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Is the coronavirus a pandemic, and does that matter? 4 questions answered

  • Written by Brian Labus, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Flight attendants check temperatures of passengers aboard an Air China flight from Melbourne to Beijing on Feb. 4, 2020. AP Photo/Andy Wong

Editor’s note: The new coronavirus has now affected more than 20,000 people in China and claimed more lives as of Feb. 4 than the SARS epidemic from 2002 to 2004. Hong Kong has reported its first death....

Read more: Is the coronavirus a pandemic, and does that matter? 4 questions answered

'American Dirt' fiasco exposes publishing industry that's too consolidated, too white and too selective

  • Written by Christine Larson, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado Boulder
Copies of 'American Dirt' sit on a rack at a bookstore in New York.Laura Bonilla CAL/AFP via Getty Images

In an early chapter of “American Dirt,” the much-hyped novel now at the center of a racial controversy, the protagonist, Lydia, fills her Acapulco, Mexico, bookstore with her favorite literary classics. Because these don’t...

Read more: 'American Dirt' fiasco exposes publishing industry that's too consolidated, too white and too...

Is online education right for you? 5 questions answered

  • Written by Vanessa Dennen, Professor of of Instructional Systems & Learning Technologies, Florida State University
Online education presents many conveniences but requires serious time management skills.fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s Note: When U.S. News & World Report released its best online education program rankings this year, many schools that fared well in the rankings were quick to call attention to their success. Here, Vanessa Dennen, a resea...

Read more: Is online education right for you? 5 questions answered

How the US repeatedly failed to support reform movements in Iran

  • Written by Pardis Mahdavi, Director, School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University
A demonstrator protesting a disputed election wearing a headband in support of the Green Movement, Tehran, June 15, 2009. Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images

After decades of conflict, recently escalated to near-war, it appears there’s little chance that U.S. relations with Iran will ever improve.

For 40 years, the relationship between the U.S. and Iran...

Read more: How the US repeatedly failed to support reform movements in Iran

R0: How scientists quantify the intensity of an outbreak like coronavirus and its pandemic potential

  • Written by Joseph Eisenberg, Professor and Chair of Epidemiology, University of Michigan
To how many others will one infected person spread the infection?Bim/Getty Images

If you saw the 2011 movie “Contagion,” about a worldwide pandemic of a new virus, then you’ve heard the term R0.

Pronounced “R naught,” this isn’t just jargon made up in Hollywood. It represents an important concept in epidemiology...

Read more: R0: How scientists quantify the intensity of an outbreak like coronavirus and its pandemic potential

Iowa caucuses did one thing right: Require paper ballots

  • Written by Herbert Lin, Senior Research Scholar for Cyber Policy and Security, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University
Paper ballots – the key to reconstructing what happened in Iowa.AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

As the confusion that was the Iowa caucuses unfolds, there will be a lot of questions about what happened and how to avoid it in the future.

But the results, ultimately, will be clear and undisputed because, amid everything they did wrong, the Iowa...

Read more: Iowa caucuses did one thing right: Require paper ballots

US could learn how to improve election protection from other nations

  • Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University
Are these people's votes accurately recorded and properly counted?Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

Hacking into voting machines remains far too easy.

It is too soon to say for sure what role cybersecurity played in the 2020 Iowa caucuses, but the problems, which are still unfolding and being investigated, show how easily systemic failures can lead to delays...

Read more: US could learn how to improve election protection from other nations

Learn to trust immigrants by role-playing in their shoes

  • Written by Brandon Bouchillon, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Arkansas
A university class included a game that simulated aspects of the experience people like these would-be immigrants can expect in the U.S.AP Photo/Elliot Spagat

People fear and mistrust what they don’t know – including people of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. That lack of trust causes social and political divisionsinthe U.S. and arou...

Read more: Learn to trust immigrants by role-playing in their shoes

Is hiring more black officers the key to reducing police violence?

  • Written by Jennifer Cobbina, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University
The thin blue line remains disproportionately white, despite diversity gains.Timothy Fadek/Corbis via Getty Images

High-profile cases of officer brutality against black citizens in recent years have caused Americans to question the racial makeup of their police departments.

Many advocates believe that diversifying these forces will help reduce...

Read more: Is hiring more black officers the key to reducing police violence?

