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In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers − an astronomer explains how these methods work

  • Written by Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State
imageWayfarers around the world have used the stars to navigate the sea. Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you have visited an island like one of the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, you may have noticed how small these land masses appear against the vast Pacific Ocean. If you’re on Hawaii, the nearest...

Read more: In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers...

Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are grazers

  • Written by Ellen Welti, Research Ecologist, Great Plains Science Program, Smithsonian Institution
imageThe giant panda's diet is almost 100% bamboo.Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the...

Read more: Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are...

The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

  • Written by Steven Wolterning, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University
imageVideo clips of teens playing dangerous games are easily accessible on many social media sites.Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The “choking game” has potentially deadly consequences, as players are challenged to temporarily strangle themselves by restricting oxygen to the brain. It sounds terrifying, but rough estimates...

Read more: The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

Language AIs in 2024: Size, guardrails and steps toward AI agents

  • Written by John Licato, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Director of AMHR Lab, University of South Florida
image2024 saw smaller models and new guardrails for language AIs.pagadesign/E+ via Getty Images

I research the intersection of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and human reasoning as the director of the Advancing Human and Machine Reasoning lab at the University of South Florida. I am also commercializing this research in an AI...

Read more: Language AIs in 2024: Size, guardrails and steps toward AI agents

2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its oceans

  • Written by Darryl Z. Seligman, Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University
imageDark comets accelerate through space but don't have a dusty tail like most comets. Adina Feinstein and NASA’s Earth Observatory

The water that makes up the oceans acted as a key ingredient for the development of life on Earth. However, scientists still do not know where the water here on Earth came from in the first place.

One leading idea is...

Read more: 2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its...

Detroit’s reparations task force now has until 2025 to make its report, but going slow with this challenging work may not be a bad thing

  • Written by Kamri Hudgins, Doctoral Candidate in Political Science, University of Michigan
imageMembers of the task force listen at a public meeting.Screenshot/Channel 10

The work of crafting reparations at the municipal level is fierce.

Detroiters know. In November 2021, residents voted to create a reparations committee that would make recommendations for housing and economic development programs to address historical discrimination against...

Read more: Detroit’s reparations task force now has until 2025 to make its report, but going slow with this...

Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit – new study from California finds threats, abuse rampant

  • Written by Rachel Locke, Director, Violence, Inequality and Power Lab, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego

Threats and harassment are pushing some politicians out of office, scaring off some would-be candidates and even compelling some elected officials to change their vote.

Those are some of the conclusions of a new study I led on political violence in Southern California.

Rising threats against public officials is a national problem.

Between 2013 and...

Read more: Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit – new study from California finds threats,...

What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains

  • Written by Jennifer Selin, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University
imageU.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland during a news conference announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on March 21, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the...

Read more: What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains

3D-printed guns, like the one allegedly used to kill a health care CEO, are a growing threat in the US and around the world

  • Written by Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro
imageA federal firearms official displays several guns that are either entirely or partially 3D-printed.Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Police investigating the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, have announced that the suspected assailant had used a 3D-printed gun. Several high-profile crimes in recent years have involved...

Read more: 3D-printed guns, like the one allegedly used to kill a health care CEO, are a growing threat in...

Colorado now has one of the nation’s most liberal abortion access laws, but ballot measures to restrict abortion have a long history in the state

  • Written by Anne Whitesell, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Miami University

With the passage of Amendment 79 in November 2024, Colorado voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state constitution. The amendment solidifies the state’s status as one of the most liberal in the country on the issue.

It is a status that has been challenged over and over.

Since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, Coloradans have...

Read more: Colorado now has one of the nation’s most liberal abortion access laws, but ballot measures to...

More Articles ...

