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How to reduce gift-giving stress with your kids – a child psychologist’s tips for making magic and avoiding tears

  • Written by Angela J. Narayan, Associate Professor, Clinical Child Psychology Ph.D. program, University of Denver
image’Tis the season ... for gift-buying stress.Photo by Ryan Miller/Invision/AP

As a child, I loved being the center of attention. So it was a problem when my baby brother was born a day before my birthday. For years, I would beg my parents for a birthday gift “one day early.” My laid-back brother remembers thinking, “I...

Read more: How to reduce gift-giving stress with your kids – a child psychologist’s tips for making magic and...

The world risks forgetting one of humanity’s greatest triumphs as polio nears global eradication − 70 years after Jonas Salk developed the vaccine in a Pittsburgh lab

  • Written by Carl Kurlander, Senior Lecturer, Film and Media Studies, University of Pittsburgh
imageDr. Jonas Salk displays his polio vaccine, which he developed in a University of Pittsburgh laboratory. Bettmann/Bettmann Collection via Getty Images

It was like a horror movie. The invisible polio virus would strike, leaving young children on crutches, in wheelchairs or in a dreaded “iron lung” ventilator. Each summer, the fear was so...

Read more: The world risks forgetting one of humanity’s greatest triumphs as polio nears global eradication −...

Medieval peasants probably enjoyed their holiday festivities more than you do

  • Written by Bobbi Sutherland, Associate Professor, Department of HIstory, University of Dayton
imageWinter in a peasant village, painted by the Limbourg brothers and published in the medieval illuminated manuscript 'Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.'Pierce Archive LLC/Buyenlarge via Getty Images

When people think of the European Middle Ages, it often brings to mind grinding poverty, superstition and darkness. But the reality of the...

Read more: Medieval peasants probably enjoyed their holiday festivities more than you do

People are getting their news from AI – and it’s altering their views

  • Written by Adrian Kuenzler, Scholar-in-Residence, University of Denver; University of Hong Kong
imageWhen a bot brings you the news, who built it and how it presents the information matter.Zentangle/iStock via Getty Images

Meta’s decision to end its professional fact-checking program sparked a wave of criticism in the tech and media world. Critics warned that dropping expert oversight could erode trust and reliability in the digital...

Read more: People are getting their news from AI – and it’s altering their views

Autocracies in transition: In 2025, Cameroon and Tanzania rulers clung to power — but look more vulnerable than ever

  • Written by Yonatan Morse, Associate Professor, University of Connecticut
imageProtesters run as Cameroonian security forces use water cannons to disperse them during the country's latest election, whose integrity was widely challenged.AP Photo/Welba Yamo Pascal

Autocratic leaders in Africa like their numbers to be in the high 90s, it appears.

In October, Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan won a highly dubious 98% of the...

Read more: Autocracies in transition: In 2025, Cameroon and Tanzania rulers clung to power — but look more...

Why are some Black conservatives drawn to Nick Fuentes?

  • Written by George Michael, Professor of Criminal Justice, Westfield State University
imageNick Fuentes believes that the country’s identity depends on preserving its white majority.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

Far-right activist Nick Fuentes continues to gain momentum.

The openly racist and antisemitic podcaster has emerged as an influential figure on the American political right. Recent profiles in The Atlantic and The New York Times...

Read more: Why are some Black conservatives drawn to Nick Fuentes?

Local democracy is holding strong, but rural communities are falling behind, new survey of Michigan officials shows

  • Written by Stephanie Leiser, Director, Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, University of Michigan
imageLansing City Clerk Chris Swope collects absentee ballots from a drop box in 2024. Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

According to our recent survey of officials in Michigan communities, local democracy is humming along and city hall is taking care of business.

The federal government was shut down in October and November 2025, but cities and towns around...

Read more: Local democracy is holding strong, but rural communities are falling behind, new survey of...

How C-reactive protein outpaced ‘bad’ cholesterol as leading heart disease risk marker

  • Written by Mary J. Scourboutakos, Adjunct Assistant Professor in Family and Community Medicine, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University
imageBlood vessel damage from fatty and high-sugar diets leads to inflammation, which can be detected by measuring C-reactive protein.Mohammed Haneefa Nizamudeen/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

Since researchers first established the link between diet, cholesterol and heart disease in the...

Read more: How C-reactive protein outpaced ‘bad’ cholesterol as leading heart disease risk marker

It’s more than OK for kids to be bored − it’s good for them

  • Written by Margaret Murray, Associate Professor of Public Communication and Culture Studies, University of Michigan-Dearborn
imageWhen children experience boredom, it can result in a brain boost that can push them to explore new activities.Richard Lewisohn/Connect Images via Getty Images

Boredom is a common part of life, across time and around the world. That’s because boredom serves a useful purpose: It motivates people to pursue new goals and challenges.

I’m a...