The Iraq War has cost the US nearly $2 trillion

  • Written by Neta C. Crawford, Professor of Political Science and Department Chair, Boston University
Packed and ready to leave? Perhaps not quite yet.Capt. Robyn Haake/US Army/AFP via Getty Images

Editor’s note: The Costs of Wars project was started in 2011 to assess the long-term consequences of the post-9/11 wars. Project co-director Neta C. Crawford, professor and chair of political science at Boston University, explains the major...

Read more: The Iraq War has cost the US nearly $2 trillion

More Articles ...

  1. A clue to stopping coronavirus: Knowing how viruses adapt from animals to humans
  2. Cancer deaths decline in US, with advances in prevention, detection and treatment
  3. At-risk colleges should do what's best for students, alumni, donors, employees – and local communities
  4. 100 years ago, Congress threw out results of the census
  5. US workplaces are nowhere near ready to contain a coronavirus outbreak
  6. What do kids think of the president?
  7. Do authors really put deeper meaning into poems and stories – or do readers make it up?
  8. Quarantines have tried to keep out disease for thousands of years
  9. Catholic investigations are still shrouded in secrecy
  10. Inside Mexico's war on drugs: Conversations with 'el narco'
  11. The Trump administration has made the US less ready for infectious disease outbreaks like coronavirus
  12. The Trump administration has made the U.S. less ready for infectious disease outbreaks like coronavirus
  13. Anthrax vs. cancer – researchers harness the deadly toxin to cure dogs and hopefully people
  14. France-US skirmish over Amazon digital tax shows why the century-old international tax system is broken
  15. Why Italian cinema is starting to glamorize the mafia
  16. Fracking has led to a 'bust' for Pennsylvania school district finances
  17. WHO declares global health emergency over coronavirus: 4 questions answered
  18. Coronavirus grown in lab outside China for first time, aiding the search for vaccine
  19. The Kobe legacy: Should the NBA let high school players skip college?
  20. Why losing Kobe Bryant felt like losing a relative or friend
  21. Iowa caucuses: It's not just candidates who face uncertainty – it's their campaign workers, too
  22. As Democratic primaries near, educators can teach hope to a polarized citizenry
  23. Humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don't fit their worldview
  24. How do woodpeckers avoid brain injury?
  25. The Senate has actually tied in an impeachment trial – twice
  26. Supreme Court allows public charge clause that kept Nazi-era refugees from the US
  27. Why we knock on wood
  28. Has Trump proposed a Middle East peace plan – or terms of surrender for the Palestinians?
  29. Limiting Senate inquiry ignores Founders' intent for impeachment
  30. Britain's Brexit divorce is here – but the bickering over alimony payments and who gets the house is only beginning
  31. The US economy produced about $21.7 trillion in goods and services in 2019 - but what does GDP really mean?
  32. The US economy produced about $21.7 trillion in goods and services in 2019 – but what does GDP really mean?
  33. Is the coronavirus outbreak as bad as SARS or the 2009 influenza pandemic? A biologist explains the clues
  34. What is a super spreader? An infectious disease expert explains
  35. Harvey Weinstein's 'false memory' defense is not backed by science
  36. How do I know if I might have coronavirus? 5 questions answered
  37. Modern tomatoes are very different from their wild ancestors – and we found missing links in their evolution
  38. Union gunboats didn't just attack rebel military sites – they went after civilian property, too
  39. 4 myths the Trump team promoted about Andrew Johnson
  40. Preventing genocide in Myanmar: Court order tries to protect Rohingya Muslims where politics has failed
  41. Brain organoids help neuroscientists understand brain development, but aren't perfect matches for real brains
  42. I track murder cases that use the 'gay panic defense,' a controversial practice banned in 9 states
  43. Britain is about to leave the EU – what's next?
  44. Islamophobia in the US did not start with Trump, but his tweets perpetuate a long history of equating Muslims with terrorism
  45. The meme endorsement you might have missed – and why it matters for 2020
  46. Hidden by a pleasant scent: The health consequences of flavor in e-cigarettes
  47. Beware the brokered convention that breaks up the party
  48. E-cig flavors may be more than alluring; they could cause damage themselves
  49. Teaching kids how to make guitars can get them hooked on engineering
  50. Why legislation is needed to make Holocaust education more prominent in public schools: 5 questions answered