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Why Wall Street investors' trading California water futures is nothing to fear – and unlikely to work anyway

  • Written by Ellen Bruno, Assistant Cooperative Extension Specialist, University of California, Berkeley
imageFutures won't affect whether there's water in the hose.Bettmann/Getty Images

Water is one of the world’s most vital resources.

So is there reason to freak out now that profit-hungry hedge funds and other investors can trade it like a barrel of oil or shares of Apple?

That’s exactly what CME Group recently did in California when it...

Read more: Why Wall Street investors' trading California water futures is nothing to fear – and unlikely to...

Nearly 60 million Americans don't drink their tap water, research suggests – here's why that's a public health problem

  • Written by Asher Rosinger, Assistant Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Anthropology, and Demography. Director, Water, Health, and Nutrition Laboratory, Penn State
imageThirsty?deepblue4you/E+ via Getty Images

Imagine seeing a news report about lead contamination in drinking water in a community that looks like yours. It might make you think twice about whether to drink your tap water or serve it to your kids – especially if you also have experienced tap water problems in the past.

In a new study, my...

Read more: Nearly 60 million Americans don't drink their tap water, research suggests – here's why that's a...

Infrastructure? Or jobs? Controversy over name of Biden proposal highlights long tradition in politics

  • Written by Angela Bradbery, Frank Karel Endowed Chair in Public Interest Communications, University of Florida
imageBiden isn't the first politician to slap a catchy, but perhaps inaccurate, name on legislation.Evan Vucci/AP

President Joe Biden caught flak this month when he released his infrastructure plan and named it the American Jobs Plan.

Republicans said he was being misleading by stretching the definition of “infrastructure,” and they...

Read more: Infrastructure? Or jobs? Controversy over name of Biden proposal highlights long tradition in...

The rise of female UFC fighters obscures profound exploitation, inequality

  • Written by Jennifer McClearen, Assistant Professor of Media Studies, University of Texas at Austin
imageChina's Zhang Weili, on the right, has helped grow the popularity of the UFC in her native country.Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The mixed martial arts pay-per-view event UFC 261 features two bouts that would have been unheard of just 10 years ago.

Russian-born Valentina Shevchenko will fight Jessica Andrade, a Brazilian and an out...

Read more: The rise of female UFC fighters obscures profound exploitation, inequality

How to get COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries – and still keep patent benefits for drugmakers

  • Written by Dalindyebo Shabalala, Associate Professor, University of Dayton
imageHospital staff in Lagos, Nigeria, administer the AstraZeneca vaccine.AP Photo/Sunday Alamba

The world has a COVID-19 vaccine access problem: Almost half of all doses administered so far have been in Europe and North America, while many poorer countries have vaccinated less than than 1% of their populations.

With new coronavirus variants raising the...

Read more: How to get COVID-19 vaccines to poor countries – and still keep patent benefits for drugmakers

Colombia gives nearly 1 million Venezuelan migrants legal status and right to work

  • Written by Erika Frydenlund, Research Assistant Professor, Old Dominion University
imageVenezuelans wait at the Colombian border to be processed and housed in tents in 2020. All Venezuelans now in Colombia will receive a 10-year residency permit.Schneyder Mendoza/AFP via Getty Images

Colombia will grant legal status to all Venezuelan migrants who fled there since 2016 to escape their country’s economic collapse and political...

Read more: Colombia gives nearly 1 million Venezuelan migrants legal status and right to work

COVID-19 public health messages have been all over the place – but researchers know how to do better

  • Written by Todd Newman, Assistant Professor of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imagePublic service announcements, news articles and social media posts are all part of the coronavirus messaging landscape.Noam Galai via Getty Images

Persuading people to get a COVID-19 vaccine remains a challenge even as more than a 120 million people in the U.S. have received at least one dose.

Public health officials have struggled to find...

Read more: COVID-19 public health messages have been all over the place – but researchers know how to do better

Trump, defying custom, hasn't given the National Archives records of his speeches at political rallies

  • Written by Shannon Bow O'Brien, Assistant Professor of Instruction, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts
imageThe White House never provided the National Archives with an official transcript of what Trump said at this rally in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 20, 2017.John Minchillo/AP Photo

Public figures live on within the words they are remembered by. To understand the effect they had on history, their words need to be documented. No one is absolutely...

Read more: Trump, defying custom, hasn't given the National Archives records of his speeches at political...

Compassionate courage moves beyond 'cancel culture' to challenge systemic racism – but it's hard work

  • Written by Pushpa Iyer, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution and Director of the Center for Conflict Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies
imageDemonstrators gather during a peaceful protest against police brutality. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

It is common to read news of someone getting fired for speaking or acting in ways that harmed members of another race.

Our current call-out culture often advocates publicly shaming and humiliating wrongdoers, destroying their reputations...

