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Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical discussions with the target communities should happen sooner rather than later

  • Written by Julia Brown, Assistant Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
imageThe development of gene-editing technology has led to many ethical questions. PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With their primary goal to advance scientific knowledge, most scientists are not trained or incentivized to think through the societal implications of the technologies they are developing. Even in genomic medicine, which is...

Read more: Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical...

His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

  • Written by Philip Nel, University Distinguished Professor of English, Kansas State University
imagePrior to 1998, Harold of 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' was depicted as racially ambiguous.Harper & Brothers, 1955

Is Crockett Johnson’s Harold, of “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” a child of color?

If you’ve bought any of the “Harold” books published in the past 25 years, or saw the new movie starring Zachary...

Read more: His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls

  • Written by John Holbein, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education, University of Virginia
imageKamala Harris takes a photo with young supporters at a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn., on Aug. 6, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Young people could decide the 2024 presidential election.

It’s a tale as old as time – a story that pops up every election, almost like clockwork.

The narrative is the same this election...

Read more: Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

  • Written by Joseph K. Nwankpa, Associate Professor of Information Systems & Analytics, Miami University
imageIt's not you: App privacy settings really can be complicated.Drazen Zigic/iStock via Getty Images

Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy – who can see which actions you take – across all of the app’s functions. But default...

Read more: Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how you can avoid it

  • Written by Daniel Pastula, Professor of Neurology, Medicine (Infectious Diseases), and Epidemiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageMosquitoes are responsible for transmitting West Nile virus to humans.Paul Starosta/Stone via Getty Images

West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the continental U.S., with an average of 2,464 reported cases per year.

Every August, West Nile season ramps up, primarily in parts of the Southern and Western United States.

The...

Read more: West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how...

Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity

  • Written by Laurel Niep, Bilingual Trauma Therapist, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageEMDR was developed in 1987.Laurence soulez/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you’ve been to a therapist’s office in the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy.

Most commonly used for treating long-standing and acute traumas, EMDR is also being shown...

Read more: Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist...

US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch

  • Written by Sarah J. Morath, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs, Wake Forest University
imageTrash litters the banks of Ballona Creek in Culver City, Calif., after a storm.Citizen of the Planet/UIG via Getty Images

Plastic waste is piling up at a daunting pace around the world. The World Bank estimates that every person on the planet generates an average of 1.6 pounds (0.74 kilograms) of plastic waste daily.

To curb this flow, 175 nations...

Read more: US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a...

US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal

  • Written by Sefa Secen, Postdoctoral Scholar in Political Science, The Ohio State University
imageA U.S. military vehicle drives past a poster showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File

U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria launched a major attack on three posts manned by pro-government gunmen on Aug. 12, 2024, killing at least 18 fighters in a rare provocation near the border with Iraq.

The assault marked the worst...

Read more: US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal

What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin

  • Written by Rodney E. Rohde, Regents' Professor & Chair, Medical Laboratory Science, Texas State University
imageMpox causes lesions that resemble pus-filled blisters, which eventually scab over.CDC/Getty Images

On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. There have been over 15,600 cases and over 530 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries in...

Read more: What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin

More Articles ...

  1. Catholics are debating whether to remove paintings by a priest accused of abusing women − but let’s not confuse the artist and the art, writes an art historian
  2. Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work
  3. Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention
  4. Hispanic women are less likely to get PrEP treatment − new intervention could change that
  5. Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might
  6. Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars
  7. Students with mental health struggles linked to absenteeism and lower grades, showing clear need for more in-school support
  8. Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home
  9. Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
  10. How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world
  11. 3 years after fall of Kabul, US Congress has still not acted to secure future of more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees in US
  12. Ukraine’s cross-border incursion challenges Moscow’s war narrative – but will it shift Russian opinion?
  13. Historians diving for balloons and hoping for hot dish: What Smithsonian curators will be doing at the Democratic National Convention
  14. Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them
  15. Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too
  16. Fluid keeps your brain from crushing itself and shields your spine from shock – a neurologist explains what happens when it stops working
  17. Future lawyers learn key lessons from studying poetry in parks in this course
  18. Philly schools are in disrepair − the municipal bond market is 1 big reason
  19. 3 of Jane Austen’s 6 brothers engaged in antislavery activism − new research offers more clues about her own views
  20. Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom
  21. LGBTQ people have a troubled relationship with police − new survey shows high rates of harassment, abuse and distrust
  22. Even fictional presidents don’t look like Kamala Harris − although Black men and white women have been represented in the Oval Office
  23. SpaceX’s Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president – what this could mean for US space policy
  24. Hotel guests are getting used to refillable shampoos and less housekeeping, study suggests
  25. International students will offer a big boost to the US economy this back-to-school season
  26. How Ohio schools reduced chronic absenteeism
  27. Wildfires don’t just burn farmland − they can contaminate the water farmers use to irrigate crops and support livestock
  28. JD Vance is no pauper − he’s a classic example of ‘poornography,’ in which the rich try to speak on behalf of the poor
  29. Mammary glands in a dish − what miniature organs reveal about evolution, lactation, regeneration and breast cancer
  30. FDA rejects MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment – a drug researcher explains the challenges psychedelics face
  31. Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%
  32. 3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles
  33. A bipartisan data-privacy law could backfire on small businesses − 2 marketing professors explain why
  34. New storm is headed for the Caribbean: What meteorologists look for in early signs of a future hurricane
  35. Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming
  36. At its core, life is all about play − just look at the animal kingdom
  37. Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains
  38. Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’
  39. If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change
  40. Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries
  41. A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit
  42. Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world
  43. No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing
  44. The problem with pronatalism: Pushing baby booms to boost economic growth amounts to a Ponzi scheme
  45. Despite Donald Trump’s claims, his gag order holds up against the Constitution
  46. How San Francisco’s Democratic political machine led to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign
  47. The real ‘Big Bang’ of country music: How Vernon Dalhart’s 1924 breakthrough recordings launched a genre
  48. Infectious diseases spike when kids return to school − here’s what you can do about it
  49. Dealing with election anxiety? A psychiatrist explains how to channel your fears and break out of tribal thinking
  50. This anthropology course looks at building design from the standpoint of different species