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Engineering mini human hearts to study pregnancy complications and birth defects

  • Written by Brett Volmert, Ph.D. Candidate in Biomedical Engineering, Michigan State University
imageOrganoids can replicate each component of the human heart, from its chambers to its veins.Yonatan R. Lewis-Israeli et al. 2021/Nature Communications, CC BY-SA

How did your heart form? What triggered your first heartbeat? To this day, the mechanisms of human heart development remain elusive.

Researchers know the heart is the first organ to fully...

Read more: Engineering mini human hearts to study pregnancy complications and birth defects

Sports gambling creates a windfall, but raises questions of integrity – here are three lessons from historic sports-betting scandals

  • Written by Jared Bahir Browsh, Assistant Teaching Professor of Critical Sports Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Sports betting is having a big moment across the United States. While gambling on sports has been legal for decades in countries such as the U.K., it wasn’t until 2018 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states could legalize sports betting. Before then, sports betting had been permitted only in Nevada.

After the Supreme Court decision,...

Read more: Sports gambling creates a windfall, but raises questions of integrity – here are three lessons...

Bird flu detected in Colorado dairy cattle − a vet explains the risks of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus

  • Written by Jason Lombard, Associate Professor and Veterinarian, Colorado State University
imageThe U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that dairy cows in nine states have been infected with bird flu in 2024.U.S. Department of Agriculture, CC BY

Colorado has highly pathogenic avian influenza – also known as HPAI or bird flu – on a dairy farm, the ninth state with confirmed cases. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s...

Read more: Bird flu detected in Colorado dairy cattle − a vet explains the risks of the highly pathogenic...

Medicine doesn’t just have ‘conscientious objectors’ − there are ‘conscientious providers,’ too

  • Written by Raymond G. De Vries, Professor Emeritus, Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine, University of Michigan
imageMoral injury can occur when someone must act against their values -- but also when they cannot act in line with their values.Fly View Productions/E+ via Getty Images

When we think about harm, we typically think of physical or psychological suffering. But ethicists point out that we can also suffer “moral injury” when forced to do...

Read more: Medicine doesn’t just have ‘conscientious objectors’ − there are ‘conscientious providers,’ too

What are roads made of? A pavement materials engineer explains the science behind the asphalt you drive on

  • Written by Mansour Solaimanian, Research Professor, Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Penn State
imagePavers push the asphalt down during road construction. Pramote Polyamate/Moment via Getty Images

While on the road, you’re probably thinking more about your destination than the pavement you’re driving over. But building roads requires a host of engineering feats, from developing the right pavement materials to using heavy equipment to...

Read more: What are roads made of? A pavement materials engineer explains the science behind the asphalt you...

A sex scandal that’s boring the public − and a judge forced to keep Trump focused

  • Written by David E. Clementson, Associate Professor, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia
imageDonald Trump, with his lawyers, talks to the press pool outside a Manhattan criminal courtroom during his hush-money trial on May 3, 2024. Mark Peterson - Pool/Getty Images

John E. Jones III is the president of Dickinson College and a retired federal judge appointed by President George W. Bush. David E. Clementson is a scholar of political...

Read more: A sex scandal that’s boring the public − and a judge forced to keep Trump focused

Divesting university endowments: Easier demanded than done

  • Written by Todd L. Ely, Associate Professor of Public Administration; Director, Center for Local Government, University of Colorado Denver
imageA 'divest from death' banner at a University of Oregon protest against the Israel-Hamas war on April 29, 2024. AP Photo/Jenny Kane

Campus protests expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people and objecting to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza include many calls for universities and colleges to divest – a word that basically...

Read more: Divesting university endowments: Easier demanded than done

Polarization may phase out of American politics as younger generations shift into power

  • Written by Sally Friedman, Associate Professor of Political Science, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageCould the two political sides find common ground at last?JakeOlimb/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

The sharp increase in political polarization in America over the past 50 years has been driven in part by how different generations think about politics. But the rise of younger generations to political power may actually erase the deep social...

Read more: Polarization may phase out of American politics as younger generations shift into power

La Niña is coming, raising the chances of a dangerous Atlantic hurricane season – an atmospheric scientist explains this climate phenomenon

  • Written by Pedro DiNezio, Associate Professor of Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
imageLa Niña typically means cooler, wetter conditions on average globally, but not everywhere, and not every time.Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images

One of the big contributors to the record-breaking global temperatures over the past year – El Niño – is nearly gone, and its opposite, La Niña, is on the way.

Whether...

Read more: La Niña is coming, raising the chances of a dangerous Atlantic hurricane season – an atmospheric...

