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Why fitness trackers may not give you all the 'credit' you hoped for

  • Written by Katie Siek, Associate Professor of Informatics, Indiana University
Wearable fitness trackers have less accuracy when used in certain ways.bogdankosanovic/E+ via Getty Images

January is a time when many people make resolutions – and then break them. Almost 60% of Americans will resolve to exercise more, but fewer than 10% will stick with their resolution. A key to keeping resolutions is ensuring they are measu...

Read more: Why fitness trackers may not give you all the 'credit' you hoped for

3 quotes that defined the first Democratic debate of 2020

  • Written by Dennis Jett, Professor of International Affairs, Pennsylvania State University
Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders shake hands before the debate on Jan. 14.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Editor’s note: Six Democrats qualified for the final debate before the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3. We asked three scholars to watch the Jan. 14 debate, held at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and pick a quote from one of the candidates to...

Read more: 3 quotes that defined the first Democratic debate of 2020

Earthquake forecast for Puerto Rico: Dozens more large aftershocks are likely

  • Written by Richard Aster, Professor of Geophysics and Department Head, Colorado State University
The Immaculate Conception Catholic Church lies in ruins after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake in Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, Jan. 7, 2020. AP Photo/Carlos Giusti

Multiple strong and damaging earthquakes in southern Puerto Rico starting around Dec. 28, 2019 have killed at least one person, caused many serious injuries and collapsed numerous buildings,...

Read more: Earthquake forecast for Puerto Rico: Dozens more large aftershocks are likely

Worrying about being drafted doesn't mean you're disloyal – it's an old American tradition

  • Written by Amy Rutenberg, Assistant Professor of History, Iowa State University
A large group of American male Reserve Officers Training Corps students gather to protest the U.S. draft in the late 1930s. Anthony Potter Collection/Getty Images

Fear of imminent war and a draft have escalated in the wake of U.S. forces killing Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in early January.

Misinformation spread across social media platforms....

Read more: Worrying about being drafted doesn't mean you're disloyal – it's an old American tradition

Parental leave laws are failing single parents

  • Written by Deborah Widiss, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs; Professor of Law and Ira C. Batman Faculty Fellow, Indiana University
Single-parent families are getting less paid leave but perhaps need more of it.shurkin_son/Shutterstock.com

The two parties in Congress don’t agree on much these days. However, in the final days of December, they struck a deal that will give about 2 million federal workers paid time off following the birth of a baby, an adoption or the...

Read more: Parental leave laws are failing single parents

How Prohibition changed the way Americans drink, 100 years ago

  • Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
Prohibition did little to ease Americans' love of liquor.AP Photo

On Jan. 17, 1920, one hundred years ago, America officially went dry.

Prohibition, embodied in the U.S Constitution’s 18th amendment, banned the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol. Yet it remained legal to drink, and alcohol was widely available throughout...

Read more: How Prohibition changed the way Americans drink, 100 years ago

'Uncut Gems' celebrates Manhattan’s Diamond District, a neighborhood that's a window into the past

  • Written by Barak Richman, Katharine T. Bartlett Professor of Law, Duke University
A diamond wholesaler displays two three-carat diamonds in Manhattan's Diamond District.AP Photo/Kathy Willens

In “Uncut Gems,” an overleveraged diamond jeweler named Howard Ratner, played by Adam Sandler, frantically tries to cover his bad business bets by making bigger ones.

The film brilliantly captures the manic energy of New York...

Read more: 'Uncut Gems' celebrates Manhattan’s Diamond District, a neighborhood that's a window into the past

Think twice before shouting your virtues online – moral grandstanding is toxic

  • Written by Joshua B. Grubbs, Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University
Those who are the loudest in their morality may not be the most moral among us.www.shutterstock.com

In an era of bitter partisanship, political infighting and ostracization of those with unpopular views, Americans actually agree on one thing: 85% say political discourse has gotten worse over the last several years, according to Pew Research.

The...

