Articles22

Articles22

The Conversation
Pope Leo XIV’s lung cancer highlights growing number of nonsmokers diagnosed with the disease – and younger people too While lung cancer rates have decreased by 43% in men, they have risen by 79% in women. Broader screening guidelines and recognizing early symptoms can help address the changing face of lung cancer. Social Security benefits are rising again, but probably not enough to offset healthcare costs Some advocates for older Americans want the government to change the index used for this adjustment to one more tailored to their spending patterns. Guilfoyle resigns as ambassador to Greece – adding to the global vacancies sapping US embassies 93 out of 196 U.S. ambassador jobs are currently unfilled. That includes countries that are key partners to Washington. I’ve been studying election integrity for 26 years, and here’s why I expect a normal election this November instead of chaos Mayhem at the polls on Election Day 2026? Americans are worried. But a scholar of election law who has also run a nationwide election protection program says he doesn’t believe it will happen. More rehab centers should mean fewer overdoses. In one California region, we found the opposite When people travel out of state for addiction treatment, overdose risk is greater than many realize. Americans are stressed about grocery prices, so why do they toss or overlook so much ‘misfit’ food? Quality, rather than discounts or environmental benefits, is what’s needed to encourage shoppers to consider odd-shaped produce. Today’s irreverent politics ignore ancient wisdom: The need to know your limits Many Americans have decried today’s politics as ‘shameless.’ The antidote, a political philosopher argues, may be more reverence – awe at just how difficult democracy is. Across the US, people don’t want data centers coming to their communities Opposition to data centers is widespread across the US, uniting people despite other differences on political and environmental issues. Murder of Black suffrage leader Octavius Catto reveals why Election Day 1871 was one of the most violent in Philadelphia history Philadelphia has given the intersection of 8th and South streets a new name: Octavius Catto Way. Why the Paramount-Warner merger is a problem for democracy The Paramount merger may make good business sense, but research shows putting more media power in fewer hands can come at a cost to the common good of citizens. Nicotine pouches, vaping or cigarettes: Which nicotine product is actually the least harmful? Not all nicotine products are equally harmful. An addiction medicine physician explains how to parse the science. That brightly packaged sexual enhancement pill at the gas station might be laced with dangerous drugs Sexual enhancement supplements often contain unlisted prescription drugs that pose serious health risks. California is taking a beating from an unusually destructive 2026 Pacific hurricane season Tropical storms rarely survive in the cool water off California, but waves from storms far to the south can still damaged coastal areas. And flooding rain can sweep in. Hooked on tuna: People have been harvesting these ocean predators for 44,000 years Bones in archaeological sites, ancient rock art, paintings on frescos and vases, written historical records and ethnographic accounts all helped researchers recreate a deep history of people and tuna. 300 glaciers have disappeared from the American West since the mid-20th century – the survivors have a few things in common A new study compared the glaciers in the Lower 48 states today against historical data from the mid-20th century. The results show the region’s vulnerabilities as temperatures rise. What colleges and universities need from donors to thrive Philanthropy, which covers an average of 10% of college and university budgets, can help schools and the students who attend them weather today’s tough times. Pardoning of Israeli soldier evokes a long history of clemency for those who kill Palestinians Elor Azaria, who killed a wounded Palestinian assailant, had his criminal record cleared. It follows a history of such pardons and reduced sentences. More than 119 million Brazilians voted in the Oct. 4 election – including about 21,000 Florida residents Brazilian voters abroad mirror the deep polarization shaping politics in their home country. Democrats distance themselves from trans rights – close midterm races may show whether that pays off A scholar of LGBTQ+ politics looks at how Democratic campaigns in Texas and Ohio are shifting on trans issues and what that could mean for control of Congress. How much rain can a hurricane make, and does the storm size matter? Storms big and small can produce a lot of rain. What matters most is how fast they’re moving, as an atmospheric scientist and educator explains. Physics Nobel highlights Antarctica’s role in exploring the cosmos For more than a century, scientists have treated Antarctica’s environments as windows into worlds beyond Earth. Americans can now see a famous portrait of the Pacific Islander who captivated 18th-century England for the first time Joshua Reynolds’ 1776 ‘Portrait of Omai’ portrays a commoner from Tahiti as a nobleman, reflecting European fantasies and assumptions about Pacific cultures. Ancient people relied on genetic variation already present in wild plants to domesticate crops like rice and corn New genomic tools let scientists dig into the family trees of crops like rice, corn and adzuki beans to learn more about how they transitioned from wild plants to domesticated crops. I teach doctors how to interpret test results – and the labels ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ often hide what matters most Labeling medical test results as ‘normal’ or ‘abnormal’ helps clinicians make quick judgments when diagnosing patients. But this binary approach to interpreting tests can lead to fatal errors. Turmoil within Dolly Parton’s estate underscores the precariousness of family businesses after founders die Even when there’s a will, there’s a way for things to go awry. Anne