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Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

  • Written by Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee
imagePorcelain 'Laughing Buddha' image, China, 17th-18th century.Metropolitan Museum of Art

With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the “Laughing Buddha” is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who lived in India about 2,500...

Read more: Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide

  • Written by Li-Jun Ma, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UMass Amherst
image_Fusarium oxysporum_ spores can remain hardy in soil for decades.Andrii Volosheniuk/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones people were eating a few generations ago? The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the Cavendish banana, while the one that...

Read more: Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating...

US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with opposition to Harris

  • Written by Adam Eichen, PhD Student, Political Science, UMass Amherst
imageCould Americans' sexism tank yet another woman's quest for the U.S. presidency?AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Since President Joe Biden exited the presidential race on July 21, 2024, and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, Harris’ campaign has generated widespread enthusiasm and attention. She quickly...

Read more: US voters say they’re ready for a woman president − but sexist attitudes still go along with...

Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical discussions with the target communities should happen sooner rather than later

  • Written by Julia Brown, Assistant Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
imageThe development of gene-editing technology has led to many ethical questions. PhonlamaiPhoto/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With their primary goal to advance scientific knowledge, most scientists are not trained or incentivized to think through the societal implications of the technologies they are developing. Even in genomic medicine, which is...

Read more: Editing fetal genomes is on the horizon − a medical anthropologist explains why ethical...

His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

  • Written by Philip Nel, University Distinguished Professor of English, Kansas State University
imagePrior to 1998, Harold of 'Harold and the Purple Crayon' was depicted as racially ambiguous.Harper & Brothers, 1955

Is Crockett Johnson’s Harold, of “Harold and the Purple Crayon,” a child of color?

If you’ve bought any of the “Harold” books published in the past 25 years, or saw the new movie starring Zachary...

Read more: His crayon is purple – but is Harold a Black boy?

Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls

  • Written by John Holbein, Associate Professor of Public Policy, Politics, and Education, University of Virginia
imageKamala Harris takes a photo with young supporters at a rally at Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn., on Aug. 6, 2024. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Young people could decide the 2024 presidential election.

It’s a tale as old as time – a story that pops up every election, almost like clockwork.

The narrative is the same this election...

Read more: Most young voters support Kamala Harris − but that doesn’t guarantee they will show up at the polls

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

  • Written by Joseph K. Nwankpa, Associate Professor of Information Systems & Analytics, Miami University
imageIt's not you: App privacy settings really can be complicated.Drazen Zigic/iStock via Getty Images

Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy – who can see which actions you take – across all of the app’s functions. But default...

Read more: Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how you can avoid it

  • Written by Daniel Pastula, Professor of Neurology, Medicine (Infectious Diseases), and Epidemiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageMosquitoes are responsible for transmitting West Nile virus to humans.Paul Starosta/Stone via Getty Images

West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the continental U.S., with an average of 2,464 reported cases per year.

Every August, West Nile season ramps up, primarily in parts of the Southern and Western United States.

The...

Read more: West Nile virus season returns − a medical epidemiologist explains how it’s transmitted and how...

Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity

  • Written by Laurel Niep, Bilingual Trauma Therapist, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageEMDR was developed in 1987.Laurence soulez/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you’ve been to a therapist’s office in the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy.

Most commonly used for treating long-standing and acute traumas, EMDR is also being shown...

Read more: Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist...

US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch

  • Written by Sarah J. Morath, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs, Wake Forest University
imageTrash litters the banks of Ballona Creek in Culver City, Calif., after a storm.Citizen of the Planet/UIG via Getty Images

Plastic waste is piling up at a daunting pace around the world. The World Bank estimates that every person on the planet generates an average of 1.6 pounds (0.74 kilograms) of plastic waste daily.

To curb this flow, 175 nations...

Read more: US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a...

More Articles ...

  1. US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal
  2. What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin
  3. In praise of the weird
  4. Catholics are debating whether to remove paintings by a priest accused of abusing women − but let’s not confuse the artist and the art, writes an art historian
  5. Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work
  6. Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention
  7. Hispanic women are less likely to get PrEP treatment − new intervention could change that
  8. Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might
  9. Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars
  10. Students with mental health struggles linked to absenteeism and lower grades, showing clear need for more in-school support
  11. Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home
  12. Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern
  13. How back-to-back hurricanes set off a year of compounding disasters for one city − and alarm bells about risks in a warming world
  14. 3 years after fall of Kabul, US Congress has still not acted to secure future of more than 70,000 Afghan evacuees in US
  15. Ukraine’s cross-border incursion challenges Moscow’s war narrative – but will it shift Russian opinion?
  16. Historians diving for balloons and hoping for hot dish: What Smithsonian curators will be doing at the Democratic National Convention
  17. Offensive names dot the American street map − a new app provides a way to track them
  18. Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too
  19. Fluid keeps your brain from crushing itself and shields your spine from shock – a neurologist explains what happens when it stops working
  20. Future lawyers learn key lessons from studying poetry in parks in this course
  21. Philly schools are in disrepair − the municipal bond market is 1 big reason
  22. 3 of Jane Austen’s 6 brothers engaged in antislavery activism − new research offers more clues about her own views
  23. Kamala, a common name in India, is associated with several deities and is a symbol of wisdom
  24. LGBTQ people have a troubled relationship with police − new survey shows high rates of harassment, abuse and distrust
  25. Even fictional presidents don’t look like Kamala Harris − although Black men and white women have been represented in the Oval Office
  26. SpaceX’s Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president – what this could mean for US space policy
  27. Hotel guests are getting used to refillable shampoos and less housekeeping, study suggests
  28. International students will offer a big boost to the US economy this back-to-school season
  29. How Ohio schools reduced chronic absenteeism
  30. Wildfires don’t just burn farmland − they can contaminate the water farmers use to irrigate crops and support livestock
  31. JD Vance is no pauper − he’s a classic example of ‘poornography,’ in which the rich try to speak on behalf of the poor
  32. Mammary glands in a dish − what miniature organs reveal about evolution, lactation, regeneration and breast cancer
  33. FDA rejects MDMA-assisted therapy for PTSD treatment – a drug researcher explains the challenges psychedelics face
  34. Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%
  35. 3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles
  36. A bipartisan data-privacy law could backfire on small businesses − 2 marketing professors explain why
  37. New storm is headed for the Caribbean: What meteorologists look for in early signs of a future hurricane
  38. Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming
  39. At its core, life is all about play − just look at the animal kingdom
  40. Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains
  41. Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’
  42. If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change
  43. Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries
  44. A packed Baltimore trolley illustrates the ups and downs of US public transit
  45. Rat poison is moving up through food chains, threatening carnivores around the world
  46. No credit score? A grocery list could be the next best thing
  47. The problem with pronatalism: Pushing baby booms to boost economic growth amounts to a Ponzi scheme
  48. Despite Donald Trump’s claims, his gag order holds up against the Constitution
  49. How San Francisco’s Democratic political machine led to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign
  50. The real ‘Big Bang’ of country music: How Vernon Dalhart’s 1924 breakthrough recordings launched a genre