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America and the world still need the WTO to keep trade and the global economy humming

  • Written by Stephen J. Silvia, Professor of International Relations, American University School of International Service
The WTO's home in Geneva.Martin Good/Shutterstock.com

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his disdain for the World Trade Organization.

Since taking office, the Trump administration has been blocking the appointment or reappointment of WTO judges – imperiling the essential work of its court in issuing trade rulings. The president has e...

Read more: America and the world still need the WTO to keep trade and the global economy humming

People who win big prizes shouldn’t get taxed when they give their windfalls away

  • Written by Ellen P. Aprill, Professor of Law; John E. Anderson Chair in Tax Law, Loyola Law School Los Angeles
Obama's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in OsloAP Photo/John McConnico

When former President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, he didn’t keep the approximately US$1.4 million, converted from Swedish currency, that came with it. Instead the Nobel Prize Foundation transferred the money directly to Fisher House, a nonprofit that houses...

Read more: People who win big prizes shouldn’t get taxed when they give their windfalls away

Tax returns waste everyone's time – but there's an easy solution the tax preparation industry and some lawmakers don't like

  • Written by Garth Heutel, Associate Professor of Economics, Georgia State University
Congress designed a complicated tax system.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Each year hundreds of millions of Americans file their personal income tax returns using a form 1040.

The average American spends eight hours and US$110 doing so. Much of that money goes to professional tax preparers and software companies. Much of that time is spent entering...

Read more: Tax returns waste everyone's time – but there's an easy solution the tax preparation industry and...

Does a year in space make you older or younger?

  • Written by Susan Bailey, Professor of Radiation Cancer Biology and Oncology, Colorado State University
Are space twin Scott and Earth twin Mark no longer identical?Robert Markowitz/NASA

Daily life aboard the International Space Station moves fast. Really fast. Traveling at approximately 17,000 miles per hour, 300 miles above the Earth, astronauts watch 16 sunrises and sunsets every “day” while floating around in a box with a handful of...

Read more: Does a year in space make you older or younger?

How US tax laws discriminate against women, gays and people of color

  • Written by Anthony C. Infanti, Professor of Law, University of Pittsburgh
Marital status is a defining characteristic of U.S. tax law.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

What and how a country chooses to tax says a lot about its values.

A core value built into the DNA of America, for example, is equality. And in practice, Americans imagine their country to be more equal than it is and strive to treat every member of society that...

Read more: How US tax laws discriminate against women, gays and people of color

Why giant statues of Hindu gods and leaders are making Muslims in India nervous

  • Written by Indulata Prasad, Assistant Professor, Women and Gender Studies, School of Social Transformation, Tempe Campus, Arizona State University

Statues – big statues, the largest in the world – are being built all across India.

Like many public monuments, they attempt to convey history in a concrete form. But India’s new statues convey something else, too: the power and vision of one dominant group – and the vulnerability of others.

That’s because...

Read more: Why giant statues of Hindu gods and leaders are making Muslims in India nervous

Are America's teachers really underpaid?

  • Written by Michael Addonizio, Professor of educational leadership and policy studies, Wayne State University
Teachers rally outside the Arizona Capitol in April 2018 during a strike over low salaries.Matt York/AP

In the spring of 2018, thousands of public school teachers walked out of their classrooms in a half-dozen states, protesting low salaries, rising class sizes and cuts to school budgets that have prompted most teachers to buy their own classroom...

Read more: Are America's teachers really underpaid?

Can changing the microbiome reverse lactose intolerance?

  • Written by Patricia L. Foster, Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University
Reversing lactose intolerance might make it possible for adults to enjoy a milkshake again.YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV / Shutterstock.com

After childhood, about two-thirds of the world’s human population loses the ability to digest milk. As far as we know, 100% of nonhuman mammals also lose this ability after weaning. The ongoing ability to digest...

Read more: Can changing the microbiome reverse lactose intolerance?

Don't shoot! That drone overhead probably isn't invading your privacy

  • Written by Stephen Rice, Associate Professor of Human Factors, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Is this drone a threat?ungvar/Shutterstock.com

The first commercial medical drones are taking flight in the U.S., delivering blood samples and other medical specimens from a clinic to a lab in North Carolina. Right now, they’re just on one hospital campus and not flying over private homes or businesses. But that’s coming soon.