Carson’s Nobel-winning, genre-defying work bridges the gap between ancient Greek literature and modern life Whether via her fill-in-the-blank translations or guest appearances on indie rock albums, Anne Carson has infused antiquity with a contemporary tongue Why fall yard care could start with doing less – but not nothing Fallen leaves provide essential winter habitat for native pollinators and provide natural mulch for the soil. If you have to clear some leaves, don’t get rid of them entirely: Move them out of sight. How Hurricane Isaias broke through to become the first Atlantic hurricane in an extremely quiet 2026 season An atmospheric scientist explains what’s been going on in the atmosphere, and how El Niño and the jet stream both play important roles. What we talk about when we talk about US strategic ‘credibility’ – from Vietnam to Iran ‘Credibility is on the line’ has long been a refrain guiding U.S. foreign policy. When abortion and surrogacy law collide, contracts can’t answer the hardest questions A custody battle over a newborn with a heart condition raised a question courts have rarely faced: Can anyone be forced to end a pregnancy? The oil market that sets today’s gas prices was invented in western Pennsylvania A historian traces how Oil City brokers, then John D. Rockefeller, then futures exchanges decided what the world pays for crude – and why no one entity does today. Why faculty diversity at universities still lags far behind the changing demographics of college students College faculties have become more diverse since the 1970s, but college faculty of color still often find that they feel marginalized among their peers. Students from military families are often misunderstood in US public schools – a retired military officer and behavioral health expert explains what schools can do Students from military families have specific experiences and needs that require support from their schools. Iraqi Kurds sees opportunities – and risks – in the withdrawal of US troops The region may become less of a target for groups seeking to pressure the United States. But the Kurds also have less security support now, should they need it. Data centers make heat all year long – here’s how the ground can hold onto it until winter Rocks deep underground can be used to hold heat until it’s needed. We blasted mobile homes with hurricane-force winds to test how they fail – and found clues for making affordable housing safer Engineers are using a unique test facility called the Wall of Wind to develop housing that’s both affordable and disaster-resistant. Their tests show the magnitude of the challenge. Sexual assault survivors’ stories may shift over time – a psychologist explains why it doesn’t mean they’re lying The brain’s acute response to the trauma of sexual assault can block a person’s ability to accurately assess what they experienced. A molecule’s ‘handedness’ can determine whether it’s an effective drug – 4 examples of pharmaceuticals where chirality matters The 2026 Nobel Prize in chemistry gave a hand to handed molecules – and the processes chemists use to create them. Why the assault weapons debate is a culture debate The Supreme Court’s decision to hear two assault weapons cases caps a multi-decade dispute over restricting assault weapons that extends far beyond legal arguments. What the law says about armed officers at polling places What does the law say about armed officials at the polls? That’s one of four questions that a legal scholar answers as Trump administration threats have piled up about voting in the midterms. Meet the ‘independent voters’ who will likely decide which party triumphs in the 2026 midterm elections Republicans and Democrats need to make inroads with independent voters. But the themes that motivate the party faithful may not sit well with independents, who tend to recoil against partisan rancor. ‘Make this face look gay’: AI models alter faces to give people stereotypical ‘gay,’ ‘straight’ or ‘criminal’ features AI models will refuse to say whether a person’s face looks gay or straight, but they will alter images of faces to fit stereotypes of gay and straight. Leap seconds have helped keep clocks synchronized with Earth’s rotation, but their time may be over – here’s why If you think about leap years, it may seem like humans have a very odd way of measuring time. Sometimes, timekeepers even have to add extra seconds to clocks. AI is changing pilgrims’ journeys, but sacred journeys have always adapted to new technology From the printing press to smartphone apps, technology has continually transformed the experience of sacred journeys. A scholar of trails and walking explains the history. Handling of rape allegations at Cornell shows why so many assaults go unreported – victims don’t trust the institutions that are supposed to help them Only 7% of sexual assault victims reported contacting local police. How Jim Bakker became the Johnny Carson of Christian TV Bakker’s ‘PTL Club’ existed at the nexus of evangelical Christianity and American pop culture. IceCube is built on decades of research into tiny ‘ghost particles’ – but it was the first to find neutrinos coming from deep space IceCube looks for high energy neutrinos from space. It joins the ranks of complementary experiments that study neutrinos originating closer to home. Many drugs have mirror chemical structures, one helpful and the other harmful – a Nobel-winning discovery allows chemists to make either on demand From thalidomide to resveratrol, molecules with the exact same chemical properties can have drastically different effects in the body depending on how they’re arranged in space. From jargon to impact: Teaching undergraduates the art of public communication Teaching public storytelling to students can help them communicate better in the world. These state supreme court races could decide abortion access and trans rights Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan have open seats on their state supreme court, and these hotly contested races will influence how those courts rule in several high-stakes cases.