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Hobbits of Flores evolved to be small by slowing down growth during childhood, new research on teeth and brain size suggests

  • Written by Tesla Monson, Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University
imageHobbits are exceptions to the rule that older ancient humans had proportionally larger wisdom teeth and smaller brains.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Until Homo floresiensis was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was defined by bigger and bigger brains. Via a process called encephalization, human brains evolved...

Read more: Hobbits of Flores evolved to be small by slowing down growth during childhood, new research on...

From anime to activism: How the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag became the global emblem of Gen Z resistance

  • Written by Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Media and Strategic Communications, Oklahoma State University
imageThe Jolly Roger of the Straw Hat Pirates is flown during a protest in Rome.Vincenzo Nuzzolese/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

From Paris and Rome to Jakarta, Indonesia, and New York, a curious banner has appeared in protest squares. With hollow cheeks, a broad grin and a straw hat with a red band, the figure is instantly recognizable and...

Read more: From anime to activism: How the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag became the global emblem of Gen Z resistance

Facing a shutdown, budget negotiations are much harder because Congress has given Trump power to cut spending through ‘rescission’

  • Written by Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
imageWill Congress keep the government running?Phil Roeder/Getty Images

Congress faces a deadline of Oct. 1 to adopt a spending measure to keep the federal government open. Various reporters will be interviewing serious people saying serious things in the basement corridors of the U.S. Capitol. There will also be political posturing, misrepresentation...

Read more: Facing a shutdown, budget negotiations are much harder because Congress has given Trump power to...

Air quality analysis reveals minimal changes after xAI data center opens in pollution-burdened Memphis neighborhood

  • Written by Chunrong Jia, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Memphis
imageGas turbines outside the xAI data center in Memphis.AP Photo/George Walker IV

Even before an Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence company opened a data center in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, air pollution was so bad that residents of a nearby neighborhood were far more likely to get cancer from industrial air pollution than average Americans....

Read more: Air quality analysis reveals minimal changes after xAI data center opens in pollution-burdened...

What happens when AI comes to the cotton fields

  • Written by Debra Lam, Founding Director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageA researcher works in a cotton field in Jenkins County, Georgia, as part of a project on AI and pesticide use.Dorothy Seybold

Precision agriculture uses tools and technologies such as GPS and sensors to monitor, measure and respond to changes within a farm field in real time. This includes using artificial intelligence technologies for tasks such...

Read more: What happens when AI comes to the cotton fields

Birding by ear: How to learn the songs of nature’s symphony with some simple techniques

  • Written by Chris Lituma, Assistant Professor of Wildlife and Fisheries Resources, West Virginia University
imageA western meadowlark sings its mating songDanita Delimont/Gallo Images Roots RF collection via Getty Images

Waking up to the dawn chorus of birds – one of the natural world’s greatest symphonies – is a joy like no other. It is not surprising that bird-watching has become an increasingly popular hobby.

A simple way to start...

Read more: Birding by ear: How to learn the songs of nature’s symphony with some simple techniques

Title IX’s effectiveness in addressing campus sexual assault is at risk − a law professor explains why

  • Written by Tammi Walker, Associate Professor of Law and Psychology, University of Arizona
imageStudents, parents and others gather outside the White House to press the Biden administration to release updated Title IX rules on Dec. 5, 2023. Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for National Women's Law Center

Most Americans assume that schools are legally required to protect students from sexual harassment and assault under Title IX – the federal...

Read more: Title IX’s effectiveness in addressing campus sexual assault is at risk − a law professor explains...

Biosphere 2’s latest mission: Learning how life first emerged on Earth – and how to make barren worlds habitable

  • Written by Scott Saleska, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
imageBiosphere 2 is a research facility located near Tucson, Ariz.Katja Schulz/Flickr, CC BY

From a distance, Biosphere 2 emerges from the cacti and creosote of the Sonoran desert like a gleaming oasis, a colony of glass and bright white structures. Despite being just outside Tucson, Arizona, it looks almost like a colony on another planet.

When one of...

Read more: Biosphere 2’s latest mission: Learning how life first emerged on Earth – and how to make barren...

Politicizing federal troops in US mirrors use of military in Latin America in the 1970s and ’80s

  • Written by Kristina Mani, Professor of Politics, Oberlin College and Conservatory
imageU.S. Marines guard the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 22, 2025.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

In his second term as president, Donald Trump has deployed U.S. military forces in rarely used roles in domestic law enforcement.

Besides sending military troops to Los Angeles to counter protests over immigration raids, Trump sent the National...

Read more: Politicizing federal troops in US mirrors use of military in Latin America in the 1970s and ’80s

Some new drugs aren’t actually ‘new’ – pharmaceutical companies exploit patents and raise prices for patients, but data transparency can help protect innovation

  • Written by Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics, UMass Amherst
imageWhen companies file hundreds of patents for a single drug, affordable versions can remain out of reach for years.pilli/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Pharmaceutical innovation saves lives. But not every “new” drug is truly new.

Patents are designed to reward breakthrough inventions by granting the inventors temporary monopoly rights to...

