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Bacteria can develop resistance to drugs they haven’t encountered before − scientists figured this out decades ago in a classic experiment

  • Written by Qi Zheng, Professor of Biostatistics, Texas A&M University
imageBacteria are evolutionarily primed to outpace drug developers.National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health/Flickr, CC BY-NC

Do bacteria mutate randomly, or do they mutate for a purpose? Researchers have been puzzling over this conundrum for over a century.

In 1943, microbiologist Salvador Luria and physicist...

Read more: Bacteria can develop resistance to drugs they haven’t encountered before − scientists figured this...

Wealthier, urban Americans have access to more local news – while roughly half of US counties have only one outlet or less

  • Written by Sarah Stonbely, Director, State of Local News Project, Northwestern University
imageNew York City could be described as a news oasis – the city's density and wealth mean there are many news outlets competing.Gary Hershorn/via Getty Images

Is local news readily available in your town? Do reporters still cover your school board and other municipal meetings?

If you answered yes, you are likely wealthier than the average...

Read more: Wealthier, urban Americans have access to more local news – while roughly half of US counties have...

Young people are lukewarm about Biden – and giving them more information doesn’t move the needle much

  • Written by Neil O'Brian, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon
imageYoung voters in Ann Arbor, Mich., fill out applications to cast their ballot in the midterm elections in November 2022. Jeff Kowalsky/AFP via Getty Images

Recent polling for the November 2024 election shows that President Joe Biden is struggling with young voters, who have traditionally supported Democrats.

A December 2023 poll showed that 49% of...

Read more: Young people are lukewarm about Biden – and giving them more information doesn’t move the needle...

Are our fears of saying ‘no’ overblown?

  • Written by Julian Givi, Assistant Professor of Marketing, West Virginia University
imageWe can be unduly hard on ourselves as we grapple with the implications of declining an invitation.Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Images

Everyone has been there. You get invited to something that you absolutely do not want to attend – a holiday party, a family cookout, an expensive trip. But doubts and anxieties creep into your head as you weigh...

Read more: Are our fears of saying ‘no’ overblown?

Your heart changes in size and shape with exercise – this can lead to heart problems for some athletes and gym rats

  • Written by William Cornwell, Associate Professor of Cardiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Exercise has long been recognized by clinicians, scientists and public health officials as an important way to maintain health throughout a person’s lifespan. It improves overall fitness, helps build strong muscles and bones, reduces the risk of chronic disease, improves mood and slows physical decline.

Exercise can also significantly reduce...

Read more: Your heart changes in size and shape with exercise – this can lead to heart problems for some...

Marriage is not as effective an anti-poverty strategy as you’ve been led to believe

  • Written by Eleanor Brown, Professor of Law, Fordham University
imageDespite the popular guidance, marriage can be an economic risk for single parents with unstable partners.simarik/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Brides.com predicts that 2024 will be the “year of the proposal” as engagements tick back up after a pandemic-driven slowdown.

Meanwhile, support for marriage has found new grist in recent books,...

Read more: Marriage is not as effective an anti-poverty strategy as you’ve been led to believe

Making it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could help reduce political polarization

  • Written by Rebecca Dyer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology, Hamilton College
imageThinking about issues’ impact on their own lives can help people envision more common ground.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Political polarization can be reduced when people are told to think about the personal relevance of issues they might not care about at first glance.

We, a social psychologist and an evolutionary psychologist,...

Read more: Making it personal: Considering an issue’s relevance to your own life could help reduce political...

Potato plant radiation sensors could one day monitor radiation in areas surrounding power plants

  • Written by Robert Sears, Graduate Research Assistant in Plant Science, University of Tennessee
imageFields of genetically modified potato plants could detect radiation. AP Photo/John Miller

While expanding nuclear energy production would provide carbon-free power and can help countries around the world meet their climate goals, nuclear energy could also come with some inherent risk. Radioactive pollution damages the environment, and it’s...

Read more: Potato plant radiation sensors could one day monitor radiation in areas surrounding power plants

I’ve been studying astronaut psychology since Apollo − a long voyage to Mars in a confined space could raise stress levels and make the journey more challenging

  • Written by Nick Kanas, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco
imageCrew members in space will spend lots of time together during future missions to Mars. NASA via AP

Within the next few decades, NASA aims to land humans on the Moon, set up a lunar colony and use the lessons learned to send people to Mars as part of its Artemis program.

While researchers know that space travel can stress space crew members both...

Read more: I’ve been studying astronaut psychology since Apollo − a long voyage to Mars in a confined space...

What is Alaskapox? A microbiologist explains the recently discovered virus that just claimed its first fatality

  • Written by Raúl Rivas González, Catedrático de Microbiología. Miembro de la Sociedad Española de Microbiología., Universidad de Salamanca
imageRed-backed voles may be harboring Alaskapox.iNaturalist Ecuador, CC BY-NC-SA

Alaskapox, a virus in the same family as smallpox, cowpox and mpox, claimed its first fatality in January 2024 when an elderly Alaskan man died of the illness.

