The Conversation

• Who’s the most American? Psychological studies show that many people are biased and think it’s a white English speaker
  The US and other countries have a legal definition of citizenship, yet human psychology and identity politics result in ingrained biases over who truly belongs.
• Here’s a way to save lives, curb traffic jams and make commutes faster and easier − ban left turns at intersections
  Even though research supports the change, most cities have been slow to ban left turns at even the most congested intersections.
• Why the traditional college major may be holding students back in a rapidly changing job market
  A scholar and former college dean explains why higher education’s reliance on majors to measure academic quality may be an outdated approach.
• What’s at risk for Arctic wildlife if Trump expands oil drilling in the fragile National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
  Caribou, migrating birds and many other types of wildlife rely on this expanse of wetlands and tundra. Humanity and the climate depend on a healthy Arctic, too.
• How can the James Webb Space Telescope see so far?
  The James Webb Space Telescope has 2 powerful instruments that see light the human eye can’t.
• 1 in 3 Florida third graders have untreated cavities – how parents can protect their children’s teeth
  Florida is one of the worst states in the US when it comes to access to affordable dental care – and children are suffering as a result.
• Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk
  Libraries and archives at universities across the nation catalog and steward the donated papers of members of Congress. But that historically significant work is now in jeopardy.
• From the marriage contract to breaking the glass under the chuppah, many Jewish couples adapt their weddings to celebrate gender equality
  Traditional Jewish ceremonies, like Christian ones, marked a woman’s transition from daughter to wife − going from her parents to her husband. But there are creative ways to reflect gender equality while honoring tradition.
• Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities
  The Islamic Republic has a history of targeting minority ethnic groups, especially the Kurds, when it feels threatened.
• Supreme Court upholds childproofing porn sites
  Kids face risks online, but whether and how the law can protect them is a thorny issue. The Supreme Court weighed in to say states can try with age-gating – essentially requiring ID at the online door.
• What the Supreme Court ruling against ‘universal injunctions’ means for court challenges to presidential actions
  The Supreme Court just made it harder for judges to block presidential policies nationwide, but lawmakers hold the key to changing that.
• Michelin Guide scrutiny could boost Philly tourism, but will it stifle chefs’ freedom to experiment and innovate?
  Key to culinary innovation is a collaborative and supportive environment where chefs can take risks and make mistakes.
• What Trump’s budget proposal says about his environmental values
  The White House proposal represents a dramatic retreat from the national goals of clean air and clean water enacted in federal laws over the past 55 years.
• How Zohran Mamdani’s win in the New York City mayoral primary could ripple across the country
  Zohran Mamdani is one of the first Democratic candidates to successfully leverage Donald Trump’s focus on cost of living, explains a political strategist.
• Why energy markets fluctuate during an international crisis
  Fears about supply, demand, profits and supply chains all combine into a volatile mix that delivers prices that are often higher in a crisis, but also change more rapidly and by larger amounts.
• Cyberattacks shake voters’ trust in elections, regardless of party
  A study found that viewing news of a cyberattack lowered voter trust in election integrity – even when the voter’s candidate won and even if the attack wasn’t on voting systems.
• Jews were barred from Spain’s New World colonies − but that didn’t stop Jewish and converso writers from describing the Americas
  Two 16th-century texts about the Americas by Jewish writers reflect the complicated place Jews and ‘conversos’ held in the early modern world.
• Scandinavia has its own dark history of assimilating Indigenous people, and churches played a role – but are apologizing
  Amid national truth and reconciliation processes, Scandinavian churches are taking stock of their past policies toward the Sámi people.
• Supreme Court rules that states may deny people covered by Medicaid the freedom to choose Planned Parenthood as their health care provider
  The ruling limits the rights of Medicaid patients to choose their own health care provider. It could have consequences far beyond South Carolina.
• Toxic algae blooms are lasting longer in Lake Erie − why that’s a worry for people and pets
  The blooms have become an annual problem in the Great Lakes. DNA studies show what’s growing there and why it’s dangerous.
• Hurricane Helene set up future disasters, from landslides to flooding – cascading hazards like these are now upending risk models
  Risk models can’t rely just on the past anymore. A team of geoscientists suggests new ways to forecast evolving hazards in real time as cascading disaster risk worsens.
• Grilling with lump charcoal: Is US-grown hardwood really in that bag?
  None of the analyzed bags of lump charcoal gave buyers as much effective grilling fuel as their labels promised.
• Self-censorship and the ‘spiral of silence’: Why Americans are less likely to publicly voice their opinions on political issues
  Nearly half of Americans say they feel less free to speak their minds.
• Yelp’s addition of a ‘Black-owned’ tag led to a slight drop in business ratings in Detroit
  A feature designed to help Black-owned businesses may have hurt them. The increased visibility likely led to culture clashes and lower star ratings.
• Uranium enrichment: A chemist explains how the surprisingly common element is processed to power reactors and weapons
  Uranium enrichment concentrates one specific type of the atom to create a substance that can generate massive amounts of energy.