Read more: Some new drugs aren’t actually ‘new’ – pharmaceutical companies exploit patents and raise prices...

More Articles ...

  1. Mindfulness won’t burn calories, but it might help you stick with your health goals
  2. Trump’s targeting of ‘enemies’ like James Comey echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty tricks and perversion of justice under J. Edgar Hoover
  3. Trump’s use of FBI to target ‘enemies’ echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty tricks and perversion of justice under J. Edgar Hoover
  4. Even as Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves, TV networks remain more vulnerable to political pressure than ever before
  5. A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media – shaping the news and culture Americans watch and stream
  6. Why can’t we feel the Earth moving?
  7. A Great Lakes oil pipeline faces 3 controversies with no speedy resolutions
  8. How Squishmallow collecting helped me cope with grief, make new enemies and find ‘villains’ worth studying
  9. TikTok sale puts app’s algorithm in the spotlight – a social media expert explains how the For You Page works and what changes are in store
  10. Vaccine mandates misinformation: 2 experts explain the true role of slavery and racism in the history of public health policy – and the growing threat ignorance poses today
  11. How Philly anarcho-punks blended music, noise and social justice in the 1990s and 2000s
  12. Why are there so many protests? The US public is highly polarized, and that drives people to act
  13. Why Jimmy Kimmel’s First Amendment rights weren’t violated – but ABC’s would be protected if it stood up to the FCC and Trump
  14. Palestinian statehood is winning major new supporters at UN – but symbolic action won’t make it happen
  15. UK and other Western nations recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN meetings – but symbolic action won’t make statehood happen
  16. UK, France and other Western nations recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN meetings – but symbolic action won’t make statehood happen
  17. Hepatitis B shot for newborns has nearly eliminated childhood infections with this virus in the US
  18. Naming and categorizing objects is part of how young kids develop executive function skills – new research
  19. Suicide-by-chatbot puts Big Tech in the product liability hot seat
  20. Antisemitism on campus is a real problem − but headlines and government-proposed solutions don’t match the experience of most Jewish students
  21. New website tracks how Pennsylvania’s $2.2B in opioid settlement funds is being spent
  22. The president as partisan warrior: Trump’s rejection of traditional presidential statesmanship
  23. More Americans meet criteria for high blood pressure under new guidelines
  24. Nuclear in your backyard? Tiny reactors could one day power towns and campuses – but community input will be key
  25. US touts collaborative plan to tackle Mexico’s drug cartels – but initiative is met with denial and mistrust south of the border
  26. Sourdough and submission in the name of God: How tradwife content fuses femininity with anti-feminist ideas
  27. How the spiritual sound of the shofar shapes the Jewish new year – a Jewish studies scholar explains
  28. A walk across Alaska’s Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that appear in climate data
  29. Scams and frauds: Here are the tactics criminals use on you in the age of AI and cryptocurrencies
  30. 4 decades after the landmark book ‘Alone in a Crowd,’ women in the trades still battle bias – a professor-turned-welder reflects
  31. Pneumonia vaccines for adults are now recommended starting at age 50 – a geriatrician explains the change
  32. Trump administration is threatening liberal foundations and nonprofits after Kirk’s death – but proving wrongdoing by any of them would be very hard
  33. Why Florida’s plan to end vaccine mandates will likely spread to other conservative states
  34. A cold shock to ease the burn − how brief stress can help your brain reframe a tough workout
  35. Bolsonaro conviction breaks Brazil’s record of handing impunity to coup plotters and may protect its democracy from military interference
  36. For birds, flocks promise safety – especially if you’re faster than your neighbor
  37. Fed rate cut is attempt to prevent recession without sending prices soaring
  38. Vaccine death and side effects database relies on unverified reports – and Trump officials and right-wing media are applying it out of context
  39. Right-wing extremist violence is more frequent and more deadly than left-wing violence − what the data shows
  40. Can violent extremists be deradicalized? I spoke with 24 former terrorists in Indonesia to find out
  41. Mars rovers serve as scientists’ eyes and ears from millions of miles away – here are the tools Perseverance used to spot a potential sign of ancient life
  42. Muslim men have often been portrayed as ‘terrorists’ or ‘fanatics’ on TV shows, but Muslim-led storytelling is trying to change that narrative
  43. Would you eat a grasshopper? In Oaxaca, it’s been a tasty tradition for thousands of years
  44. Federal judge overturns part of Florida’s book ban law, drawing on nearly 100 years of precedent protecting First Amendment access to ideas
  45. Why do big oil companies invest in green energy?
  46. Harvard, like all Americans, can’t be punished by the government for speaking freely – and a federal court decision upholds decades of precedents saying so
  47. Your immune system attacks drugs like it does viruses – paradoxically offering a way to improve cancer treatment
  48. Calling deaths ‘preventable’ can obscure barriers to health care access and shift blame to individuals
  49. US women narrowed the pay gap with men by having fewer kids
  50. Does anyone go to prison for federal mortgage fraud? Not many, the numbers suggest