The virus, which was discovered in 2015, had previously resulted in only relatively mild illnesses in the six...

Read more: What is Alaskapox? A microbiologist explains the recently discovered virus that just claimed its...

More Articles ...

  1. 3D printing promises more efficient ways to make custom explosives and rocket propellants
  2. Carbon offsets bring new investment to Appalachia’s coal fields, but most Appalachians aren’t benefiting
  3. Murderous mice attack and kill nesting albatrosses on Midway Atoll − scientists struggle to stop this gruesome new behavior
  4. Separate water fountains for Black people still stand in the South – thinly veiled monuments to the long, strange, dehumanizing history of segregation
  5. How politicians can draw fairer election districts − the same way parents make kids fairly split a piece of cake
  6. Nikki Haley insists she can lose South Carolina and still get the nomination – but that would defy history
  7. How Lula’s big-tent pragmatism won over Brazil again – with a little help from a backlash to Bolsonaro
  8. Nearly 2 million Americans are using kratom yearly, but it is banned in multiple states: A pharmacologist explains the controversy
  9. FAFSA website meltdown: How to avoid additional frustration with financial aid applications
  10. Why does a leap year have 366 days?
  11. Is Russia looking to put nukes in space? Doing so would undermine global stability and ignite an anti-satellite arms race
  12. Navalny dies in prison − but his blueprint for anti-Putin activism will live on
  13. How tax breaks strangle American schools − billions of dollars that could help students vanish from budgets, especially hurting districts that serve poor students
  14. Cult of the drone: At the two-year mark, UAVs have changed the face of war in Ukraine – but not outcomes
  15. What’s behind the astonishing rise in LGBTQ+ romance literature?
  16. Forest Service warns of budget cuts ahead of a risky wildfire season – what that means for safety
  17. Mexico is suing US gun-makers for arming its gangs − and a US court could award billions in damages
  18. As a rabbi, philosopher and physician, Maimonides wrestled with religion and reason – the book he wrote to reconcile them, ‘Guide to the Perplexed,’ has sparked debate ever since
  19. Candidates’ aging brains are factors in the presidential race − 4 essential reads
  20. A Bronx school district offers lessons in boosting student mental health
  21. Text with us and get one great link every day
  22. Children are expensive – not just for parents, but the environment – so how many is too many?
  23. Israeli siege has placed Gazans at risk of starvation − prewar policies made them vulnerable in the first place
  24. Stock indexes are breaking records and crossing milestones – making many investors feel wealthier
  25. Students lose out as cities and states give billions in property tax breaks to businesses − draining school budgets and especially hurting the poorest students
  26. Bacteria in your gut can improve your mood − new research in mice tries to zero in on the crucial strains
  27. Why the United States needs NATO – 3 things to know
  28. Turkey will stop sending imams to German mosques – here’s why this matters
  29. For graffiti artists, abandoned skyscrapers in Miami and Los Angeles become a canvas for regular people to be seen and heard
  30. ‘It is hijacking my brain’ – a team of experts found ways to help young people addicted to social media to cut the craving
  31. Nitazenes are a powerful class of street drugs emerging across the US
  32. Gold, silver and lithium mining on federal land doesn’t bring in any royalties to the US Treasury – because of an 1872 law
  33. Several companies are testing brain implants – why is there so much attention swirling around Neuralink? Two professors unpack the ethical issues
  34. Don’t let ‘FDA-approved’ or ‘patented’ in ads give you a false sense of security
  35. We designed wormlike, limbless robots that navigate obstacle courses − they could be used for search and rescue one day
  36. Bringing AI up to speed – autonomous auto racing promises safer driverless cars on the road
  37. Real-world experiments in messaging show that getting low-income people the help they need is more effective when stigma is reduced
  38. Revving up tourism: Formula One and other big events look set to drive growth in the hospitality industry
  39. Back in the day, being woke meant being smart
  40. Who will be picked for vice president? Let’s discuss who’s qualified for the job
  41. Recognizing when someone is having a seizure – and how you can help during those first critical moments
  42. Wildlife selfies harm animals − even when scientists share images with warnings in the captions
  43. Mayorkas impeached: Is Congress on a witch hunt? 5 ways to judge whether oversight is legitimate or politicized
  44. Immigrants do work that might not otherwise get done – bolstering the US economy
  45. Why is free time still so elusive?
  46. Saving the news media means moving beyond the benevolence of billionaires
  47. Electric vehicles are suddenly hot − but the industry has traveled a long road to relevance
  48. Why having human remains land on the Moon poses difficult questions for members of several religions
  49. Global health research suffers from a power imbalance − decolonizing mentorship can help level the playing field
  50. Immigration reform has always been tough, and rarely happens in election years - 4 things to know