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Beanie Babies, the invention of CubeSat and student-designed and built satellites

  • Written by Supriya Chakrabarti, Professor of Physics, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Hundreds of CubeSats are now being launched into space each year.etonastenka/Shutterstock.com

The democratization of space began 20 years ago with Beanie Babies – or, more accurately, the clear acrylic box that brought them home. These 4-inch (10-cm) cubes inspired space engineer Bob Twiggs to create CubeSat, the first satellite with a...

Read more: Beanie Babies, the invention of CubeSat and student-designed and built satellites

Why the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan shouldn’t be released

  • Written by Dov Waxman, Professor of Political Science, International Affairs and Israel Studies, Northeastern University
On the same day, May 14, 2018, Palestinians protest near the border of Israel and the Gaza Strip (left) while dignitaries applaud the opening ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem (right). AP/ADEL HANA, LEFT, AND SEBASTIAN SCHEINER

Dead on arrival.

That’s what almost every expert predicts will be the fate of the Trump...

Read more: Why the Trump administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan shouldn’t be released

Brazil's long, strange love affair with the Confederacy ignites racial tension

  • Written by Jordan Brasher, Doctoral candidate in Geography, University of Tennessee
Visitors and performers at Brazil's 'Confederate Party,' held each April in São Paulo state.Jordan Brasher, Author provided

The aroma of fried chicken and biscuits roused my appetite as the country sounds of Alison Krauss, Alan Jackson and Johnny Cash played over the loudspeakers.

This might have been a county fair back home in Tennessee, but...

Read more: Brazil's long, strange love affair with the Confederacy ignites racial tension

Caster Semenya's impossible situation: Testosterone gets special scrutiny but doesn't necessarily make her faster

  • Written by Jaime Schultz, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University
An arbitration court ruled that the 28-year-old runner must lower her testosterone levels in order to compete.AP Photo/Petr David Josek

A yearslong saga between a middle-distance runner and her sport’s ruling body may be nearing something that resembles a conclusion.

In 2018, the International Association of Athletics Federations dictated that...

Read more: Caster Semenya's impossible situation: Testosterone gets special scrutiny but doesn't necessarily...

60 days in Iceberg Alley, drilling for marine sediment to decipher Earth's climate 3 million years ago

  • Written by Suzanne O'Connell, Professor of Earth & Environmental Sciences, Wesleyan University
The research vessel must dodge dangerous icebergs as it drills for sediment core samples.Phil Christie/IODP, CC BY-ND

Competition is stiff for one of the 30 scientist berths on the JOIDES Resolution research vessel. I’m one of the lucky ones, granted the opportunity to work 12-hour days, seven days a week for 60 days as part of Expedition 382...

Read more: 60 days in Iceberg Alley, drilling for marine sediment to decipher Earth's climate 3 million years...

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López seeks refuge with Spain after failed uprising

  • Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business and Member of the Institute for Latino and Latin American Studies, St Mary's College of California

An arrest warrant has been issued for Venezuela’s most famous political prisoner. Leopoldo López, who was released from house arrest to lead an attempted uprising against President Nicolás Maduro on April 30, has sought refuge at the residency of the Spanish ambassador to Venezuela.

The Spanish government says López...

Read more: Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López seeks refuge with Spain after failed uprising

Americans might love Cinco de Mayo, but few know what they're celebrating

  • Written by Kirby Farah, Lecturer of Anthropology, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Mexicans representing indigenous soldiers and the French army, re-enact the battle of Puebla during Cinco de Mayo celebrations in Mexico City.AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo

Many Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but how many actually know the story of the holiday?

Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo doesn’t mark Mexican Independence, which...

Read more: Americans might love Cinco de Mayo, but few know what they're celebrating

What other countries can teach the US about raising teacher pay

  • Written by David Evans, Professor of Public Policy, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Students listen to their teacher, Shuma Das, at the Sahabatpur Daspara Ananda school in Sahabatpur village, Bangladesh in 2016.Dominic Chavez/World Bank, CC BY

Teacher strikes swept the United States in 2018, from West Virginia to Oklahoma, Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina and beyond.

The demands varied across states, but a raise in teacher pay...

