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4 steps to reaching Biden's goal of a July 4th with much greater freedom from COVID-19

  • Written by David R. Holtgrave, Dean and SUNY Distinguished Professor, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageHoliday gatherings with family and friends before the pandemic seemed so simple.FatCamera via Getty Images

President Joe Biden set a goal for the U.S. to have COVID-19 under enough control by summer that Americans can celebrate July 4th with family and friends, at least in small gatherings. Important in achieving this goal is another presidential...

Read more: 4 steps to reaching Biden's goal of a July 4th with much greater freedom from COVID-19

Feeding cows a few ounces of seaweed daily could sharply reduce their contribution to climate change

  • Written by Ermias Kebreab, Associate Dean and Professor of Animal Science. Director, World Food Center, University of California, Davis
imageA little seaweed with that?Cowirrie/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Methane is a short-lived but powerful greenhouse gas and the second-largest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. And the majority of human-induced methane emissions comes from livestock.

About 70% of agricultural methane comes from enteric fermentation – chemical reactions in...

Read more: Feeding cows a few ounces of seaweed daily could sharply reduce their contribution to climate change

Risk versus reward on the high seas – skinny elephant seals trade safety for sustenance

  • Written by Roxanne Beltran, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz
imageFemale elephant seals take seven-month feeding trips during which they balance danger, starvation and exhaustion.Dan Costa, CC BY-ND

Every year, northern elephant seals set off on a seven-month, 6,000-mile (10,000-kilometer) journey across the North Pacific ocean in search of fish and squid to eat. They start the journey after sitting on the beach...

Read more: Risk versus reward on the high seas – skinny elephant seals trade safety for sustenance

Making it easier to vote does not threaten election integrity

  • Written by Douglas R. Hess, Assistant Professor of Political Science/Policy Studies, Grinnell College
imageAn election worker during mail-in ballot counting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 2020. Chris McGrath/Getty Images

As state legislators consider hundreds of bills on election policies this spring, false claims of voter fraud are being repeated as justification for proposals to claw back recent advances that have...

Read more: Making it easier to vote does not threaten election integrity

Only a handful of US foundations quickly pitched in as the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, early data indicates

  • Written by Emily Rosenman, Assistant Professor of Geography, Penn State
imageThe Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reacted more quickly when the COVID-19 pandemic began than most other foundations.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Many U.S. foundations, which disbursed roughly US$76 billion in 2019, say they are giving more money away in the United States because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the health, economic and other crises...

Read more: Only a handful of US foundations quickly pitched in as the COVID-19 pandemic got underway, early...

Why cash payments aren't always the best tool to help poor people

  • Written by Heath Henderson, Assistant Professor of Economics, Drake University
imageMore governments and aid organizations are giving poor people cash.Mayur Kakade/Moment via Getty Images

The concept is simple and seductive: Give people cash, lift them out of poverty. It’s a strategy increasingly being used in both lower- and higher-income countries to help poor people.

International organizations such as the World Bank, USAID...

Read more: Why cash payments aren't always the best tool to help poor people

Why lawsuits against the media may not hurt freedom of the press

  • Written by Nancy Costello, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Michigan State University
imageWill lawsuits against misinformation hurt freedom of speech?syahrir maulana/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

Free speech advocates have long believed that suing a news organization threatens free speech. Democracy needs a press to be free to report, without fear or favor, the facts as it sees them.

But two recent legal actions against news organizations...

Read more: Why lawsuits against the media may not hurt freedom of the press

Wild weather: 4 essential reads about tornadoes and thunderstorms

  • Written by Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation
imageDebris near Lebanon, Tennessee, after tornadoes struck on the night of March 3, 2020, killing more than 20 people across the state. AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

Springtime in the U.S. is frequently a season for thunderstorms, which can spawn tornadoes. These large storms are common in the South and Southeast in March and April, then shift toward the...

