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A newly designed vaccine may help stamp out remaining polio cases worldwide

  • Written by Patricia L. Foster, Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University
The oral polio vaccine is most commonly used in the developing world, despite one big problem.CDC/Alan Janssen, MSPH, CC BY

Public health organizations around the world have been fighting for global eradication of polio since 1988. Through massive vaccination efforts, the incidence of polio has gone down 99% since then, with the virus eradicated...

Read more: A newly designed vaccine may help stamp out remaining polio cases worldwide

Why carbon dioxide has such outsized influence on Earth's climate

  • Written by Jason West, Professor of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite makes precise measurements of Earth's carbon dioxide levels from space.NASA/JPL

I am often asked how carbon dioxide can have an important effect on global climate when its concentration is so small – just 0.041% of Earth’s atmosphere. And human activities are responsible for just 32% of that...

Read more: Why carbon dioxide has such outsized influence on Earth's climate

The womb isn't sterile – healthy babies are born with bacteria and fungi in their guts

  • Written by Kent Willis, Assistant Professor of Neonatology, University of Tennessee
New research suggests that a newborn is exposed to bacteria and fungi in the womb.stockce/Shutterstock

For the last hundred years, scientists have believed that humans develop in a womb that remains sterile and completely isolated from the collection of bacteria, fungi and viruses that make us sick when we emerge into the outside world.

This theory...

Read more: The womb isn't sterile – healthy babies are born with bacteria and fungi in their guts

Anti-vaccination mothers have outsized voice on social media – pro-vaccination parents could make a difference

  • Written by Brooke W. McKeever, Associate Professor, University of South Carolina
Vaccinations are important to protect against a host of diseases.www.shutterstock.com

A high school student from Ohio made national headlines recently by getting inoculated despite his family’s anti-vaccination beliefs.

Ethan Lindenberger, 18, who never had been vaccinated, had begun to question his parents’ decision not to immunize...

Read more: Anti-vaccination mothers have outsized voice on social media – pro-vaccination parents could make...

How a person vapes, not just what a person vapes, could also play a big role in vaping harm

  • Written by Risa Robinson, Professor and Department Chair, Mechanical Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology
A smoking machine in the author's lab. Smoking by a machine is not the same as smoking by a person, the author and others have found.Katie DiFrancesco, CC BY-SA

In the wake of six deaths and 380 cases of confirmed and probable lung disease across the U.S., the Trump administration has called for banning most flavored e-cigarettes because of their...

Read more: How a person vapes, not just what a person vapes, could also play a big role in vaping harm

Why won't Democrats say they want government to solve problems?

  • Written by Jennifer Mercieca, Associate Professor of Communication, Texas A&M University
They didn't come out and say what they really mean.AP Photo/Eric Gay

All 10 Democratic candidates in the Houston debate Sept. 13 spoke about investing public money – taxpayer dollars – in education, health care and economic opportunity for Americans. Those ideas depend on an underlying point none of them came out and said directly:...

Read more: Why won't Democrats say they want government to solve problems?

Top Democrats discussed 'Medicare for All' at Houston debate, but what about healthy food for all?

  • Written by Patricia Smith, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan
The Democratic candidates discussed health care a lot – but not healthy food. AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The 10 Democrats who took the debate stage on Sept. 12 discussed many critical issues, from health care and climate change. But one important topic they didn’t discuss was access to healthy food.

As a researcher focused on nutrition...

Read more: Top Democrats discussed 'Medicare for All' at Houston debate, but what about healthy food for all?

Weinstein may be a monster, but the lawyers who enabled him are the real villains in #MeToo takedown 'She Said'

  • Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon
Weinstein may be on trial, but lots of lawyers enabled his misconduct. Steven Hirsch/New York Post via AP

In the greater arc of the #MeToo movement, lawyers have lurked in the shadows, unnamed scribes formalizing agreements meant to stay secret.

But in “She Said,” the behind-the-scenes story of how Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey brought...

Read more: Weinstein may be a monster, but the lawyers who enabled him are the real villains in #MeToo...

How bankruptcy works for companies and creditors

  • Written by Lindsey Simon, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Georgia

More than 20,000 companies file for bankruptcy every year.

Although companies follow many different paths to bankruptcy, each one encounters a process that is carefully designed to balance the rights of debtors and creditors.

As I’ve learned from studying and practicing bankruptcy law, the system is not perfect, and sometimes outcomes seem...

Read more: How bankruptcy works for companies and creditors

More Articles ...

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  2. Free preschool, longer school days and affordable day care help keep moms in the paid workforce
  3. An artist's journey into the science of sweat
  4. A plan to monitor the mentally ill? History of mental illness and stigma provides insights
  5. Hotels play vital role in relief efforts when disaster strikes
  6. The problem with the push for more college degrees
  7. China is positioned to lead on climate change as the US rolls back its policies
  8. How TV cameras influence candidates' debate success
  9. Vaping likely has dangers that could take years for scientists to even know about
  10. Why community-owned grocery stores like co-ops are the best recipe for revitalizing food deserts
  11. Want to reform America's police? Look to firefighters
  12. Historically black colleges give graduates a wage boost
  13. In dandelions and fireflies, artists try to make sense of climate change
  14. How do brains tune in to one neural signal out of billions?
  15. The problem of living inside echo chambers
  16. Could a toilet seat help prevent hospital readmissions?
  17. Don't ignore serious nonmilitary threats to US national security
  18. 5 charts show how your household drives up global greenhouse gas emissions
  19. Why a plan to lower prescription drug prices should not be piecemeal
  20. The strange connection between Bobby Kennedy's death and Scooby-Doo
  21. Africa's Catholic churches face competition and a troubled legacy as they grow
  22. Indian Moon probe's failure won't stop an Asian space race that threatens regional security
  23. How giving legal rights to nature could help reduce toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie
  24. Curious Kids: Who was the first black child to go to an integrated school?
  25. 4 tips for selecting charities after disasters like Hurricane Dorian
  26. Market-based policies work to fight climate change, from India to Jamaica
  27. Math skills aren't enough to get through hard decisions – you need confidence, too
  28. How disinformation could sway the 2020 election
  29. Why your employer-sponsored insurance may ultimately not be good for you
  30. Far fewer Mexican immigrants are coming to the US -- and those who do are more educated
  31. In Brazil's rainforests, the worst fires are likely still to come
  32. I create manipulated images and videos – but quality may not matter much
  33. The hidden story of two African American women looking out from the pages of a 19th-century book
  34. How to increase access to gifted programs for low-income and black and Latino children
  35. Curious Kids: Why do burps make noise?
  36. How to increase access to gifted programs for low-income students and children of color
  37. What is Ashura? How this Shiite Muslim holiday inspires millions
  38. 'I'll have what she's having' – how and why we copy the choices of others
  39. Are you mentally well enough for college?
  40. Dr. Spock's timeless lessons in parenting
  41. New abortion laws contribute to sexist environments that harm everyone's health
  42. How climate change is driving emigration from Central America
  43. I wrote a book about email – and found myself pining for the days of letter-writing
  44. How nine days underwater helps scientists understand what life on a Moon base will be like
  45. Lessons from the UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, 25 years after the genocide it failed to stop
  46. How many Americans believe in climate change? Probably more than you think, research in Indiana suggests
  47. Why are there so few women CEOs?
  48. From cohabitation to cohousing: Older baby boomers create living arrangements to suit new needs
  49. How to get preschoolers ready to learn math
  50. Good communication is a key part of disaster response