  1. A nation exhausted: The neuroscience of why Americans are tuning out politics
  2. How should we look to history to make sense of Luigi Mangione’s alleged murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson?
  3. The Wanamaker organ has been part of a treasured holiday tradition in Philly for over 100 years − a historian explains its illustrious past and uncertain future
  4. What are pharmacy benefit managers? A health economist explains how lack of competition drives up drug prices for everyone
  5. How a small Brazilian town became an unlikely battleground over Confederate memory
  6. The moral dimension to America’s flawed health care system
  7. How to avoid the latest generation of scams this holiday season
  8. Federal protection for monarch butterflies could help or harm this iconic species, depending on how it’s carried out
  9. Parents and caregivers: How to stop feeling like a Grinch and be more present with your kids this holiday season
  10. For enslaved people, the holiday season was a time for revelry – and a brief window to fight back
  11. The Moon might be older than scientists previously thought − a new study shines light on its history
  12. Yes, Philadelphia is a sanctuary city − but that offers undocumented immigrants little protection from mass deportations
  13. Rules against insider trading also boost innovation, research finds
  14. Why Syria’s reconstruction may depend on the fate of its minorities
  15. What is an AI agent? A computer scientist explains the next wave of artificial intelligence tools
  16. Trust in U.S. media hit an all-time low in 2024 − a new survey shows Black midwesterners have found other trusted messengers of news
  17. Luigi Mangione isn’t the first alleged criminal to capture many people’s imaginations – and hearts
  18. Assault on DEI: Critics use simplistic terms to attack the programs, but they are key to uprooting workplace bias
  19. Nixon’s official acts against his enemies list led to a bipartisan impeachment effort
  20. ‘Love Is Blind’ contestants count as employees − new US government agency finding could shake up reality TV production
  21. Why natural disasters hit harder in rural school districts
  22. Listening for the right radio signals could be an effective way to track small drones
  23. At 88, Pope Francis dances the tango with the global Catholic Church amid its culture wars
  24. More than 60 years later, Langston Hughes’ ‘Black Nativity’ is still a pillar of African American theater
  25. Vaccine misinformation distorts science – a biochemist explains how RFK Jr. and his lawyer’s claims threaten public health
  26. No flood gauges, no warning: 99% of US streams are off the radar amid rising flash flood risks – we saw the harm in 2024
  27. I’m a former assistant DA who works with survivors of sex trafficking − here’s why a recent Philly sting marks a shift in how Pennsylvania confronts the commercial sex industry
  28. At Hanukkah, a celebration of eternal light − from the desert tabernacle to synagogues today
  29. Trump’s 2017 tax cuts expire soon − study shows they made income inequality worse and especially hurt Black Americans
  30. How liberals lost comedy − and helped Trump win
  31. Is news bias fueled by journalists supplying slanted views or readers’ demanding them? An economist weighs in
  32. Colleges’ career success stats don’t tell the whole story about how their graduates are doing after they get their degree
  33. 5 of the most frustrating health insurer tactics and why they exist
  34. Cómo la canela, la nuez moscada y el jengibre se convirtieron en los aromas de las vacaciones de invierno, lejos de sus orígenes tropicales
  35. Cómo la Navidad se convirtió en una tradición navideña estadounidense, con un Papá Noel, regalos y un árbol
  36. How nostalgia led to the invention of the first Christmas card
  37. Retailers that make it harder to return stuff face backlash from their customers
  38. Why does red wine cause headaches? Our research points to a compound found in the grapes’ skin
  39. Supporting a grieving loved one on holidays and special occasions: Practical tips from a clinical psychologist
  40. After wildfires, ranchers face 2-year delay to graze cattle on federal land – is it doing more harm than good?
  41. How does the International Space Station orbit Earth without burning up?
  42. Twins were the norm for our ancient primate ancestors − one baby at a time had evolutionary advantages
  43. How cities are reinventing the public-private partnership − 4 lessons from around the globe
  44. Black adults with long COVID report higher levels of hopelessness and suicidal thoughts − new research
  45. Only 0.16% of all US charitable giving supports LGBTQ+ groups despite recent increases
  46. How humanities classes benefit students in the workplace and combat loneliness
  47. Marco Rubio is no friend of Havana − but does Trump’s pick for secretary of state mean Cuba policy is set?
  48. FBI director guides the agency in confronting complex international threats, investigating federal crimes and running 55 field offices
  49. Ferns’ ability to evolve ‘backward’ offers insights into the meandering path of evolution
  50. Response to CEO killing reveals antipathy toward health insurers − but entire patchwork system is to blame for ill feeling