCA? What sets the different THC forms available in regulated cannabis products apart
  4. How AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions
  5. How does your brain decide between the road not taken or the same old route? Resolving conflicting memories is key to navigation
  6. Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection
  7. How Pennsylvania’s new paid leave bill leaves the sandwich generation behind
  8. Black, Hispanic, female and low-income elementary students are less likely to be identified with autism
  9. Teens aren’t as disengaged as you may think: What adults get wrong about adolescents’ civic contributions
  10. Thoreau the scientist – how environmental research informed ‘Walden’ and later works
  11. People with premenstrual dysphoric disorder have higher rates of suicidal thinking, planning and attempts
  12. Conspiracy theorists are building AI interfaces to the Epstein files – and presenting their views as data analysis
  13. Why Trump’s $2 billion buyoff to cancel offshore wind farms is a bad deal for American taxpayers and the US energy supply
  14. Health authorities work to contain cruise ship hantavirus outbreak
  15. Ted Turner didn’t just revolutionize television − he changed the way we see our world
  16. Russia’s pared-down Victory Day parade tells a story: Away from the pomp, war in Ukraine is not going to Putin’s plan
  17. Canada is kicking its US booze habit as trade tensions persist
  18. Lower East Side street named for ‘King of Comics’ Jack Kirby, a nod to one of the countless kids of immigrants who shaped the genre
  19. Dogs display many traits of great leaders − here are 5 breeds that can be your leadership role models
  20. Trump’s new ‘Coalie’ mascot and myth of ‘clean, beautiful coal’ have a long history in advertising
  21. Online hate groups sustain their messages by repeating powerful stories or routinely adding new allegations
  22. You know exercise is good for you – so why is it so hard to put it into practice?
  23. The American Revolution’s triumphant story of democracy and freedom overlooks loyalists who paid a steep price for allegiance to Britain
  24. Motown’s Black women songwriters and producers were the invisible architects behind the pop music juggernaut
  25. Can peptide injections help people recover from injuries? Here’s what you need to know
  26. Federal investigation into Smith College probes whether transgender students can attend women’s schools – challenging the evolving mission of women’s education
  27. Recreational fishing in the US catches far more fish than previously estimated
  28. Protestant leaders once championed birth control – not to liberate women, but as part of ‘responsible parenthood’
  29. Fire is transforming the US West’s public lands – research shows overlooked cost to recreation
  30. Using diesel generators to power the AI revolution would kill hundreds of Americans a year
  31. US violent crime is at its lowest in more than a century – but the funding that helped reduce it is disappearing
  32. After the execution of James G. Broadnax in Texas, questions persist over use of rap lyrics as evidence
  33. So your new ‘co-worker’ is an AI agent – here’s how to make the best of your human-machine relationship 
  34. Sleep apnea compromises far more than a good night’s rest – 2 neuroscientists outline the risks and the need for better diagnosis
  35. Clinical trials that are actually marketing ploys targeting doctors – how seeding trials put profit over patients
  36. Alaska’s near-record landslide tsunami sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls – and left clues for building a warning system
  37. From ancient goddesses to modern peace activists − Mother’s Day celebrates women’s political power
  38. The method in Iran’s madness? Closure of Strait of Hormuz echoes a centuries-old Danish play − and is a tragedy for the world order
  39. White House wants to vet powerful AI models for risks − a computer scientist explains why AI safety is so difficult
  40. Muslim women-led nonprofits are engaging in advocacy despite facing a surge in Islamophobia
  41. The lasting appeal of homeschooling: What motivated families to continue after schools reopened post-pandemic
  42. AI is showing up in court cases – but only a human jury can grapple with the moral weight of assessing guilt
  43. Foreign aid’s hidden benefit: Recipients are more likely to pay the generosity forward
  44. Galaxies of life are collecting dust in museums – digitizing microscope slides can uncover billions of fossils for natural history
  45. Financial strain, lockdowns and fear of infection during disease outbreaks magnify violence against women and girls − new research
  46. In rural Appalachia, abortion pill offers reproductive choice and privacy − but police may see a crime
  47. How workplace stress hijacks the nervous system to cause headaches − and a neurologist’s guide to managing them
  48. Pollen allergies are brutal this year – a doctor explains why, and how to find relief
  49. As government privatization efforts grow, lawsuits against federal contractors get more difficult
  50. Photographic memory is a myth – here’s what research really says about remembering