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The thinking error at the root of science denial

  • Written by Jeremy P. Shapiro, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
Could seeing things in black-and-white terms influence people's views on scientific questions? Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

Currently, there are three important issues on which there is scientific consensus but controversy among laypeople: climate change, biological evolution and childhood vaccination. On all three issues, prominentmembers of the...

Read more: The thinking error at the root of science denial

Ending sexual assault in youth detention centers

  • Written by Eileen M. Ahlin, Assistant Professor, Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University
Juvenile residents sit in a classroom at detention center in Atlanta.AP Photo/David Goldman

Rampant violence and civil rights abuses in juvenile prisons are prompting calls to shut them down.

In the wake of scandals in 2017 in Texas and Florida where correctional officers were accused of sexually assaulting youth in custody, the issue has drawn...

Read more: Ending sexual assault in youth detention centers

Reading and singing to preemies helps parents feel comfortable with their fragile babies

  • Written by Brenda Hussey-Gardner, Associate Professor, Pediatrics, University of Maryland, Baltimore
A mother in the Mother Goose on the Loose program reading to her infant. University of Maryland Medical System Foundation, CC BY-SA

One out of 10 babies is born prematurely in the United States. These babies typically are cared for in neonatal intensive care units, often called NICUs.

Traditional NICUs have an open-bay design where multiple babies...

Read more: Reading and singing to preemies helps parents feel comfortable with their fragile babies

Cryptojacking spreads across the web

  • Written by Pranshu Bajpai, Security Researcher, PhD Candidate, Michigan State University
Is someone else making money on your computer?WICHAI WONGJONGJAIHAN/Shutterstock.com

Right now, your computer might be using its memory and processor power – and your electricity – to generate money for someone else, without you ever knowing. It’s called “cryptojacking,” and it is an offshoot of the rising popularity...

Read more: Cryptojacking spreads across the web

The EPA says burning wood to generate power is 'carbon-neutral.' Is that true?

  • Written by William Moomaw, Professor Emeritus of International Environmental Policy, Tufts University
Enviva's wood pellet plant in Ahoskie, NC. Marlboro Productions, CC BY-ND

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt recently told a group of forestry executives and students that from now on the U.S. government would consider burning wood to generate electricity, commonly known as forest or woody biomass, to be “carbon neutral...

Read more: The EPA says burning wood to generate power is 'carbon-neutral.' Is that true?

Americans are becoming more socially isolated, but they're not feeling lonelier

  • Written by Sara Konrath, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Alone in the crowd, but not lonely.Realstock/shutterstock.com

Are Americans becoming lonelier?

On May 1, NPR reported on a survey about loneliness conducted by Cigna, a large health insurance company. Cigna asked over 20,000 American adults if they agreed with statements like “People are around me but not with me” and “No one...

Read more: Americans are becoming more socially isolated, but they're not feeling lonelier

History shows why school prayer is so divisive

  • Written by Frank S. Ravitch, Professor of Law & Walter H. Stowers Chair of Law and Religion, Michigan State University
Members of the senior class of Russell County HIgh School in Kentucky recite the Lord's Prayer, in defiance of a court ruling, during commencement exercises in 2006.AP Photo/James Crisp

The education committee of the Kentucky Senate is currently considering a bill for a “day of prayer” in the state’s schools. The bill known as HB...

Read more: History shows why school prayer is so divisive

Don't expect professors to get fired when they say something you don't like

  • Written by Frank LoMonte, Director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, University of Florida
Public university professors enjoy great protections when it comes to free speech.Lightspring/www.shutterstock.com

A college professor lashes out on social media with a caustic political opinion. Online commentators explode with outrage and demand firings.

Does the university stand behind the instructor and accept a reputational beating? It depends...

Read more: Don't expect professors to get fired when they say something you don't like

Making a cleaner, greener, environmentally safe sunscreen

  • Written by Yousong Ding, Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Florida
Ingredients in many sunscreens are bleaching coral and harming marine life.www.shutterstock.com

As the temperatures rise and Americans swarm to the beach, they slather on sunscreen to protect against the sun’s harmful UV radiation that causes skin cancer. As they splash and swim, few give thought to whether the chemicals in the lotions and...