Read more: It’s more than OK for kids to be bored − it’s good for them

I study rat nests − here’s why rodents make great archivists

  • Written by Alexandria Mitchem Hansen, Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology, Columbia University
imageOld rat nests can contain fabrics, papers, animal bones, plant remains and other materials that have been undisturbed for hundreds of years. Andyworks/E+ Collection via Getty Images

Rats and other rodents and pests can make great archivists.

That’s because they forage food and build dens, storing fabric, paper, animal bones, plant remains and...

Read more: I study rat nests − here’s why rodents make great archivists

More Articles ...

  1. As millions of Americans face a steep rise in health insurance costs, lawmakers continue a century-long battle over who should pay for health care
  2. RFK Jr. wants to scrutinize the vaccine schedule – but its safety record is already decades long
  3. Deception and lies from the White House to justify a war in Venezuela? We’ve seen this movie before in run-ups to wars in Vietnam and Iraq
  4. Miami’s new mayor faces a housing affordability crisis, city charter reform and a shrinking budget
  5. Understanding climate change in America: Skepticism, dogmatism and personal experience
  6. Rest is essential during the holidays, but it may mean getting active, not crashing on the couch
  7. With wolves absent from most of eastern North America, can coyotes replace them?
  8. What are gas stove manufacturers trying to hide? Warning labels
  9. Resolve to stop punching the clock: Why you might be able to change when and how long you work
  10. There’s little evidence tech is much help stopping school shootings
  11. Why it’s so hard to tell if a piece of text was written by AI – even for AI
  12. Large trunks discovered in a basement offer a window into the lives and struggles of early Filipino migrants
  13. Tennis is set for a ‘Battle of the Sexes’ sequel – with no movement behind it
  14. Trump tariffs and warming India-China ties have silenced the Quad partnership … for now
  15. Sudan’s civil war: A visual guide to the brutal conflict
  16. ‘This year nearly broke me as a scientist’ – US researchers reflect on how 2025’s science cuts have changed their lives
  17. Karoline Leavitt’s White House briefing doublethink is straight out of Orwell’s ‘1984’
  18. Where the wild things thrive: Finding and protecting nature’s climate change safe havens
  19. Billionaires with $1 salaries – and other legal tax dodges the ultrawealthy use to keep their riches
  20. Unpaid caregiving work can feel small and personal, but that doesn’t take away its ethical value
  21. The US already faces a health care workforce shortage – immigration policy could make it worse
  22. America faced domestic fascists before and buried that history
  23. Supreme Court case about ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ highlights debate over truthful advertising standards
  24. Rising electricity prices and an aging grid challenge the nation as data centers demand more power
  25. Shaping the conversation means offering context to extreme ideas, not just a platform
  26. The #iwasfifteen hashtag and ongoing Epstein coverage show how traffickers exploit the vulnerabilities of teens and tweens
  27. Hacked phones and Wi-Fi surveillance have replaced Cold War spies and radio waves in the delusions of people with schizophrenia
  28. Trump’s second term is reshaping US science with unprecedented cuts and destabilizing policy changes
  29. School shootings dropped in 2025 - but schools are still focusing too much on safety technology instead of prevention
  30. From record warming to rusting rivers, 2025 Arctic Report Card shows a region transforming faster than expected
  31. The North Pole keeps moving – here’s how that affects Santa’s holiday travel and yours
  32. How rogue nations are capitalizing on gaps in crypto regulation to finance weapons programs
  33. 2 superpowers, 1 playbook: Why Chinese and US bureaucrats think and act alike
  34. A, B, C or D – grades might not say all that much about what students are actually learning
  35. The next frontier in space is closer than you think – welcome to the world of very low Earth orbit satellites
  36. Gazing into the mind’s eye with mice – how neuroscientists are seeing human vision more clearly
  37. If tried by court-martial, senator accused of ‘seditious behavior’ would be deprived of several constitutional rights
  38. My prescription costs what?! Pharmacists offer tips that could reduce your out-of-pocket drug costs
  39. Chile elects most right-wing leader since Pinochet – in line with regional drift, domestic tendency to punish incumbents
  40. Epstein’s victims deserve more attention than his ‘client list’
  41. The ‘one chatbot per child’ model for AI in classrooms conflicts with what research shows: Learning is a social process
  42. Christmas trees are more expensive than ever in Colorado — what gives?
  43. Pardons are political, with modern presidents expanding their use
  44. How the NIH became the backbone of American medical research and a major driver of innovation and economic growth
  45. Getting peace right: Why justice needs to be baked into ceasefire agreements – including Ukraine’s
  46. From civil disobedience to networked whistleblowing: What national security truth-tellers reveal in an age of crackdowns
  47. Best way for employers to support employees with chronic mental illness is by offering flexibility
  48. How are dark matter and antimatter different?
  49. Coup contagion? A rash of African power grabs suggests copycats are taking note of others’ success
  50. Pandas, pingpong and ancient canals: President Xi’s hosting style says a lot about Chinese diplomacy