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Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new approach breaks a barrier that's stood for nearly half a century

  • Written by Nathan Klein, PhD Student in Computer Science, University of Washington
imageFinding the best tour from A through B, C and D and back to A might not be that hard, but adding a few more destinations could give you a headache.wundervisuals/E+ via Getty Images

Computers are good at answering questions. What’s the shortest route from my house to Area 51? Is 8,675,309 a prime number? How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? For...

Read more: Planning the best route with multiple destinations is hard even for supercomputers – a new...

What is mRNA? The messenger molecule that's been in every living cell for billions of years is the key ingredient in some COVID-19 vaccines

  • Written by Penny Riggs, Associate Professor of Functional Genomics and Associate Vice President for Research, Texas A&M University
imageMRNA is an important messenger, carrying the instructions for life from DNA to the rest of the cell.ktsimage/iStock via Getty Images Plus

One surprising star of the coronavirus pandemic response has been the molecule called mRNA. It’s the key ingredient in the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. But mRNA itself is not a new invention from...

Read more: What is mRNA? The messenger molecule that's been in every living cell for billions of years is the...

'Our ultimate choice is desegregation or disintegration' – recovering the lost words of a jailed civil rights strategist

  • Written by Bobby J. Donaldson, Associate Professor of History; Director Center for Civil Rights History and Research, University of South Carolina
imageView of the Friendship 9 students who protested against racial discrimination and were put in prison, Rock Hill, South Carolina, February 1961.Afro American Newspapers/Gado via Getty Images

In a cramped cell in a South Carolina prison camp, 22-year-old African American activist Thomas Gaither wrote, “I am presently in deep contemplation as to...

Read more: 'Our ultimate choice is desegregation or disintegration' – recovering the lost words of a jailed...

Americans adopted fewer pets from shelters in 2020 as the supply of rescue animals fell

  • Written by Shelly Volsche, Lecturer of Anthropology, Boise State University
imageA volunteer plays with a rescued dog at the San Diego Humane Society on April 21, 2020.Ariana Drehsler/AFP via Getty ImagesimageCC BY-ND

Demand for new pets certainly seemed to spike when the COVID-19 pandemic reached the United States in early 2020 and forced many Americans to spend more time isolated.

But adoptions from animal shelters and rescues...

Read more: Americans adopted fewer pets from shelters in 2020 as the supply of rescue animals fell

Lil Nas X's dance with the devil evokes tradition of resisting, mocking religious demonization

  • Written by S. Kyle Johnson, PhD Candidate/Teaching Fellow in Systematic Theology, Boston College
imageLooking for the meaning of Lil Nas X's latest video? The detail is in the devil.SME on behalf of Columbia/Sony ATV Publishing/UMPG Publishing/Youtube

Musician Lil Nas X’s video for his new single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” is a defiant expression of queer sexuality. Filled with Christian imagery, it offers a complex...

Read more: Lil Nas X's dance with the devil evokes tradition of resisting, mocking religious demonization

Anxious about going out into the world? You're not alone, but there's help

  • Written by Claudia Finkelstein, Associate Professor of Medicine, Michigan State University
imageEven though people are ready to venture out and socialize, many are fearful. And some also remember those who lost their lives and want to be careful in their memory. RealPeopleGroup/Getty Images

It’s the moment we thought we were all waiting for…or is it? We were cautiously optimistic about the end of the pandemic in view of increasing...

Read more: Anxious about going out into the world? You're not alone, but there's help

Water being pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae bloom, putting fragile manatee and fish habitats at risk

  • Written by Larry Brand, Professor of Marine Biology and Ecology, University of Miami
imageTampa Bay's sea grass meadows need sunlight to thrive. Algae blooms block that light and can be toxic to marine life.Joe Whalen Caulerpa/Tampa Bay Estuary Program via Unsplash

Millions of gallons of water laced with fertilizer ingredients are being pumped into Florida’s Tampa Bay from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant at...

Read more: Water being pumped into Tampa Bay could cause a massive algae bloom, putting fragile manatee and...

Faith in numbers: Trump held steady among believers at the ballot – it was the nonreligious vote he lost in 2020

  • Written by Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University
imageWhite evangelicals continued to back Trump in 2020 in significant numbers.Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

For all the predictions and talk of a slump in support among evangelicals, it appears Donald Trump’s election loss was not at the hands of religious voters.

As an analyst of religious data, I’ve been crunching data...

Read more: Faith in numbers: Trump held steady among believers at the ballot – it was the nonreligious vote...

India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears

  • Written by Tulasi Srinivas, Professor of Anthropology, Religion and Transnational Studies, Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College
imageHindu devotees attend evening prayers on the banks of the Ganges River during the religious Kumbh Mela festival in Haridwar, India.Prakash Singh/AFP via Getty Images

Massive crowds are expected to gather at India’s northern city of Haridwar throughout April 2021 for the religious festival of Kumbh Mela, despite the country’s grappling...

