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‘Only death can protect us’: How the folk saint La Santa Muerte reflects violence in Mexico

  • Written by Myriam Lamrani, Associate Researcher, Department of Anthropology, Harvard University
imageA devotee carrying his daughter rests his hand on the glass to an altar to La Santa Muerte in Tepito in Mexico City. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

When a life-size skeleton dressed like the Grim Reaper first appeared on a street altar in Tepito, Mexico City, in 2001, many passersby instinctively crossed themselves. The figure was La Santa Muerte...

Read more: ‘Only death can protect us’: How the folk saint La Santa Muerte reflects violence in Mexico

What is DNS? A computer engineer explains this foundational piece of the web – and why it’s the internet’s Achilles’ heel

  • Written by Doug Jacobson, University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University
imageAmazon Web Services, hosted in data centers like this one in Virginia, supports thousands of websites, apps and online services – but not during its recent DNS outage.Nathan Howard/Getty Images

When millions of people suddenly couldn’t load familiar websites and apps during the Amazon Web Services, or AWS, outage on Oct. 20, 2025, the...

Read more: What is DNS? A computer engineer explains this foundational piece of the web – and why it’s the...

Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried beneath

  • Written by Shelley Mitchell, Senior Extension Specialist in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University
imageThe popularity of rural cemeteries spurred the development of the first city parks. Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

If you visit a cemetery, look closely and you’ll likely notice many flowering plants – adorning the graves, or maybe even carved into headstones.

As a horticulture Extension specialist and frequent geocacher,...

Read more: Symbolism of cemetery plants: How flowers, trees and other botanical motifs honor those buried...

Wildlife recovery means more than just survival of a species

  • Written by Benjamin Larue, Faculty Affiliate in Wildlife Biology, University of Montana
imageWhat counts as success in species recovery?U.S. Forest Service via AP

For decades, wildlife conservation policy has aimed to protect endangered species until there are enough individual animals alive that the species won’t go extinct. Then the policymakers declare victory.

That principle is enshrined in laws such as the U.S. Endangered Species...

Read more: Wildlife recovery means more than just survival of a species

It’s always been hard to make it as an artist in America – and it’s becoming only harder

  • Written by Joanna Woronkowicz, Associate Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University
imageAbout 2.4 million Americans are artists, or 1% of the workforce.Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

“Being an artist is not viewed as a real job.”

It’s a sentiment I’ve heard time and again, one that echoes across studios, rehearsal halls and kitchen tables – a quiet frustration that the labor of making art rarely earns the...

Read more: It’s always been hard to make it as an artist in America – and it’s becoming only harder

Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it should be taken seriously and treated

  • Written by Julie Vignato, Assistant Professor of Nursing, University of Iowa
imageSerious and even debilitating back pain during pregnancy is extremely common.Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision via Getty Images

About half to three-quarters of expectant mothers experience pain during pregnancy that is largely untreated, contributing to preventable suffering and harm. Many mothers avoid medications and treatments during pregnancy...

Read more: Back pain during pregnancy is often dismissed as a passing discomfort − a nurse explains why it...

25 Years of the International Space Station: What archaeology tells us about living and working in space

  • Written by Justin St. P. Walsh, Professor of Art History, Archaeology and Space Studies, Chapman University
imageThe International Space Station has housed visitors continuously for roughly 25 years.NASA

The International Space Station is one of the most remarkable achievements of the modern age. It is the largest, most complex, most expensive and most durable spacecraft ever built.

Its first modules were launched in 1998. The first crew to live on the...

Read more: 25 Years of the International Space Station: What archaeology tells us about living and working in...

Health headlines can be confusing - these 3 questions can help you evaluate them

  • Written by Kimberly Johnson, Professor of Public Health, Washington University in St. Louis
imageHealth-related studies often yield conflicting results, and making sense of them can be challenging. Jose Luis Pelaez/Stone via Getty Images

Every week of 2025 seems to bring a new health headline, whether it’s about climbing autism rates, changing vaccination recommendations or unexpected cancer risks.

For people trying to make informed...

Read more: Health headlines can be confusing - these 3 questions can help you evaluate them

People abused by intimate partners have worse asthma – but researchers are still untangling the reasons behind this surprising link

  • Written by Anne P. DePrince, Professor of Psychology, University of Denver
imageMost drug treatments on the market today target inflammation, but a new approach may be needed. aquaArts studio/E+ via Getty Images

Asthma is a common, serious and difficult-to-manage chronic health condition. In the U.S., 1 in 7 people are diagnosed with asthma, and that number is rising.

Over the years, researchers have identified a mix of...

Read more: People abused by intimate partners have worse asthma – but researchers are still untangling the...

The Jew in King Shaka’s court: How a 19th-century castaway shaped a Zulu leader’s legacy

  • Written by Adam L. Rovner, Director of the Center for Judaic Studies, University of Denver
imageA street sign in Durban, South Africa, named for the merchant who helped forge Shaka Zulu's fame abroad.Adam Rovner

Gales tore at the Mary’s sails, and surf crashed across the brig’s deck. Seventeen-year-old Nathaniel Isaacs tied himself to a railing to avoid being washed overboard. The Mary’s rudder soon splintered against a...

