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Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without Western technology

  • Written by Richard (Rick) Feinberg, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, Kent State University
imageAn outrigger canoe would typically have several paddlers and one navigator.AP Photo/David Goldman

Wet and shivering, I rose from the outrigger of a Polynesian voyaging canoe. We’d been at sea all afternoon and most of the night. I’d hoped to get a little rest, but rain, wind and an absence of flat space made sleep impossible. My...

Read more: Pacific voyagers’ remarkable environmental knowledge allowed for long-distance navigation without...

Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration

  • Written by Chelsea Stieber, Associate Professor of French Studies, Tulane University
imagePope Leo XIV appears before thousands of journalists on May 12, 2025, in Vatican City.Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

Early coverage of Pope Leo XIV has explored the first American pontiff’s Chicago upbringing, as well as the many years he spent in Peru, first as a missionary and then as a bishop.

Genealogist Jari Honora broke the...

Read more: Pope Leo XIV’s link to Haiti is part of a broader American story of race, citizenship and migration

How does the EPA know a pesticide is safe to use in my yard?

  • Written by Jeffrey Gore, Professor of Agricultural Science and Plant Protection, Mississippi State University
imageA mosquito-control technician sprays a mixture including insecticides in a yard in Michigan.AP Photo/John Flesher

Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin has said he wants the federal agency to accelerate scientific safety evaluations of various chemicals, including pesticides.

The EPA reportedly has more than 500 pending reviews of...

Read more: How does the EPA know a pesticide is safe to use in my yard?

Lady Gaga bomb plot: Thwarted plan lifts veil on the gamification of hate and gendered nature of online radicalization

  • Written by David Nemer, Associate Professor in the Department of Media Studies, University of Virginia
imageLady Gaga performs at Copacabana Beach on May 3, 2025, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation

The more than 2 million people who attended Lady Gaga’s free concert on Copacabana Beach on May 3, 2025, had no idea of a plot that, if successful, would have turned the event into a tragedy fueled by hate. Just hours before...

Read more: Lady Gaga bomb plot: Thwarted plan lifts veil on the gamification of hate and gendered nature of...

How your genes interact with your environment changes your disease risk − new research counts the ways

  • Written by Arun Durvasula, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California
imageNature and nurture both determine how likely you are to develop a particular disease.Hiroshi Watanabe/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Sitting in my doctor’s examination room, I was surprised when she told me, “Genetics don’t really matter for chronic disease.” Rather, she continued, “A person’s lifestyle, what...

Read more: How your genes interact with your environment changes your disease risk − new research counts the...

Trump is making it easier to fire federal workers, but they have some legal protections - 3 essential reads

  • Written by Amy Lieberman, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation
imageAn estimated 2% of federal civil servants could soon find their jobs are no longer secure under the Trump administration. iStock/Getty Images Plus

The Trump administration is moving ahead with policy changes that would make it easier to fire some federal workers.

The Office of Personnel Management, or OPM, filed proposed regulations in the Federal...

Read more: Trump is making it easier to fire federal workers, but they have some legal protections - 3...

Detroit’s next mayor can do these 3 things to support neighborhoods beyond downtown

  • Written by Deyanira Nevárez Martínez, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning, Michigan State University

Detroit stands at a pivotal moment.

Mayor Mike Duggan is preparing to leave office after 11 years at the end of 2025. The city’s next leader will inherit not only a revitalizing downtown but also neighborhoods like Belmont, Petosky-Otsego and Van Steuban that are grappling with housing instability and decades of neglect and disinvestment.

My...

Read more: Detroit’s next mayor can do these 3 things to support neighborhoods beyond downtown

Taking intermittent quizzes reduces achievement gaps and enhances online learning, even in highly distracting environments

  • Written by Jason C.K. Chan, Professor of Psychology, Iowa State University
imageMore Americans are learning remotely.Drazen/E+ via Getty Images

Inserting brief quiz questions into an online lecture can boost learning and may reduce racial achievement gaps, even when students are tuning in remotely in a distracting environment.

That’s a main finding of our recent research published in Communications Psychology. With...

Read more: Taking intermittent quizzes reduces achievement gaps and enhances online learning, even in highly...

How redefining just one word could strip the Endangered Species Act’s ability to protect vital habitat

  • Written by Mariah Meek, Associate Professor of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University
imageGreen sea turtles, like this hatchling in Florida, are endangered due in part to habitat destruction and fishing nets.Keenan Adams/USFWS

It wouldn’t make much sense to prohibit people from shooting a threatened woodpecker while allowing its forest to be cut down, or to bar killing endangered salmon while allowing a dam to dry out their...

Read more: How redefining just one word could strip the Endangered Species Act’s ability to protect vital...

‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV

  • Written by Matthew Casey-Pariseault, Associate Clinical Professor of History, Arizona State University
imageFaithful hold a photo of Robert Prevost, who was elected Pope Leo XIV, in front of the Cathedral of Chiclayo, Peru, where he served as bishop for several years.AP Photo/Manuel Medina

In his first appearance as Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the man born Robert Francis Prevost spoke for 10 minutes in Italian. Then he...