Read more: What other countries can teach the US about raising teacher pay

The Kentucky Derby has a secret Latino history

  • Written by E. Gabrielle Kuenzli, Associate Professor, History Department, University of South Carolina
Derby frontrunner Game Winner comes from a bloodline of Latin American racehorse excellence.Gonzalo Anteliz Jr., Author provided

This Triple Crown season, which opens on May 4 with the Kentucky Derby, horses with Latin American bloodlines are among the top favorites.

Two 2019 derby contenders – Vekoma and Game Winner – are half...

Read more: The Kentucky Derby has a secret Latino history

Platelets: The chameleons of cancer biology

  • Written by James Michael, Lecturer of Biochemistry, Thomas Jefferson University
Activated platelets (purple) on their way to heal a wound. Sebastian Kaulitzki/Shutterstock.com

Have you ever been in a classroom and wondered to yourself whether the information being presented could be wrong?

During graduate school, I audited a medical school class in which the professor remarked that at some point in the students’ medical...

Read more: Platelets: The chameleons of cancer biology

More Articles ...

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  2. Drones to deliver incessant buzzing noise, and packages
  3. Trump offshore drilling plan may be dead in the water, but there are better ways to lead on energy
  4. Many electric utilities are struggling – will more go bankrupt?
  5. Dutch Memorial Day: Maintaining colonial innocence by excluding people of color
  6. Jimmy Carter's lasting Cold War legacy
  7. Trump's dirty tricks: Unethical, even illegal campaign tactics are an American tradition
  8. Modern shamans: Financial managers, political pundits and others who help tame life's uncertainty
  9. University of North Carolina at Charlotte shooting has these things in common with other campus shootings
  10. 3 moral reasons why parents need to get their children vaccinated against measles and other diseases
  11. As air pollution increases in some US cities, the Trump administration is weakening clean air regulations
  12. 3 ways $2 trillion for infrastructure can fight inequality too
  13. Asteroid dust brought back to Earth may explain where our water came from with hydrogen clues
  14. Is the Assange indictment a threat to the First Amendment?
  15. Why abusive husbands kick dogs but angry neighbors poison them
  16. From Paris to Boston, the crucial role of fire chaplains
  17. A 'coup des gens' is underway – and we're increasingly living under the regime of the algorithm
  18. Prescription for journalists from journalists: Less time studying Twitter, more time studying math
  19. Why Florida's new voting rights amendment may not be as sweeping as it looks
  20. Why some doctors are prescribing a day in the park or a walk on the beach for good health
  21. Brain over body: Hacking the stress system to let your psychology influence your physiology
  22. US, Russia, China race to develop hypersonic weapons
  23. Who is Leopoldo López, the newly freed opposition leader behind Venezuela's uprising?
  24. Spanish voters rebuff radical right — for now
  25. Our smartphone addiction is killing us – can apps that limit screen time offer a lifeline?
  26. The US white majority will soon disappear forever
  27. Just 16 minutes of sleep loss can harm work concentration the next day
  28. Can James Holzhauer be stopped? A former 'Jeopardy!' champion weighs in
  29. Here's how to increase diversity in STEM at the college level and beyond
  30. How a music genre known as black metal came to be related to church burnings
  31. Collaborative problem solvers are made not born – here's what you need to know
  32. Financial woes are at the heart of the NRA's tumult
  33. Data insecurity leads to economic injustice – and hits the pocketbooks of the poor most
  34. How the world's largest democracy casts its ballots
  35. The benefits that places like Dayton, Ohio, reap by welcoming immigrants
  36. How air guitar became a serious sport
  37. Is there a 'feminine' response to terrorism?
  38. At work, women and people of color still have not broken the glass ceiling
  39. Shutting down social media does not reduce violence, but rather fuels it
  40. Is an 'insect apocalypse' happening? How would we know?
  41. Uber's $9 billion IPO rests on drivers' 80-plus hour workweeks and a lot of waiting
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  43. Recalls of medical devices and drugs are up - can anyone predict when it will happen next?
  44. The value of trees: 4 essential reads
  45. What the Greek tragedy Antigone can teach us about the dangers of extremism
  46. A drug for autism? Potential treatment for Pitt-Hopkins syndrome offers clues
  47. Missing school is a given for children of migrant farmworkers
  48. Don't buy that Gucci knockoff: Your bargain benefits organized crime while endangering countless others
  49. How to avoid accidentally becoming a Russian agent
  50. Why Facebook belongs in the math classroom