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Malnourished bugs: Higher CO2 levels make plants less nutritious, hurting insect populations

  • Written by Ellen Welti, Postdoctoral Researcher of Biology, University of Oklahoma
These grasshoppers, like many insects around the world, are declining. Dave Rintoul, CC BY-ND

The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

The big idea

Grasshopper populations, like those of many other insects, are declining. My colleagues and I identified a new possible culprit: The plants grasshoppers rely on for food are...

Read more: Malnourished bugs: Higher CO2 levels make plants less nutritious, hurting insect populations

Will sick leave protect me if I get ill from coronavirus? 5 questions answered

  • Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon
Inadequate leave policies means many of us work while sick.PeopleImages/Getty Images

Editor’s note: In the coming weeks and months, an outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States could leave workers scrambling to figure out what happens to their job – and their pay – if the new coronavirus prevents them from reporting to work. The...

Read more: Will sick leave protect me if I get ill from coronavirus? 5 questions answered

Can I take time off if my child's school is closed for coronavirus? 5 questions on sick leave laws answered

  • Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon
Inadequate leave policies means many of us work while sick.PeopleImages/Getty Images

Editor’s note: Lawmakers are debating a coronavirus relief package that could include emergency paid leave benefits for all workers affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, the spread of COVID-19 is leaving workers in the United States scrambling to figure out...

Read more: Can I take time off if my child's school is closed for coronavirus? 5 questions on sick leave laws...

Why the US still hasn't had a woman president

  • Written by Farida Jalalzai, Professor and Hannah Atkins Endowed Chair of Political Science, Oklahoma State University
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a primary election night rally.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Estonia, Singapore, Ethiopia and Finland – these are some of the 21 countries currently governed by a female president or prime minister.

Yet a woman president of the U.S. still remains only a hypothetical.

T...

Read more: Why the US still hasn't had a woman president

The candidate you like is the one you think is most electable

  • Written by Marjorie Hershey, Professor Emeritus, Political Science, Indiana University
Most people vote for the candidate they think is the most electable. Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Electability has been the single most important force motivating voters in the 2020 Democratic primaries.

But what is it? What makes one candidate seem like they could get votes from a majority of Americans while another one...

Read more: The candidate you like is the one you think is most electable

From border security to climate change, national emergency declarations raise hard questions about presidential power

  • Written by Daniel Farber, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley
Global Climate Strike NYC in New York, Sept. 20, 2019.Rainmaker Photo/MediaPunch /IPX via AP Photo

As wildfires, storms and other climate-driven disasters grow larger and more damaging, climate change is a major concern for many Democratic voters, who are in the midst of a primary fight that has come down to two major candidates: Bernie Sanders and...

Read more: From border security to climate change, national emergency declarations raise hard questions about...

How technology can combat the rising tide of fake science

  • Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
A crop circle in Switzerland.Jabberocky/Wikimedia Commons

Science gets a lot of respect these days. Unfortunately, it’s also getting a lot of competition from misinformation. Seven in 10 Americans think the benefits from science outweigh the harms, and nine in 10 think science and technology will create more opportunities for future...

Read more: How technology can combat the rising tide of fake science

I was in China doing research when I saw my Uighur friends disappear

  • Written by Sarah Tynen, Instructor, University of Colorado Boulder
An Uighur woman rests near a barricaded structure and heavily armed Chinese policemen in Urumqi.Ng Han Guan/AP Photo

Recently leakedChinese government documents reveal how local officials targeted Muslim minorities in China. Satellite images show that many of them have been held in detention camps across the vast Uighur homeland in northwest China.

C...

Read more: I was in China doing research when I saw my Uighur friends disappear

Dung beetles help rainforests regrow – but extreme drought and wildfires in the Amazon are killing them off

  • Written by Filipe França, Researcher, Tropical Ecology, Federal University of Pará
An Amazon forest in Brazil's Para state after deforestation and wildfires March 9, 2019. Unlike in some tropical forests, the animals of the Amazon are not adapted to survive fire.Gustavo Basso/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The dung beetle may eat and nest in poop, but its role in nature is anything but humble.