Read more: Think twice before shouting your virtues online – moral grandstanding is toxic

Being copycats might be key to being human

  • Written by Connor Wood, Visiting Researcher in Theology, Boston University
Imitation is the sincerest form of being human?Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Chimpanzees, human beings’ closest animal relatives, share up to 98% of our genes. Their human-like hands and facial expressions can send uncanny shivers of self-recognition down the backs of zoo patrons.

Yet people and chimpanzees lead very different lives. Fewer...

Read more: Being copycats might be key to being human

Microwaving sewage waste may make it safe to use as fertilizer on crops

  • Written by Gang Chen, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Florida State University
Water purification at a modern urban wastewater treatment plant involves removing undesirable chemicals, suspended solids and gases from contaminated water. arhendrix/Shutterstock.com

My team has discovered another use for microwave ovens that will surprise you.

Biosolids – primarily dead bacteria – from sewage plants are usually dumped...

Read more: Microwaving sewage waste may make it safe to use as fertilizer on crops

More Articles ...

  1. Heading into Iowa: Where do the Democratic candidates stand on health care coverage?
  2. Why the US-Iran conflict isn’t driving oil prices higher – and why it probably should
  3. Can the Constitution stop the government from lying to the public?
  4. The secret origins of presidential polling
  5. What US election officials could learn from Australia about boosting voter turnout
  6. High-priced specialty drugs: Exposing the flaws in the system
  7. Pope ends a secrecy rule for Catholic sexual abuse cases, but for victims many barriers to justice remain
  8. Restricting trade in endangered species can backfire, triggering market booms
  9. Why hip-hop belongs in today's classrooms
  10. Brexit could spell the end of globalization, and the global prosperity that came with it
  11. Cyberspace is the next front in Iran-US conflict – and private companies may bear the brunt
  12. Why are there seven days in a week?
  13. Weinstein jurors must differentiate between consent and compliance – which research shows isn't easy
  14. Large turnouts for Soleimani’s funeral in Iran carry powerful collective emotions – just as Americans saw during the colonial era
  15. Killing of Soleimani evokes dark history of political assassinations in the formative days of Shiite Islam
  16. Why some public universities get to keep their donors secret
  17. The made-up crisis behind the state takeover of Houston's public schools
  18. We're living in the bizarre world that Flaubert envisioned
  19. Your blood type may influence your vulnerability to norovirus, the winter vomiting virus
  20. Why we are hard-wired to worry, and what we can do to calm down
  21. 3D printing of body parts is coming fast – but regulations are not ready
  22. Matching Vietnamese brides with Chinese men, marriage brokers find good business – and sometimes love
  23. Rotting feral pig carcasses teach scientists what happens when tons of animals die all at once, as in Australia's bushfires
  24. Trump, like Obama, tests the limits of presidential war powers
  25. The US-Iran conflict and the consequences of international law-breaking
  26. School closures can hit rural communities hard
  27. What Trump's tweet threatening Iran's cultural sites could mean for Shiite Muslims
  28. Tweets about cannabis' health benefits are full of mistruths
  29. How countries in conflict, like Iran and the US, still talk to each other
  30. Children of color already make up the majority of kids in many US states
  31. Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?
  32. Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working from home?
  33. Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved
  34. Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance
  35. What happens when community college is made free
  36. For linguists, it was the decade of the pronoun
  37. Moving Bureau of Land Management headquarters to Colorado won't be good for public lands
  38. What did the Romans do in the year 0? A fake theologian explains
  39. I'm an OB/GYN who attended thousands of deliveries before wondering why Americans give birth in bed
  40. AI can now read emotions – should it?
  41. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends whom you ask
  42. Coyotes are poised to enter South America for the first time
  43. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends who you ask
  44. Congressional Republicans abandon constitutional heritage and Watergate precedents in defense of Trump
  45. How a Chilean dog ended up as a face of the New York City subway protests
  46. Could Iran-US tensions mean troubled waters ahead in the Strait of Hormuz?
  47. If Democrats nominate a woman for president, don't try to make predictions about how she'll do
  48. EPA's proposed 'secret science' rule directly threatens children's health
  49. Universal coverage, single-payer, 'Medicare for All': What does it all mean for you?
  50. The dark side of supportive relationships