Read more: India prepares for Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering, amid COVID-19 fears

How worried should you be about coronavirus variants? A virologist explains his concerns

  • Written by Paulo Verardi, Associate Professor of Virology and Vaccinology, University of Connecticut
imageA COVID-19 patient in an ICU unit in a hospital in Capetown, South Africa, in December 2020. A variant emerged in South Africa that has since spread to other parts of the world. Other new variants could emerge elsewhere.Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images

Spring has sprung, and there is a sense of relief in the air. After one year of lockdowns and...

Read more: How worried should you be about coronavirus variants? A virologist explains his concerns

More Articles ...

  1. Why you should expect more Suez-like supply chain disruptions and shortages at your local grocery store
  2. Bringing 'behavioral vaccines' to school: 5 ways educators can support student well-being
  3. Beverly Cleary refused to teach kids how to be good -- and generations of young readers fell in love with her rebel Ramona
  4. White supremacy is the root of all race-related violence in the US
  5. Power imbalances are at the root of sexual harassment – but statements like Andrew Cuomo’s don't acknowledge that inconvenient fact
  6. Las sirenas no existen pero, ¿por qué nos fascinan tanto sus historias?
  7. Building trust among parents and teachers is key to reopening schools
  8. Here's how to help your kids break out of their pandemic bubble and transition back to being with others
  9. There's a surprising ending to all the 2020 election conflicts over absentee ballot deadlines
  10. No, the COVID-19 vaccine is not linked to the mark of the beast – but a first-century Roman tyrant probably is
  11. Vaccine guilt is good – as long it doesn’t stop you from getting a shot
  12. Embrace the unexpected: To teach AI how to handle new situations, change the rules of the game
  13. Misunderstanding addiction breeds despair and suffering – and, for alleged Atlanta shooter, violence
  14. For autocrats like Vladimir Putin, ruthless repression is often a winning way to stay in power
  15. Technology innovation gives government leverage to drive down emissions fast – here's how
  16. Scientists need to become better communicators, but it's hard to measure whether training works
  17. Netflix’s big bet on foreign content and international viewers could upend the global mediascape – and change how people see the world
  18. Vape sellers are using popular music videos to promote e-cigarettes to young people – and it's working
  19. Sea level rise is killing trees along the Atlantic coast, creating 'ghost forests' that are visible from space
  20. Sports remain hostile territory for LGBTQ Americans
  21. The US is worried about its critical minerals supply chains – essential for electric vehicles, wind power and the nation's defense
  22. The 17th-century cloth merchant who discovered the vast realm of tiny microbes – an appreciation of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
  23. An interactive visual database for American Sign Language reveals how signs are organized in the mind
  24. Myanmar's brutal military was once a force for freedom – but it's been waging civil war for decades
  25. Today's global economy runs on standardized shipping containers, as the Ever Given fiasco illustrates
  26. The US needs a macrogrid to move electricity from areas that make it to areas that need it
  27. How social media turns online arguments between teens into real-world violence
  28. A pandemic lesson: Older adults need to go back to their doctor and make preventive care a top priority
  29. Free college programs can enable more students to go to college, but it all depends on how the program is designed
  30. 1 in 3 college students face food insecurity – expanding SNAP benefits on campus will help stave off hunger
  31. How did humans evolve, and will we evolve more?
  32. You can fly! CDC says fully vaccinated people can travel safely within the US
  33. Baseball stadiums are filling up – but an analysis of the NFL’s 2020 season holds a warning about COVID-19 case spikes
  34. Comenzó el juicio contra el policía que asesinó a George Floyd: 5 lecturas esenciales sobre la violencia policial contra los hombres negros
  35. Biden wants corporations to pay for his $2 trillion infrastructure plans, echoing a history of calls for companies to chip in when times are tough
  36. Unwanted weight gain or weight loss during the pandemic? Blame your stress hormones
  37. Should there be a limit on how much debt a young person takes on?
  38. The situation at the US-Mexico border is a crisis – but is it new?
  39. 5 ways parents can help children with the 'new' math
  40. For Black cowboys – from inner-city Philly to small-town Texas – horses and riding are a way of life
  41. 60 years after Bay of Pigs, New York Times role – and myth – made clear
  42. America gets a D+ for school infrastructure - but federal COVID relief could pay for many repairs
  43. Why Johnson Johnson throwing out 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses shouldn't scare you
  44. CBD, marijuana and hemp: What is the difference among these cannabis products, and which are legal?
  45. In gun debate, both sides have evidence to back them up
  46. How can all schools safely reopen?
  47. How Black poets and writers gave a voice to 'Affrilachia'
  48. White mobs rioted in Washington in 1848 to defend slaveholders' rights after 76 Black enslaved people staged an unsuccessful mass escape on a boat
  49. Christian nationalism is a barrier to mass vaccination against COVID-19
  50. Poorer and minority older adults are suspicious of the US health care system – a new study shows why