Read more: Compassionate courage moves beyond 'cancel culture' to challenge systemic racism – but it's hard...

'Deprogramming' QAnon followers ignores free will and why they adopted the beliefs in the first place

  • Written by Paul Thomas, Chair and Professor of Religious Studies, Radford University
imageMany of those arrested in the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021, were QAnon believers.Win McNamee/Getty Images

Recent calls to deprogram QAnon conspiracy followers are steeped in discredited notions about brainwashing. As popularly imagined, brainwashing is a coercive procedure that programs new long-term personality changes. Deprogramming, also...

Read more: 'Deprogramming' QAnon followers ignores free will and why they adopted the beliefs in the first...

More Articles ...

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  2. Knoxville school shooting serves as stark reminder of a familiar – but preventable – threat
  3. Plants thrive in a complex world by communicating, sharing resources and transforming their environments
  4. US postpones Afghanistan troop withdrawal in hopes of sustaining peace process: 5 essential reads
  5. The EU wants a carbon tax on imports – but would it be the climate solution officials expect?
  6. Johnson Johnson vaccine suspension – a doctor explains what this means for you
  7. 143,518 US public library workers are keeping their communities informed, connected and engaged – but their jobs may be at risk
  8. How race-related stress could be driving educators of color away from the job
  9. One change that could help nursing homes recover from COVID-19 fears and become safer places for aging parents
  10. Why student athletes need a new playbook to stay safe in the COVID-19 era
  11. How 'complementarianism' – the belief that God assigned specific gender roles – became part of evangelical doctrine
  12. Long live the monarchy! British royals tend to survive a full three decades longer than their subjects
  13. How the Supreme Court found its faith and put 'religious liberty' on a winning streak
  14. We're creating 'humanized pigs' in our ultraclean lab to study human illnesses and treatments
  15. Polen puede aumentar el riesgo de contraer COVID-19, ya sea que tengas alergias o no, según estudio
  16. A nutrition report card for Americans: Dark clouds, silver linings
  17. Astrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on-off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow
  18. Derek Chauvin trial: 3 questions America needs to ask about seeking racial justice in a court of law
  19. Northern Ireland, born of strife 100 years ago, again erupts in political violence
  20. How many states and provinces are in the world?
  21. MLB's decision to drop Atlanta highlights the economic power companies can wield over lawmakers – when they choose to
  22. What inspired digital nomads to flee America's big cities may spur legions of remote workers to do the same
  23. Write ill of the dead? Obits rarely cross that taboo as they look for the positive in people's lives
  24. Proof of new physics from the muon's magnetic moment? Maybe not, according to a new theoretical calculation
  25. Pandemic recovery will take more than soaring growth – to fuel a more equitable economy, countries need to measure the well-being of people, too
  26. At what age are people usually happiest? New research offers surprising clues
  27. 3 ways music educators can help students with autism develop their emotions
  28. Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new approach breaks a barrier that's stood for nearly half a century
  29. What is mRNA? The messenger molecule that's been in every living cell for billions of years is the key ingredient in some COVID-19 vaccines
  30. 'Our ultimate choice is desegregation or disintegration' – recovering the lost words of a jailed civil rights strategist
  31. Americans adopted fewer pets from shelters in 2020 as the supply of rescue animals fell
  32. Lil Nas X's dance with the devil evokes tradition of resisting, mocking religious demonization
  33. Anxious about going out into the world? You're not alone, but there's help
  34. Water being pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae bloom, putting fragile manatee and fish habitats at risk
  35. Faith in numbers: Trump held steady among believers at the ballot – it was the nonreligious vote he lost in 2020
  36. India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears
  37. How worried should you be about coronavirus variants? A virologist explains his concerns
  38. Why you should expect more Suez-like supply chain disruptions and shortages at your local grocery store
  39. Bringing 'behavioral vaccines' to school: 5 ways educators can support student well-being
  40. Beverly Cleary refused to teach kids how to be good -- and generations of young readers fell in love with her rebel Ramona
  41. White supremacy is the root of all race-related violence in the US
  42. Power imbalances are at the root of sexual harassment – but statements like Andrew Cuomo’s don't acknowledge that inconvenient fact
  43. Las sirenas no existen pero, ¿por qué nos fascinan tanto sus historias?
  44. Building trust among parents and teachers is key to reopening schools
  45. Here's how to help your kids break out of their pandemic bubble and transition back to being with others
  46. There's a surprising ending to all the 2020 election conflicts over absentee ballot deadlines
  47. No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not linked to the mark of the beast – but a first-century Roman tyrant probably is
  48. Vaccine guilt is good – as long it doesn’t stop you from getting a shot
  49. Embrace the unexpected: To teach AI how to handle new situations, change the rules of the game
  50. Misunderstanding addiction breeds despair and suffering – and, for alleged Atlanta shooter, violence