Read more: ‘The pope is Peruvian!’ How 2 decades in South America shaped the vision of Pope Leo XIV

More Articles ...

  1. What or where is the Indo-Pacific? How a foreign policy pivot redefined the global map
  2. Why protecting wildland is crucial to American freedom and identity
  3. Trump moves to gut low-income energy assistance as summer heat descends and electricity prices rise
  4. AI can scan vast numbers of social media posts during disasters to guide first responders
  5. Why collect asteroid samples? 4 essential reads on what these tiny bits of space rock can tell scientists
  6. Researchers uncovered hundreds of genes linked to OCD, providing clues about how it changes the brain − new research
  7. Why do cuts to Medicaid matter for Americans over 65? 2 experts on aging explain why lives are at stake
  8. Where tomorrow’s scientists prefer to live − and where they’d rather not
  9. How Asian American became a racial grouping – and why many with Asian roots don’t identify with the term these days
  10. Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship heads to the Supreme Court
  11. Trump heads to the Gulf aiming to bolster trade ties – but side talks on Tehran, Gaza could drive a wedge between US and Israel
  12. From defenders to skeptics: The sharp decline in young Americans’ support for free speech
  13. If you really want to close the US trade deficit, try boosting innovation in rural manufacturing
  14. Smartwatches promise all kinds of quality-of-life improvements − here are 5 things users should keep in mind
  15. Calorie counts on menus and food labels may not help consumers choose healthier foods, new research shows
  16. Space law doesn’t protect historical sites, mining operations and bases on the Moon – a space lawyer describes a framework that could
  17. In death penalty cases, the quest for justice is not America’s highest value
  18. When does a kid become an adult?
  19. As US doubles down on fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block
  20. As US ramps up fossil fuels, communities will have to adapt to the consequences − yet climate adaptation funding is on the chopping block
  21. India-Pakistan ceasefire shouldn’t disguise fact that norms have changed in South Asia, making future de-escalation much harder
  22. From pulpit to pitch: Pope Francis used sport to get his message to a wider world − that could continue with baseball-loving Leo XIV
  23. Science requires ethical oversight – without federal dollars, society’s health and safety are at risk
  24. I’m a business professor who asked dozens of former students how they define success. Here are their lessons for today’s grads
  25. I watched the Kremlin’s new Putin documentary (so you don’t have to) − here’s what it says about how the Russian leader views himself
  26. Nitrous oxide recreational use is linked to brain damage and sudden death − but ‘laughing gas’ is still sold all over the US
  27. Can Trump strip Harvard of its charitable status? Scholars of nonprofit law and accounting describe the obstacles in his way
  28. How William Howard Taft’s approach to government efficiency differed from Elon Musk’s slash-and-burn tactics
  29. Pope Leo XIV: Why the College of Cardinals chose the Chicago native and Augustinian to lead the church after Francis
  30. How the Take It Down Act tackles nonconsensual deepfake porn − and how it falls short
  31. Missile strikes and drone attacks heighten South Asian crisis - 8 questions answered over the role of Pakistan’s military in responding
  32. Pope Leo XIV faces limits on changing the Catholic Church − but Francis made reforms that set the stage for larger changes
  33. FDR united Democrats under the banner of ‘liberalism’ − but today’s Democratic Party has nothing to put on its hat
  34. Basic research advances science, and can also have broader impacts on modern society
  35. Philadelphians will soon choose their next district attorney − so what do DAs actually do?
  36. How proposed changes to higher education accreditation could impact campus diversity efforts
  37. When doctors don’t believe their patients’ pain – experts explain the all-too-common experience of medical gaslighting
  38. Humans are killing helpful insects in hundreds of ways − simple steps can reduce the harm
  39. Trump speaking poorly of other presidents is uncommon, but not unheard of, in American presidential history
  40. Recycling asphalt pavement can help the environment − now scientists are putting the safety of recycled pavement to the test
  41. Decentralized finance is booming − and so are the security risks. My team surveyed nearly 500 crypto investors and uncovered the most common mistakes
  42. ‘Grit’ and relentless perseverance can take a toll on brain health − particularly for people facing social stresses like racism
  43. No matter who the next pope is, US Catholics stand ‘at a crossroads’ − a sociologist explains
  44. Even with Pope Leo XIV in place, US Catholics stand ‘at a crossroads’
  45. India-Pakistan strikes: 5 essential reads on decades of rivalry and tensions over Kashmir
  46. Was it a stone tool or just a rock? An archaeologist explains how scientists can tell the difference
  47. AI isn’t replacing student writing – but it is reshaping it
  48. Spacecraft can ‘brake’ in space using drag − advancing craft agility, space safety and planetary missions
  49. Contaminated milk from one plant in Illinois sickened thousands with ‘Salmonella’ in 1985 − as outbreaks rise in the US, lessons from this one remain true
  50. North Korean spy drama in China may signal Beijing’s unease over growing Pyongyang-Moscow ties