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Sports card explosion holds promise for keeping kids engaged in math

  • Written by John Holden, Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Oklahoma State University
imageSports trading cards can be used as teaching tools. Hyoung Chang/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

When it comes to collecting sports cards, people often focus on the cards’ financial worth. And understandably so.

After all, when a small piece of cardboard that originally cost just dollars or even cents is suddenly worth more...

Read more: Sports card explosion holds promise for keeping kids engaged in math

The Massachusetts flag glorifies the violence committed by colonizers – Native Americans want it changed

  • Written by Christoph Strobel, Professor of History, UMass Lowell
imageChange the Flag supporters protest on the steps of the statehouse on July 16, 2020 in Boston.Stuart Cahill/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Given the violent history of English colonizers in New England, it’s a wonder why the state insignia of Massachusetts, fully emblazoned on today’s state flag, still includes a sword...

Read more: The Massachusetts flag glorifies the violence committed by colonizers – Native Americans want it...

Why Putin has such a hard time accepting Ukrainian sovereignty

  • Written by Jacob Lassin, Postdoctoral Research Scholar, Arizona State University
imageVladimir Putin at a concert in March 2021 marking the seventh anniversary of its annexation of Crimea.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Image

Ukraine is again looking warily over its eastern border as Russia threatens its territorial integrity.

In recent weeks, a buildup of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border has rattled Western leaders fearful of an...

Read more: Why Putin has such a hard time accepting Ukrainian sovereignty

Nickel oxide is a material that can 'learn' like animals and could help further artificial intelligence research

  • Written by Shriram Ramanathan, Professor of Materials Engineering, Purdue University
imageNickel oxide, the gray-and-black-striped material, demonstrates unique properties when exposed to hydrogen.Purdue University/Kayla Wiles, CC BY-ND

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

The big idea

A unique material, nickel oxide demonstrates the ability to learn things about its environment in a way that emulates the...

Read more: Nickel oxide is a material that can 'learn' like animals and could help further artificial...

Millions more Americans now have the right to vote in non-English languages

  • Written by Gabe Osterhout, Research Associate, Idaho Policy Institute, Boise State University
imageMany Americans need election materials provided in languages other than English.AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

As Americans and their elected representatives debate who should be allowed to vote and what rules should govern eligibility and registration, one key issue isn’t getting much attention: the ability for people to vote in languages other than...

Read more: Millions more Americans now have the right to vote in non-English languages

Home for the holidays and worried about an older relative? Make observations, not assumptions

  • Written by Laurie Archbald-Pannone, Associate Professor of Medicine, Geriatrics, University of Virginia
imageIf you're worried about older loved ones' ability to care for themselves, try starting a conversation with nonjudgmental questions.MoMo Productions/DigitalVision via Getty Images

With the second holiday season of the pandemic upon us, many people will have the opportunity to rejoin family and friends for celebrations. The pandemic has kept many of...

Read more: Home for the holidays and worried about an older relative? Make observations, not assumptions

2021’s climate disasters revealed an east-west weather divide, with one side of the country too wet, the other dangerously dry

  • Written by Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
imageWildfires that swept through Sequoia National Forest in California in September 2021 were so severe they killed ancient trees that had adapted to survive fires.AP Photo/Noah Berger

Alongside a lingering global pandemic, the year 2021 was filled with climate disasters, some so intense they surprised even the scientists who study them.

Extreme...

Read more: 2021’s climate disasters revealed an east-west weather divide, with one side of the country too...

Devastating Colorado fires cap a year of climate disasters in 2021, with one side of the country too wet, the other dangerously dry

  • Written by Shuang-Ye Wu, Professor of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
imageWildfires that swept through Sequoia National Forest in California in September 2021 were so severe they killed ancient trees that had adapted to survive fires.AP Photo/Noah Berger

Alongside a lingering global pandemic, the year 2021 was filled with climate disasters, some so intense they surprised even the scientists who study them.

Extreme...

Read more: Devastating Colorado fires cap a year of climate disasters in 2021, with one side of the country...

Mechanical forces in a beating heart affect its cells' DNA, with implications for development and disease

  • Written by Corey Neu, Professor of Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
imageContracting heart cells exert forces on their genetic material that affect how they develop.Benjamin Seelbinder, CC BY-ND

Sometimes cells can forget what type of cell they are and stop functioning correctly. This commonly happens in cancer, in which mature cells lose aspects of their identity and become more susceptible to begin dividing...

Read more: Mechanical forces in a beating heart affect its cells' DNA, with implications for development and...

