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Could the mystery of the meow actually be solved by a new talking cat collar?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageHow good are people at interpreting a cat's meow?'Cats' via www.shutterstock.com

Imagine you’re a cat, and, every time you meowed, the loud voice of a snooty-sounding British gentleman kindly informed your human guardian of your every thought and feeling (well, the thoughts and feelings you had before you were terrified by the sound of the...

Read more: Could the mystery of the meow actually be solved by a new talking cat collar?

European data suggests the gig economy helped create Trump, Sanders

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor

Politicians and pundits in America wonder where the rip-roaring popularity of protest candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders originated. The answer may lie in Europe.

Trump and Sanders, in defying conventional political expectations, follow a long list of European populist leaders. Over the last two decades, the continent has seen the rise of Ma...

Read more: European data suggests the gig economy helped create Trump, Sanders

New report on GE crops avoids simple answers -- and that's the point, study members say

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imagefrom www.shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: In a new report, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have provided a broad review of available information on genetically engineered (GE) crops and their impacts on the environment and human health.

The study, produced by a committee of 20 experts from diverse fields, found...

Read more: New report on GE crops avoids simple answers -- and that's the point, study members say

Why the effects of 2016 El Niño trumped climate change in the Alberta wildfires

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor

In the wake of the damaging Alberta fires, there has been a lot of attention paid to what role climate change plays in wildfires. Yet 2016 is also a powerful El Niño year, which has created ideal conditions for the extraordinary fires in Alberta.

So what climate phenomena could have led to the persistent warm, dry conditions and the extreme...

Read more: Why the effects of 2016 El Niño trumped climate change in the Alberta wildfires

Big data's 'streetlight effect': where and how we look affects what we see

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageDon't just look where the streetlight shines.darwinbell/flickr, CC BY

Big data offers us a window on the world. But large and easily available datasets may not show us the world we live in. For instance, epidemiological models of the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa using big data consistently overestimated the risk of the disease’s spread...

Read more: Big data's 'streetlight effect': where and how we look affects what we see

In a digital archive of fugitive slave ads, a new portrait of slavery emerges

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageEastman Johnson's 'A Ride for Liberty' (ca. 1862) depicts a family of slaves galloping for the safety of the North in the early morning light.Brooklyn Museum

Among the millions of people enslaved in the United States before 1865, hundreds of thousands attempted to flee from those who held them in bondage.

Some left temporarily to protest...

Read more: In a digital archive of fugitive slave ads, a new portrait of slavery emerges

Nanoparticles in baby formula: should parents be worried?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageWhat's in the bottle is good for me, right?nerissa's ring, CC BY

There’s a lot of stuff you’d expect to find in baby formula: proteins, carbs, vitamins, essential minerals. But parents probably wouldn’t anticipate finding extremely small, needle-like particles. Yet this is exactly what a team of scientists here at Arizona State...

Read more: Nanoparticles in baby formula: should parents be worried?

What counts as 'medical marijuana' varies from state to state – and that's a problem

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor

On April 17, Pennsylvania became the latest state to pass medical marijuana legislation, which will take effect this month. And recently Ohio’s House of Representatives has passed a plan to permit medical marijuana in the state.

Research suggests that marijuana – or more specifially compounds in marjuana – may have potential as a...

Read more: What counts as 'medical marijuana' varies from state to state – and that's a problem

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