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Nicaragua released imprisoned priests, but repression is unlikely to relent – and the Catholic Church remains a target

  • Written by Kai M. Thaler, Assistant Professor of Global Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
imageA priest and Catholic worshippers pray in front of an image of 'Sangre de Cristo,' burned in a fire on July 2020, at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Managua.Oswaldo Rivas/AFP via Getty Images

Bad news has been the norm for Catholics in Nicaragua, where clergy and church groups have been frequent targets of a wide-ranging crackdown for years. But on...

Read more: Nicaragua released imprisoned priests, but repression is unlikely to relent – and the Catholic...

Extreme cold still happens in a warming world – in fact climate instability may be disrupting the polar vortex

  • Written by Mathew Barlow, Professor of Climate Science, UMass Lowell
imageA blizzard with brutally cold temperatures hit Iowa and neighboring states on Jan. 12, 2024.Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Over the past few days, extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather have swept southward into much of the U.S., breaking daily low temperature records from Montana to Texas. Tens of millions of people...

Read more: Extreme cold still happens in a warming world – in fact climate instability may be disrupting the...

Reining in AI means figuring out which regulation options are feasible, both technically and economically

  • Written by Saurabh Bagchi, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
imageOne form of regulating AI is watermarking its output – the equivalent of AI signing its work.R_Type/iStock via Getty Images

Concern about generative artificial intelligence technologies seems to be growing almost as fast as the spread of the technologies themselves. These worries are driven by unease about the possible spread of...

Read more: Reining in AI means figuring out which regulation options are feasible, both technically and...

Connecting researchers and legislators can lead to policies that reflect scientific evidence

  • Written by Taylor Scott, Associate Research Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Director of the Research Translation Platform, Penn State
imageLegislators make policy based on the information at hand, which isn't always the latest scientific findings.Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald via Getty Images

Like most kids of the 1990s, I attended a school that used the original DARE program as a cornerstone initiative in the war on drugs. Congressional funding for this Drug Abuse Resistance Education...

Read more: Connecting researchers and legislators can lead to policies that reflect scientific evidence

Iceland battles a lava flow: Countries have built barriers and tried explosives in the past, but it's hard to stop molten rock

  • Written by Loÿc Vanderkluysen, Associate Professor of Earth Science, Drexel University
imageLava flows from a fissure near Grindavik, Iceland, on Jan. 14, 2024. Iceland Department of Civil Protection

Fountains of lava erupted from the Sundhnúkur volcanic system in southwest Iceland on Jan. 14, 2024. As the world watched on webcams and social media, lava flows cut off roads and bubbled from a new fissure that invaded the outskirts...

Read more: Iceland battles a lava flow: Countries have built barriers and tried explosives in the past, but...

What's the best diet for healthy sleep? A nutritional epidemiologist explains what food choices will help you get more restful z's

  • Written by Erica Jansen, Assistant Professor of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan
imageA balanced diet is one key factor in getting a restful night's sleep. SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images

You probably already know that how you eat before bed affects your sleep. Maybe you’ve found yourself still lying awake at 2 a.m. after enjoying a cup of coffee with dessert. But did you know that your eating choices throughout the day...

Read more: What's the best diet for healthy sleep? A nutritional epidemiologist explains what food choices...

Chef Bill Granger dies and leaves behind an inadvertent legacy – the avocado toast meme

  • Written by Aarushi Bhandari, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Davidson College
imageIs it avocado toast or high interest rates that have prevented so many young people from buying homes?Josef Mohyla/E+ via Getty Images

On Christmas Day 2023, world-renowned Australian chef and restaurateur Bill Granger died at 54.

Granger owned and operated 19 restaurants across Australia, the U.K., Japan and South Korea. He authored 14 cookbooks,...

Read more: Chef Bill Granger dies and leaves behind an inadvertent legacy – the avocado toast meme

Helium is an essential material for research and medical equipment, but it's nonrenewable and difficult to recycle

  • Written by Nicholas Fitzkee, Professor of Chemistry, Mississippi State University
imageA bag full of gas used in a helium recovery system.Bluefors Cryocooler Technology, Inc.

The next time you pick up balloons for your big party, remember the helium gas in those balloons is destined for the stars. Helium is so light that it easily escapes Earth’s gravity, and all helium will eventually make its way into space. Like fossil...

Read more: Helium is an essential material for research and medical equipment, but it's nonrenewable and...

Gaza's oldest mosque, destroyed in an airstrike, was once a temple to Philistine and Roman gods, a Byzantine and Catholic church, and had engravings of Jewish ritual objects

  • Written by Stephennie Mulder, Associate Professor of Art History, The University of Texas at Austin
imageThe Omari Mosque of Gaza.Mohammed Alafrangi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Omari Mosque in Gaza was largely destroyed by Israeli bombardment on Dec. 8, 2023. It was one of the most ancient mosques in the region and a beloved Gazan landmark.

The mosque was first built in the early seventh century and named after Islam’s second...

Read more: Gaza's oldest mosque, destroyed in an airstrike, was once a temple to Philistine and Roman gods, a...

