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Billy Joel has excess fluid in his brain – a neurologist explains what happens when this protective liquid gets out of balance

  • Written by Danielle Wilhour, Assistant Professor of Neurology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageBilly Joel was diagnosed with normal pressure hydrocephalus.Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, is a clear, colorless liquid that plays a crucial role in maintaining the health and function of your central nervous system. It cushions the brain and spinal cord, provides nutrients and removes waste products.

Despite its importance,...

Read more: Billy Joel has excess fluid in his brain – a neurologist explains what happens when this...

Chronic stress contributes to cognitive decline and dementia risk – 2 healthy-aging experts explain what you can do about it

  • Written by Jennifer E. Graham-Engeland, Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State
imageSocial isolation is often stressful and can affect the aging brain.MixMedia/E+ via Getty Images

The probability of any American having dementia in their lifetime may be far greater than previously thought. For instance, a 2025 study that tracked a large sample of American adults across more than three decades found that their average likelihood of d...

Read more: Chronic stress contributes to cognitive decline and dementia risk – 2 healthy-aging experts...

Trump wants to cut funding to sanctuary cities and towns – but they don’t actually violate federal law

  • Written by Benjamin Gonzalez O'Brien, Associate Professor of Political Science, San Diego State University
imageWhile sanctuary policies for immigrants have grown in the U.S. since the 1980s, the Trump administration is the first to challenge them. Marcos Silva/iStock/Getty Images Plus

San Francisco, Chicago and New York are among the major cities – as well as more than 200 small towns and counties and a dozen states – that over the past 40...

Read more: Trump wants to cut funding to sanctuary cities and towns – but they don’t actually violate federal...

The hidden power of cultural exchanges in countering propaganda and fostering international goodwill

  • Written by Nicholas J. Cull, Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
imageThe bluegrass group Della Mae plays at an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan on its State Department-sponsored American Music Abroad tour in 2012. Photo: Paul Rockower

At a time when China is believed to spend about US$8 billion annually sending its ideas and culture around the world, President Donald Trump has proposed to cut by 93% the part of the State...

Read more: The hidden power of cultural exchanges in countering propaganda and fostering international goodwill

Public health and private equity: What the Walgreens buyout could mean for the future of pharmacy care

  • Written by Patrick Aguilar, Professor of Practice of Organizational Behavior, Washington University in St. Louis

Pharmacies are more than just stores – they’re vital links between people and their health care.

One of us, Patrick, witnessed this firsthand in 2003 while working as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens in a midsize West Texas town. Each day involved handling hundreds of prescriptions as they moved through the system –...

Read more: Public health and private equity: What the Walgreens buyout could mean for the future of pharmacy...

A common parasite can decapitate human sperm − with implications for male fertility

  • Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University
image_Toxoplasma_ can infiltrate the reproductive system.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Male fertility rates have been plummeting over the past half-century. An analysis from 1992 noted a steady decrease in sperm counts and quality since the 1940s. A more recent study found that male infertility rates increased nearly 80% from 1990 to 2019. The...

Read more: A common parasite can decapitate human sperm − with implications for male fertility

When Elvis and Ella were pressed onto X-rays – the subversive legacy of Soviet ‘bone music’

  • Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
imageIn the Soviet Union, some clever people realized that X-ray film was just soft enough to be etched by a sound recording device.Michelle Mengsu Chang/Toronto Star via Getty Images

When Western Electric invented electrical sound recording 100 years ago, it completely transformed the public’s relationship to music.

Before then, recording was...

Read more: When Elvis and Ella were pressed onto X-rays – the subversive legacy of Soviet ‘bone music’

High electricity prices zapping your budget? Here are 5 ways to save

  • Written by Hannah Wiseman, Professor of Law, Penn State

Pennsylvania residents may get sticker shock when they see their electric bills this summer. Aging infrastructure, extreme weather, transmission bottlenecks and increased demand are sending electricity rates soaring.

Widespread rate hikes across the commonwealth started in December 2024 and are continuing in 2025. Rising prices are related to how...

Read more: High electricity prices zapping your budget? Here are 5 ways to save

Critical minerals don’t belong in landfills – microwave tech offers a cleaner way to reclaim them from e-waste

  • Written by Terence Musho, Associate Professor of Engineering, West Virginia University
imageBroken electronics still contain valuable critical minerals.Beeldbewerking/iStock/Getty Images Plus

When the computer or phone you’re using right now blinks its last blink and you drop it off for recycling, do you know what happens?

At the recycling center, powerful magnets will pull out steel. Spinning drums will toss aluminum into bins....

Read more: Critical minerals don’t belong in landfills – microwave tech offers a cleaner way to reclaim them...

Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are improving

  • Written by Jeanne Sinclair, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Education, Memorial University of Newfoundland
imageMillions of Americans take high-stakes exams every year.Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/iStock via Getty Images

Texas children’s performance on an annual reading test was basically flat from 2012 to 2021, even as the state spent billions of additional dollars on K-12 education.

I recently did a peer-reviewed deep dive into the test design documentation t...

Read more: Texas’ annual reading test adjusted its difficulty every year, masking whether students are...

More Articles ...

  1. Anti-trans measures don’t just target transgender men and women – a sociologist explains how ‘male’ or ‘female’ categories miss the mark for nonbinary Americans
  2. Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 3 essential reads
  3. Trump’s West Point speech brought partisanship to the home of the US military − 2 essential reads
  4. Queer country: LGBTQ+ musicians are outside the spotlight as Grand Ole Opry turns 100
  5. Could a bold anti-poverty experiment from the 1960s inspire a new era in housing justice?
  6. Christianity has long revered saints who would be called ‘transgender’ today
  7. Pope Leo XIV is the first member of the Order of St. Augustine to be elected pope – but who are the Augustinians?
  8. Air traffic controller shortages in Newark and other airports partly reflect long, intense training − but university-based training programs are becoming part of the solution
  9. Mountain chickadee chatter: Scientists are decoding the songbird’s complex calls
  10. For opioid addiction, treatment underdosing can lead to fentanyl overdosing – a physician explains
  11. Managing forests and other ecosystems under rising threats requires thinking across wide-ranging scenarios
  12. Europeans are concerned that the US will withdraw support from NATO. They are right to worry − Americans should, too
  13. Why some towns lose local news − and others don’t
  14. MAHA report on children’s health highlights harms of ultraprocessed foods – a food scientist explains the research
  15. Harvard fights to keep enrolling international students – 4 essential reads about their broader impact
  16. How does a person become famous when they’re just a kid?
  17. 5 years after George Floyd’s murder: How the media narrative has changed around the killing and the protests that followed
  18. Supreme Court’s one-sentence order closes the door to Catholic charter school – but leaves it open for future challenges
  19. Can you upload a human mind into a computer? A neuroscientist ponders what’s possible
  20. Here’s how we figured the number of guns illegally trafficked from the US across the border to Mexico
  21. Gun trafficking from the US to Mexico: The drug connection
  22. US gun trafficking to Mexico: Independent gun shops supply the most dangerous weapons
  23. Split Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school − but future cases could hinge on whether charters are, at their core, public or private
  24. US solar manufacturers lag skyrocketing market demand
  25. In 2025, Tornado Alley has become almost everything east of the Rockies − and it’s been a violent year
  26. How abortion laws focusing on fetal viability miss the mark on women’s experiences
  27. From furry friends to fish, turning up the heat helps animals fight germs − how Mother Nature’s cure offers humans a lesson on fever
  28. Like many populist leaders, Trump accuses judges of being illegitimate obstacles to safety and democracy
  29. Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed nationwide missile defense system
  30. Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed US-wide missile defense system
  31. Israelis have a skewed view on extent of Gaza’s hunger plight − driven by censorship and media that downplay humanitarian crisis
  32. NOAA’s 2025 hurricane forecast warns of a busy season – a storm scientist explains why and what meteorologists are watching
  33. WHO is finalizing a new treaty that prepares for the next pandemic − but the US isn’t signing
  34. Young food entrepreneurs are changing the face of rural America
  35. At Cannes, decency and dress codes clash with fashion’s red carpet revolution
  36. Empathy can take a toll – but 2 philosophers explain why we should see it as a strength
  37. Work requirements are better at blocking benefits for low-income people than they are at helping those folks find jobs
  38. Billions of cicadas are emerging, from Cape Cod to north Georgia – here’s how and why we map them
  39. A decade after the release of ‘The Martian’ and a decade out from the world it envisions, a planetary scientist checks in on real-life Mars exploration
  40. Lifecycle of a research grant – behind the scenes of the system that funds science
  41. FDA will approve COVID-19 vaccine only for older adults and high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules
  42. What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains
  43. Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions
  44. Russia’s invasion united different parts of Ukraine against a common enemy – 3 years on, that unanimity still holds
  45. Trump treats laws as obstacles, not limits − and the only real check on his rule-breaking can come from political pressure
  46. Too much sitting increases risk of future health problems in chest pain patients – new research
  47. Why your electricity bill is so high and what Pennsylvania is doing about it
  48. Rethinking engineering education: Why focusing on learning preferences matters for diversity
  49. Israel has promised ‘basic amount’ of food into Gaza − but its policies have already created catastrophic starvation risk for millions
  50. 19th-century Catholic teachings, 21st-century tech: How concerns about AI guided Pope Leo’s choice of name