Read more: The Jew in King Shaka’s court: How a 19th-century castaway shaped a Zulu leader’s legacy

More Articles ...

  1. Trump’s ability to counter Netanyahu’s spoiler tactics in public may have been key to advancing a ceasefire in Gaza
  2. US squeeze on Venezuela won’t bring about rapid collapse of Maduro – in fact, it might boomerang on Washington
  3. 4 urgent lessons for Jamaica from Puerto Rico’s troubled hurricane recovery – and how the Jamaican diaspora could help after Melissa
  4. Voters lose when maps get redrawn before every election instead of once a decade − a trend started in Texas, moving to California and likely spreading across the country
  5. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ helped me process the Tree of Life massacre and other real-world horrors
  6. Beware the Anglo-Saxons! Why Russia likes to invoke a medieval tribe when talking about the West
  7. ‘My gender is like an empty lot’ − the people who reject man, woman and any other gender label
  8. Atorvastatin recall may affect hundreds of thousands of patients – and reflects FDA’s troubles inspecting medicines manufactured overseas
  9. What both sides of America’s polarized divide share: Deep anxieties about the meaning of life and existence itself
  10. Where does human thinking end and AI begin? An AI authorship protocol aims to show the difference
  11. Signature size and narcissism − a psychologist explains a long-ago discovery that helped establish the link
  12. With more Moon missions on the horizon, avoiding crowding and collisions will be a growing challenge
  13. Water bears survive cosmic radiation with one DNA-protecting protein – learning how could boost human resilience, too
  14. How autism rates are rising – and why that could lead to more inclusive communities
  15. Polarizing political events are leading Americans to increasingly call for a national divorce
  16. Nuclear-powered missiles: An aerospace engineer explains how they work – and what Russia’s claimed test means for global strategic stability
  17. Why are 4.7 million Floridians insured through ACA marketplace plans, and what happens if they lose their subsidies?
  18. Rediscovery of African American burial grounds provides long-overdue opportunities for collective healing
  19. Trump’s anti-Venezuela actions lack strategy, justifiable targets and legal authorization
  20. SNAP benefit freeze will leave millions nationwide struggling to pay for food – including 472,711 people in Philadelphia
  21. US leaders view China as a ‘pacing threat’ − has Washington enough stamina to last the race?
  22. Hurricane Melissa turned sharply to devastate Jamaica − how forecasters knew where it was headed
  23. Washington state settles controversy over child abuse law that tested the limits of ‘priest-penitent’ privilege
  24. How Hershey’s chocolate survived an attack from Mars − and adopted a business strategy alien to its founder
  25. CDC’s ability to prevent injuries like drowning, traumatic brain injury and falls is severely compromised by Trump cuts
  26. Agricultural drones are taking off globally, saving farmers time and money
  27. More than 40 years after police killed Eleanor Bumpurs in her Bronx apartment, people still #sayhername
  28. Fed struggles to assess state of US economy as government shutdown shuts off key data
  29. Fed lowers interest rates as it struggles to assess state of US economy without key government data
  30. Why you can salvage moldy cheese but never spoiled meat − a toxicologist advises on what to watch out for
  31. Future of nation’s energy grid hurt by Trump’s funding cuts
  32. Solar storms have influenced our history – an environmental historian explains how they could also threaten our future
  33. The Glozel affair: A sensational archaeological hoax made science front-page news in 1920s France
  34. AI reveals which predators chewed ancient humans’ bones – challenging ideas on which ‘Homo’ species was the first tool-using hunter
  35. How the Philadelphia Art Museum is reinventing itself for the Instagram age
  36. AI chatbots are becoming everyday tools for mundane tasks, use data shows
  37. Children learn to read with books that are just right for them – but that might not be the best approach
  38. Why the Trump administration’s comparison of antifa to violent terrorist groups doesn’t track
  39. Xi-Trump summit: Trade, Taiwan and Russia still top agenda for China and US presidents – 6 years after last meeting
  40. How the explosion of prop betting threatens the integrity of pro sports
  41. The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant housing policy reflects a long history of xenophobia in public housing
  42. An Indigenous approach shows how changing the clocks for daylight saving time runs counter to human nature – and nature itself
  43. AI is changing who gets hired – what skills will keep you employed?
  44. Despite naysayers and rising costs, data shows that college still pays off for students – and society overall
  45. Woven baskets aren’t just aesthetically pleasing – materials science research finds they’re sturdier and more resilient than stiff containers
  46. What’s the difference between ghosts and demons? Books, folklore and history reflect society’s supernatural beliefs
  47. Trump’s ‘golden age’ economic message undercut by his desire for much lower interest rates – which typically signal a weak jobs market
  48. Pumpkins’ journey from ancient food staple to spicy fall obsession spans thousands of years
  49. Dinosaur ‘mummies’ help scientists visualize the fleshy details of these ancient animals
  50. The lost history of Latin America’s role in averting catastrophe during the Cuban missile crisis