DeSantis-linked super PAC broke new ground in pushing campaign finance rules in Iowa in support of a 2nd-place finish

  • Written by Barbara A. Trish, Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College
imageRepublican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis greets an audience in West Des Moines, Iowa, on caucus night on Jan. 15, 2024.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Never Back Down, the Ron DeSantis super PAC, played an outsized role in the Iowa caucuses campaign of the Florida governor. Its impact on the results, in which DeSantis came in second to former...

Read more: DeSantis-linked super PAC broke new ground in pushing campaign finance rules in Iowa in support of...

More Articles ...

  1. Iowa was different this time – even if the outcome was as predicted
  2. Long after Indigenous activists flee Russia, they continue to face government pressure to remain silent
  3. What social robots can teach America's students
  4. Congress is failing to deliver on its promise of billions more in research spending, threatening America's long-term economic competitiveness
  5. Miami residents believe Biscayne Bay is 'healthy,' despite big declines in water quality and biodiversity, new study finds
  6. How to prevent America's aging buildings from collapsing – 4 high-profile disasters send a warning
  7. Your fingerprint is actually 3D − research into holograms could improve forensic fingerprint analysis
  8. Your body already has a built-in weight loss system that works like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro – food and your gut microbiome
  9. 1 good thing about the Iowa caucuses, and 3 that are really troubling
  10. What if every germ hit you at the exact same time? An immunologist explains
  11. Ethiopia's deal with Somaliland upends regional dynamics, risking strife across the Horn of Africa
  12. What enforcement power does the International Court of Justice have in South Africa's genocide case against Israel?
  13. How Ecuador went from being Latin America's model of stability to a nation in crisis
  14. US-UK airstrikes risk strengthening Houthi rebels' position in Yemen and the region
  15. Wayne LaPierre leaves a financial mess behind at the NRA − on top of the legal one that landed him in court
  16. Paraguay's Ciudad del Este: Efforts to force a busy informal commercial hub to follow global trade rules have only made life harder for those eking out a living
  17. Data brokers know everything about you – what FTC case against ad tech giant Kochava reveals
  18. Laundry is a top source of microplastic pollution – here's how to clean your clothes more sustainably
  19. Biden, like Trump, sidesteps Congress to get things done
  20. I wrote a play for children about integrating the arts into STEM fields − here's what I learned about encouraging creative, interdisciplinary thinking
  21. Gen Z and millennials have an unlikely love affair with their local libraries
  22. Not all carbon-capture projects pay off for the climate – we mapped the pros and cons of each and found clear winners and losers
  23. When can we stop worrying about rising prices? The latest inflation report offers no easy answers
  24. Church without God: How secular congregations fill a need for some nonreligious Americans
  25. Blizzards are inescapable − but the most expensive winter storm damage is largely preventable
  26. Tahoe avalanche: What causes seemingly safe snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and avid skier explains
  27. Tahoe avalanches: What causes innocent-looking snow slopes to collapse? A physicist and skier explains, with tips for surviving
  28. In the 'big tent' of free speech, can you be too open-minded?
  29. Iran terror blast highlights success – and growing risk – of ISIS-K regional strategy
  30. 7 strategies to help gifted autistic students succeed in college
  31. To protect endangered sharks and rays, scientists are mapping these species' most important locations
  32. Sellout! How political corruption shaped an American insult
  33. Otters, beavers and other semiaquatic mammals keep clean underwater, thanks to their flexible fur
  34. Martin Luther King Jr.'s moral stance against the Vietnam War offers lessons on how to fight for peace in the Middle East
  35. How we almost ended up with a bull's-eye bar code
  36. A Supreme Court ruling on fishing for herring could sharply curb federal regulatory power
  37. Republicans are pushing for drastic asylum changes – an immigration law scholar breaks down the proposal
  38. As Zepbound dominates headlines as a new obesity-fighting drug, a nutritionist warns that weight loss shouldn’t be the only goal
  39. Pope Francis called surrogacy 'deplorable' – but the reasons why women and parents choose surrogacy are complex and defy simple labels
  40. 'Thirst trap' and 'edgelord' were recently added to the dictionary – so why hasn't 'nibling' made the cut?
  41. From besting Tetris AI to epic speedruns – inside gaming’s most thrilling feats
  42. After an 80-year absence, gray wolves have returned to Colorado − here's how the reintroduction of this apex predator will affect prey and plants
  43. Cannabis products may harbor fungal toxins harmful to human health, but regulations are uneven or nonexistent
  44. Earth isn't the only planet with seasons, but they can look wildly different on other worlds
  45. A beginner's guide to sound baths − what they are, how to choose a good one and what the research shows
  46. Why don't fruit bats get diabetes? New understanding of how they've adapted to a high-sugar diet could lead to treatments for people
  47. 2023's billion-dollar disasters list shattered the US record with 28 big weather and climate disasters amid Earth's hottest year on record
  48. Why both Israel and Hezbollah are eager to avoid tit-for-tat attacks escalating into full-blown war
  49. Taiwanese election may determine whether Beijing opts to force the issue of reunification
  50. Plagiarism is not always easy to define or detect