• Using TikTok could be making you more politically polarized, new study finds
  Users on TikTok gravitate to networks of like-minded people, but right-leaning users tend to be in more tightly sealed echo chambers.
• I’m a physician who has looked at hundreds of studies of vaccine safety, and here’s some of what RFK Jr. gets wrong
  The health secretary has made many inaccurate statements about vaccines. But the science is clear that vaccines have dramatically reduced childhood illness, disability and death.
• What if universal rental assistance were implemented to deal with the housing crisis?
  If the government supported rental assistance in amounts commensurate with the tax benefits given to homeowners, it would drastically alleviate the housing affordability crisis.
• Israel-Iran war recalls the 2003 US invasion of Iraq – a war my undergraduate students see as a relic of the past
  University students today are too young to remember the March 2003 start of the Iraq War, which has future foreign policy implications, especially in light of conflict over Iran’s nuclear sites.
• A preservative removed from childhood vaccines 20 years ago is still causing controversy today − a drug safety expert explains
  There’s no solid evidence that thimerosal harms children. RFK Jr.’s handpicked vaccine advisory committee voted against using it in the one type of flu vaccine where it is still used.
• What is reconciliation − the legislative shortcut Republicans are using to push through their ‘big, beautiful bill’?
  By using reconciliation, which was originally intended to rein in deficits, Republicans can pass the bill with a simple majority vote. But analysts expect it to lead to larger deficits.
• What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries’ shared history
  Negotiations are possible between the US and Iran, but they will neither be easy nor likely to produce more than limited outcomes.
• Grover Norquist’s lasting influence on the GOP and US economic policy
  The founder of Americans for Tax Reform emerged in the 1980s as the fiscal conscience of American conservatism and continues to wield influence.
• Trump administration aims to slash funds that preserve the nation’s rich architectural and cultural history
  The program is a crucial source of funding, particularly in small towns and rural America, where privately raised cultural heritage funds are harder to come by.
• How do scientists calculate the probability that an asteroid could hit Earth?
  Keeping Earth safe from asteroids isn’t just spotting them – it’s also helping people understand what a high-impact probability with Earth means.
• Mitochondria can sense bacteria and trigger your immune system to trap them – revealing new ways to treat infections and autoimmunity 
  Not only do mitochondria serve as the engine of the cell – they also act as watchtowers for the immune system.
• Blocking exports and raising tariffs is a bad defense against industrial cyber espionage, study shows
  Supply-chain decoupling doesn’t stop rival nations from hacking each other and can make it worse. A cyber-espionage expert explains what does work.
• Checking in on New England’s fishing industry 25 Years after ‘The Perfect Storm’ hit movie theaters
  Fishing was once more open to all off New England. After devastating fishery collapses, stricter rules helped fish stocks recover, but they also changed the face of fishing and the lives of fishermen.
• Why power skills – formerly known as ‘soft skills’ – are the key to business success
  My experience in the corporate world showed me how much the human element matters. I went into academia to translate theory into practice.
• Philly psychology students map out local landmarks and hidden destinations where they feel happiest
  Public squares, secret gardens and offbeat cafes can offer respite and a sense of community connection, which contribute to happiness.
• More than half of US teens have had at least one cavity, but fluoride programs in schools help prevent them – new research
  Fluoride varnish, easily and quickly applied to a child’s teeth, is an affordable and effective way to help prevent cavities.
• Ceasefires like the one between Iran and Israel often fail – but an agreement with specific conditions is more likely to hold
  While Israel and Iran have agreed to a ceasefire after 12 days of airstrikes, it isn’t clear what specific measures, if any, the countries might agree to in order to keep the peace.
• Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 − it pushed program underground and spurred Saddam Hussein’s desire for nukes
  Nonproliferation experts believe Iraq’s nuclear program went underground after Israel destroyed its reactor just outside Baghdad.
• How Internet of Things devices affect your privacy – even when they’re not yours
  Internet of Things devices are collecting an increasing amount of information, creating a web of data harvesting that ensnares people all around them.
• Supreme Court rules Trump can rapidly deport immigrants to Libya, South Sudan and other countries they aren’t from
  A federal judge had previously blocked the Trump administration’s plans to deport immigrants to third-country destinations, but some of them have remained detained in another African county, Djibouti.
• Federal energy office illustrates the perils of fluctuating budgets and priorities
  When presidential administrations turn over, funding levels and project priorities change. A look at one specific government office demonstrates how these shifts in direction waste time and money.
• ‘Monkey Biz-ness’: Pop culture helped fan the flames of the Scopes ‘monkey trial’ 100 years ago − and ever since
  Pop culture about the ‘trial of the century’ reflected broader cultural rifts.
• Diversifying the special education teacher workforce could benefit US schools
  Declining interest in the teacher profession and recent Trump administration budget cuts pose challenges to developing a diverse educator workforce.
• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will help astronomers investigate dark matter, continuing the legacy of its pioneering namesake
  Vera C. Rubin’s research into stars in galaxies led to the modern understanding of dark matter.
• 3D-printed model of a 500-year-old prosthetic hand hints at life of a Renaissance amputee
  When historians and engineers work together, they can bring a version of the past back to life.