Why some people receiving federal benefits don’t consider themselves poor − even though poverty rates have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic

  • Written by Sherri Lawson Clark, Associate Professor of Cultural Anthropology, Wake Forest University

For the past 25 years, my research as a cultural anthropologist has taken me into the homes and neighborhoods of people living in poverty in cities and rural communities throughout the U.S.

To better understand their day-to-day lives, I also have spent time in grocery stores, churches, nightclubs, parks and health clinics.

I’ve asked...

Read more: Why some people receiving federal benefits don’t consider themselves poor − even though poverty...

More Articles ...

  1. Why US offshore wind power is struggling – the good, the bad and the opportunity
  2. Brain study identifies a cost of caregiving for new fathers
  3. I interviewed moms with 5 or more kids − here’s what I learned about the women who are quietly going against the grain
  4. Commencement isn’t just about awarding degrees – and cancellations leave students disconnected and disillusioned
  5. 5 books to help you better understand today’s campus protests
  6. Pet-owners: watch out for foxtail seed pods that can harm your dog or cat this summer
  7. Section 702 foreign surveillance law lives on, but privacy fight continues
  8. Playing with the kids is important work for chimpanzee mothers
  9. Arizona’s now-repealed abortion ban serves as a cautionary tale for reproductive health care across the US
  10. Justice Sotomayor’s health isn’t the real problem for Democrats − winning elections is
  11. What early 2024 polls are revealing about voters of color and the GOP − and it’s not all about Donald Trump
  12. Exoplanet WASP-69b has a cometlike tail – this unique feature is helping scientists like me learn more about how planets evolve
  13. Everyday life and its variability influenced human evolution at least as much as rare activities like big-game hunting
  14. How 19th-century Spiritualists ‘canceled’ the idea of hell to address social and political concerns
  15. US drone warfare faces questions of legitimacy, study of military chaplains shows
  16. Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of bullying, fighting and other misbehavior
  17. What America’s first board game can teach us about the aspirations of a young nation
  18. Could Biden stop Netanyahu’s plans? A national security expert looks at Israel’s attack on Rafah
  19. War games risk stirring up troubled waters as Philippines − emboldened by US − squares up to Beijing at sea
  20. As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here’s how communities can become ‘sponge cities’
  21. How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false
  22. Future pandemics will have the same human causes as ancient outbreaks − lessons from anthropology can help prevent them
  23. Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, and screening could save many lives − if more people could access it
  24. Voting in unconstitutional districts: US Supreme Court upended decades of precedent in 2022 by allowing voters to vote with gerrymandered maps instead of fixing the congressional districts first
  25. Homeschooled kids face unique college challenges − here are 3 ways they can be overcome
  26. Artists created images of Christ that focused not on historical accuracy but on reflecting different communities − a scholar of religious history explains
  27. 3 reasons the UAW is having success in organizing Southern workers – with two Mercedes plants in Alabama the next face-off
  28. Palestinian writers have long explored the horrors of amputation
  29. Venus is losing water faster than previously thought – here’s what that could mean for the early planet’s habitability
  30. Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds − even with programs designed to benefit poor communities
  31. Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now
  32. Paying caregivers more could boost Nebraska’s economy − new research
  33. Unlicensed teachers now dominate new teacher hires in rural Texas schools
  34. The number of religious ‘nones’ has soared, but not the number of atheists – and as social scientists, we wanted to know why
  35. ‘Hidden mother’ photos don’t erase moms − rather, they reveal the labor and love that support the child
  36. I analyzed 3,356 signs to see how language use is changing in three Latino neighborhoods in Philly
  37. What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see
  38. Houston’s flood problems offer lessons for cities trying to adapt to a changing climate
  39. Media coverage of campus protests tends to focus on the spectacle, rather than the substance
  40. What’s in a VIN? How to decode the vehicle identification number, your car’s unique fingerprint
  41. A look inside the cyberwar between Israel and Hamas reveals the civilian toll
  42. Animal behavior research is getting better at keeping observer bias from sneaking in – but there’s still room to improve
  43. Supporting ‘democracy’ is hard for many who feel government and the economy are failing them
  44. On its 125th anniversary, W.E.B. Du Bois’ ‘The Philadelphia Negro’ offers lasting lessons on gentrification in Philly’s historically Black neighborhoods
  45. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at 200: Revolutionary work of art has spawned two centuries of joy, goodwill and propaganda
  46. Boeing’s Starliner launch – delayed again – will be an important milestone for commercial spaceflight
  47. Healthy teeth are wondrous and priceless – a dentist explains why and how best to protect them
  48. High interest rates aren’t going away anytime soon – a business economist explains why
  49. Why universities turn to the police to end student protests − and why that can spiral out of control
  50. Power outages linked to heat and storms are rising, and low-income communities are most at risk – NYC maps show the impact