How do fireworks work? A pyrotechnics chemist explains the science behind the brilliant colors and sounds

  • Written by Paul E. Smith, Lecture Demonstrator for Chemistry, Purdue University
imageColors, sparks, booms and whistles all require different pyrotechnic recipes.chensiyuan/WikimediaCommons, CC BY-SA

For many people around the world, the very first moments of the new year will be filled with the sounds and colorful light shows of fireworks. From loud bangs to long whistles, bright reds to pale blues, there are thousands of...

Read more: How do fireworks work? A pyrotechnics chemist explains the science behind the brilliant colors and...

More Articles ...

  1. The best way to follow through on your New Year's resolution? Make an 'old year's resolution'
  2. Manchin killed Build Back Better over inflation concerns – an economist explains why the $2 trillion bill would be unlikely to drive up prices
  3. Don't care about the Build Back Better Act? Hearing people's personal stories might change that
  4. What's the point of holiday gifts?
  5. Genomic sequencing: Here's how researchers identify omicron and other COVID-19 variants
  6. Facebook became Meta – and the company's dangerous behavior came into sharp focus in 2021: 4 essential reads
  7. To get people the help they need from the government, postcards may be the answer
  8. Family rifts affect millions of Americans – research shows possible paths from estrangement toward reconciliation
  9. Are parents criminally responsible for the actions of their child? In the Oxford shooting case, prosecutors say yes
  10. What's the record for how long it's ever rained without stopping?
  11. UN fails to agree on 'killer robot' ban as nations pour billions into autonomous weapons research
  12. People who are bad with numbers often find it harder to make ends meet – even if they are not poor
  13. The magnificent history of the maligned and misunderstood fruitcake
  14. Kim Jong Un’s decade in power: Starvation, repression and brutal rule – just like his father and grandfather
  15. bell hooks will never leave us – she lives on through the truth of her words
  16. The US is making plans to replace all of its lead water pipes from coast to coast
  17. A Persian festival, Yalda, celebrates the triumph of light over darkness, with pomegranates, poetry and sacred rituals
  18. Taking out a student loan for your child can hurt your own financial well-being
  19. Convenient but susceptible to fraud: Why it makes sense to regulate charitable crowdfunding
  20. The 'runner's high' may result from molecules called cannabinoids – the body's own version of THC and CBD
  21. How to help those who have lost loved ones to suicide cope with grief during the holidays
  22. Sold-out supplies, serving a public need and other adventures of doing science during a pandemic – 4 researchers share their experiences
  23. 'Twas the night before Christmas' helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit
  24. Why spending $2 trillion on child care, health care and fighting climate change won't make inflation any worse than it already is
  25. Mistletoe – famous for stolen holiday kisses – is a parasite that steals water and nutrients from other plants
  26. Surveys of scientists show women and young academics suffered most during pandemic and may face long-term career consequences
  27. It's all in the flag: Bussa's Rebellion and the 200-year fight to end British rule in Barbados
  28. Latest trials confirm the benefits of MDMA – the drug in ecstasy – for treating PTSD
  29. The best way to protect personal biomedical data from hackers could be to treat the problem like a game
  30. Brain wrinkles and folds matter – researchers are studying the mechanics of how they form
  31. Hurricane-force wind gusts in Colorado, dust storms in Kansas, tornadoes in Iowa in December – here's what fueled a day of extreme storms
  32. How effective are vaccines against omicron? An epidemiologist answers 6 questions
  33. What is the Fed taper? An economist explains
  34. What is the Fed taper? An economist explains how the Federal Reserve withdraws stimulus from the economy
  35. COVID-19 vaccines for children: How parents are influenced by misinformation, and how they can counter it
  36. How the Native American population in the US increased 87% says more about whiteness than about demographics
  37. I'm a Black woman and the metaverse scares me – here’s how to make the next iteration of the internet inclusive
  38. Cellphone bans in the workplace are legal and more common among blue-collar jobs – they also might be a safety risk
  39. To tree, or not to tree? How Jewish-Christian families navigate the 'December Dilemma'
  40. How Mrs. Claus embodied 19th-century debates about women's rights
  41. Mourning after mass shootings isn't enough – a sociologist argues that society's messages about masculinity need to change
  42. Pandemic, war and environmental disaster push scientists to deliver quick answers – here's what it takes to do good science under pressure
  43. 2021 Arctic Report Card reveals a (human) story of cascading disruptions, extreme events and global connections
  44. Vast majority of American workers like their jobs – even as a record number quit them
  45. Smoke, heat and stress: A snapshot from Southern California of life in an altered climate
  46. US prep schools held student exchanges with elite Nazi academies
  47. 'Strangers in their own land': Iraqi Yazidis and their plight, 7 years on from genocide
  48. What partnership looks like in Mormon marriages is shifting – slowly
  49. Orthodox Jewish women's leadership is growing – and it's not all about rabbis
  50. Comic book introduces kids to key concepts and careers in cybersecurity