Read more: Making a cleaner, greener, environmentally safe sunscreen

Spotting the political calculus behind some acts of corporate charity

  • Written by Raymond Fisman, Slater Family Professor in Behavioral Economics, Boston University
Charitable gifts may do double duty when politics is in the picture.jefftakespics2/Shutterstock.com

Over the past few years, I have teamed up with fellow economists Marianne Bertrande, Matilde Bombardini and Francesco Trebbi to look into one underappreciated way that businesses may attempt to influence politicians: corporate philanthropy.

We found...

Read more: Spotting the political calculus behind some acts of corporate charity

More Articles ...

  1. Is air pollution making you sick? 4 questions answered
  2. Most successful entrepreneurs are older than you think
  3. Redefining 'impact' so research can help real people right away, even before becoming a journal article
  4. Touch forms the foundation of the powerful human-horse relationship
  5. Should we celebrate Karl Marx on his 200th birthday?
  6. What is full employment? An economist explains the latest jobs data
  7. Dead zones are a global water pollution challenge – but with sustained effort they can come back to life
  8. Boycott China and avoid a trade war
  9. Unearthed mummy recalls an Iran before the ayatollahs
  10. Deadly highrise fire in Brazil spotlights city's housing crisis and the squatter movement it spawned
  11. Sexism isn't just unfair; it makes women sick, study suggests
  12. Michigan says Flint water is safe to drink, but residents' trust in government has corroded
  13. Are North Korean media outlets signaling that the regime is getting serious about diplomacy?
  14. That distinctive springtime smell: Asparagus pee
  15. Russians hack home internet connections – here's how to protect yourself
  16. The world's nuclear energy watchdogs: 4 questions answered
  17. Applying live bacteria to skin improves eczema
  18. As Israel turns 70, many young American Jews turn away
  19. #MeToo in the art world: Genius should not excuse sexual harassment
  20. As genetic testing for breast cancer gene mutation expands, questions arise about treatment decisions
  21. How artificial intelligence can detect – and create – fake news
  22. Ben Carson's effort to 'reform' housing safety net would deepen poverty by hurting poorest Americans
  23. Another problem with China's coal: Mercury in rice
  24. From the Middle East to the Kentucky Derby, the mint julep has always been about staying cool
  25. End of the gig economy? Don't read too much into a California court ruling
  26. Meet the ocean creatures that use a mesh of mucus to catch their food
  27. Could bats guide humans to clean drinking water in places where it's scarce?
  28. Are public objections to wind farms overblown?
  29. Feminist activists today should still look to 'Our Bodies, Ourselves'
  30. Anti-war protests 50 years ago helped mold the modern Christian right
  31. Bacteria may be powerful weapon against antibiotic resistance
  32. In Brazil, patients risk everything for the 'right to beauty'
  33. Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ends mission after 'listening' to the universe
  34. Elements from the stars: The unexpected discovery that upended astrophysics 66 years ago
  35. Nicaragua protests threaten an authoritarian regime that looked like it might never fall
  36. 10 years after, Cyclone Nargis still holds lessons for Myanmar
  37. Why does Congress have a chaplain?
  38. Why Venezuelans are some of the unhappiest people in the world
  39. Central American migrant caravan begins crossing US border: 5 essential reads
  40. How does Congress have chaplains without violating the separation of church and state?
  41. Nike's #MeToo moment shows how 'legal' harassment can lead to illegal discrimination
  42. Will Trump's ire force Montana’s Senator Tester away from political center?
  43. Why top US universities have law schools but not police schools
  44. Nazis pressed ham radio hobbyists to serve the Third Reich – but surviving came at a price
  45. Being clear about your last wishes can make death easier for you and loved ones
  46. Technology is better than ever – but thousands of Americans still die in car crashes every year
  47. 3 vital ways to measure how much a university education is worth
  48. Black employees in the service industry pay an emotional tax at work
  49. The goal in Korea should be peace and trade – not unification
  50. Nitrogen from rock could fuel more plant growth around the world – but not enough to prevent climate change