In our...

Read more: Don't shoot! That drone overhead probably isn't invading your privacy

A happy ending for 'Game of Thrones'? No thanks

  • Written by Anthony Gierzynski, Professor and Chair of Political Science, University of Vermont
'Game of Thrones' has taught audiences to never get too attached to any one character.HBO

With the final season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” commencing, I imagine most fans are harboring hopes that things will turn out well for the remaining heroes in Westeros.

A large part of me hopes for the same. But a different part of me –...

Read more: A happy ending for 'Game of Thrones'? No thanks

More Articles ...

  1. Muslims arrived in America 400 years ago as part of the slave trade and today are vastly diverse
  2. From ‘40 acres and a mule’ to LBJ to the 2020 election, a brief history of slavery reparation promises
  3. Measles outbreaks show legal challenges of balancing personal rights and public good
  4. Brexit is a rejection of the Good Friday Agreement for peace in Northern Ireland
  5. A thousand years ago, the Catholic Church paid little attention to homosexuality
  6. When people downsize to tiny houses, they adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles
  7. How a 'missing' movement made gun control a winning issue
  8. Michelle Obama is a surprise textbook example of how women thrive and grow through adulthood
  9. Data show how American mothers balance work and family
  10. 8 things you may not know about Leonardo da Vinci, on the 500th anniversary of his death
  11. 74 screens of legalese don't protect your data – here's a blueprint for new laws that could make a difference
  12. The generals who challenged Netanyahu ran a campaign largely devoid of substance
  13. Empathy is the secret ingredient that makes cooperation – and civilization – possible
  14. A country can never be too rich, too beautiful or too full of people
  15. How a 'hard' Brexit would harm US banks, carmakers and drug companies
  16. A defeat on offshore drilling extends the Trump administration's losing streak in court
  17. Fox News isn’t the problem, it’s the media’s obsession with Fox News
  18. Campus free speech laws being enacted in many states, but some may do more harm than good
  19. The pitfalls of the narcissistic NBA player
  20. Why Americans appear more likely to support Christian refugees
  21. What makes the Impossible Burger look and taste like real beef?
  22. Why it's hard to remove, or even diagnose, mentally ill or unstable presidents
  23. Migrants' stories: Why they flee
  24. Does legalizing marijuana help or harm Americans? Weighing the statistical evidence
  25. An analysis of nearly 4 million pitches shows just how many mistakes umpires make
  26. For the 'political-infotainment-media complex,' the Mueller investigation was a gold mine
  27. The replication crisis is good for science
  28. Don't blame Sharia for Islamic extremism -- blame colonialism
  29. Catholic missionaries are evangelizing on college campuses and trying to bring back the 'nones'
  30. Too many airplane systems rely on too few sensors
  31. In the name of 'amateurism,' college athletes make money for everyone except themselves
  32. Nixon and Reagan tried closing the border to pressure Mexico – here's what happened
  33. Climate research needs to change to help communities plan for the future
  34. Putin's plagiarism, fake Ukrainian degrees and other tales of world leaders accused of academic fraud
  35. It can take a village to feed hungry kids in schools
  36. Female astronauts: How performance products like space suits and bras are designed to pave the way for women's accomplishments
  37. An industrialized global food supply chain threatens human health – here's how to improve it
  38. Artificial intelligence can now emulate human behaviors – soon it will be dangerously good
  39. Congressional oversight is at the heart of America's democracy
  40. What parents should do to help students prepare for the first year of college
  41. Pet owners want to be masters, not servants – which is why we value dogs more than cats
  42. Calcium-munching bacteria could be a secret weapon against road salt eating away at concrete roads and bridges
  43. How unjust social structures help some but harm others
  44. Venezuela's power struggle reaches a tense stalemate, as human suffering deepens
  45. Voter ID laws don't seem to suppress minority votes – despite what many claim
  46. What causes greed and how can we deal with it?
  47. Want to understand accented speakers better? Practice, practice, practice
  48. Using computers to crack open centuries-old mathematical puzzles
  49. Genes and genealogy and making the most of famous relations
  50. As climate change erodes US coastlines, an invasive plant could become an ally