These hardshelled scarabs live on every...

Read more: Dung beetles help rainforests regrow – but extreme drought and wildfires in the Amazon are killing...

Should you listen to music when you work?

  • Written by Manuel F. Gonzalez, PhD Candidate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Baruch College, CUNY
Distraction or performance enhancer?H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock via Getty Images

Do you like to listen to music when you work?

Pose this question at a party, and you’ll probably get some polarizing responses. Some will say they love it, claiming that it improves their performance; others will say they find it distracting and cannot work...

Read more: Should you listen to music when you work?

More Articles ...

  1. What's the difference between pandemic, epidemic and outbreak?
  2. Speeches, both scripted and off the cuff, turn Biden's campaign around
  3. How big will the coronavirus epidemic be? An epidemiologist updates his concerns
  4. Why some Americans don't trust the census
  5. Crisis communication researcher shares 5 key principles that officials should use in coronavirus
  6. Washington's recession-fighting toolbox is nearly empty as US economy braces for possible coronavirus outbreak
  7. 'Internet of things' could be an unseen threat to elections
  8. Why having fewer OSHA inspectors matters
  9. How to stop using food to reward and punish your kids
  10. How women dress for other women
  11. Autonomous vehicles can be fooled to 'see' nonexistent obstacles
  12. Coronavirus fears put a halt to the Muslim pilgrimage of umrah – but not yet the hajj
  13. Love in the time of the coronavirus: Do you turn your back when someone offers you a hand, a kiss or a hug?
  14. Why it took Congress 40 years to pass a bill acknowledging the Armenian genocide
  15. Americans still trust doctors and scientists during a public health crisis
  16. What The Satanic Temple is and why it's opening a debate about religion
  17. Do wasps have a queen like bees do?
  18. ​Tornadoes that strike at night are more deadly and require more effective warning systems
  19. Less than one-fifth of reported rapes and sexual assaults lead to arrests
  20. Biden's resurrection was unprecedented – and well-timed
  21. What really works to keep coronavirus away? 4 questions answered by a public health professional
  22. Vaccines without needles – new shelf-stable film could revolutionize how medicines are distributed worldwide
  23. Super Tuesday results show how Latino voters, moderate Democrats and Trump supporters are shaping the election
  24. Spring is arriving earlier across the US, and that's not always good news
  25. The Fed's 'surprise' interest rate cut: 5 questions answered
  26. There’s no easy exit for the US in Afghanistan
  27. A simple way to promote HPV vaccination among Asian American women: Storytelling
  28. Why so many epidemics originate in Asia and Africa – and why we can expect more
  29. Why colleges should think twice before punishing student protesters
  30. What schools can do to reduce the risk that teachers and other educators will sexually abuse children
  31. The sharing economy helps women find new economic opportunities in Jordan
  32. If you want to help after the Nashville tornadoes, give cash, not clothing and other stuff
  33. Why hand-washing really is as important as doctors say
  34. Could a dog pick the next president?
  35. Evangelicals downplay religious expression when working with secular groups
  36. Predicting the coronavirus outbreak: How AI connects the dots to warn about disease threats
  37. Why public health officials sound more worried about the coronavirus than the seasonal flu
  38. Even after blocking an ex on Facebook, the platform promotes painful reminders
  39. Humans domesticated horses – new tech could help archaeologists figure out where and when
  40. The worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century: 5 questions on Syria answered
  41. The two-party system is here to stay
  42. Coronavirus unites a divided China in fear, grief and anger at government
  43. Trump treats the military as his own – and the troops could suffer
  44. Coronavirus: A simple way to keep workers – and the economy – from getting sick
  45. It's OK to feed wild birds – here are some tips for doing it the right way
  46. Emotional support animals can endanger the public and make life harder for people like me who rely on service dogs
  47. Why do Americans say 'bay-zle' and the English say 'baa-zle'?
  48. Tutoring kids who don't need it is a booming business in affluent areas where parents want to stack the deck
  49. A brief history of invisibility on screen
  50. US successfully planned for the 'endless frontier' of science research in 1945 – now it’s time to plan the next 75 years