Read more: Wild weather: 4 essential reads about tornadoes and thunderstorms

Selfish or selfless? Human nature means you're both

  • Written by Keith Yoder, Postdoctoral Scholar in Social Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Chicago
imageEven young children are very aware of whether they're getting their fair share.Jupiterimages/PHOTOS.com via Getty Images Plus

Looking out for number one has been important for survival for as long as there have been human beings.

But self-interest isn’t the only trait that helped people win at evolution. Groups of individuals who were...

Read more: Selfish or selfless? Human nature means you're both

The story of the Iranian new year, Nowruz, and why its themes of renewal and healing matter

  • Written by Pardis Mahdavi, Dean of Social Sciences, Arizona State University
imageThe celebration of Nowruz in Tehran in 2014.AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi

As the days grow longer and the flowers start to bloom, my 5-year-old gets excited and exclaims, “Nowruz is coming.”

Nowruz – or “new day” in English – is the Iranian new year. Celebrated at the exact moment of the spring equinox, this is a...

Read more: The story of the Iranian new year, Nowruz, and why its themes of renewal and healing matter

More Articles ...

  1. Prosecuting ex-presidents for corruption is trending worldwide – but it's not always great for democracy
  2. Patent system often stifles the innovation it was designed to encourage
  3. Sperm from older rats passes on fewer active genes to offspring because of epigenetic changes
  4. When Americans recall their roots, they open up to immigration
  5. How do mRNA vaccines work – and why do you need a second dose? 5 essential reads
  6. The African roots of Swiss design
  7. Ancient leaves preserved under a mile of Greenland's ice – and lost in a freezer for years – hold lessons about climate change
  8. US could save tens of thousands of lives and tens of billions of dollars with 3 weeks of strict COVID-19 measures
  9. After the insurrection, America's far-right groups get more extreme
  10. Is ballot collection, or 'ballot harvesting,' good for democracy? We asked 5 experts
  11. Resistance to military regime in Myanmar mounts as nurses, bankers join protests – despite bloody crackdown
  12. Federal support has shored up nonprofits during the coronavirus pandemic, but many groups are still struggling
  13. Why would anyone buy crypto art – let alone spend millions on what's essentially a link to a JPEG file?
  14. El Salvador's abortion ban jails women for miscarriages and stillbirths – now one woman's family seeks international justice
  15. Black students have far less trust in their colleges than other students do
  16. Fixing indoor air pollution problems that are raising Native Americans' COVID-19 risk
  17. How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?
  18. 6 tips to help you detect fake science news
  19. What Alexander Hamilton's deep connections to slavery reveal about the need for reparations today
  20. Hip-hop professor looks to open doors with world's first peer-reviewed rap album
  21. ¿Por qué son tan populares las llamas y cuál es la razón por la que nos gustan mucho?
  22. Billions of cicadas may be coming soon to trees near you
  23. How the Nazis used music to celebrate and facilitate murder
  24. A concept from physics called negentropy could help your life run smoother
  25. At colleges nationwide, esports teams dominated by men
  26. Vaccine passports may be on the way – but are they a reason for hope or a cause for concern?
  27. Dementia patients are at greater risk for COVID-19, particularly African Americans and people with vascular dementia
  28. Holding on to hope is hard, even with the pandemic's end in sight – wisdom from poets through the ages
  29. Bangladesh at 50: A nation created in violence and still bearing scars of a troubled birth
  30. The gender gap in economics is huge – it's even worse than tech
  31. Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock as laws and policy are made in the nation's capital
  32. New Jersey State Police's first 100 years characterized by racial prejudice
  33. Women grow as much as 80% of India's food – but its new farm laws overlook their struggles
  34. Texas distorts its past – and Sam Houston's legacy – to defend Confederate monuments
  35. Sewage-testing robots process wastewater faster to predict COVID-19 outbreaks sooner
  36. How the quest for significance and respect underlies the white supremacist movement, conspiracy theories and a range of other problems
  37. Deaf women fought for the right to vote
  38. Millions of American parents will soon get a monthly allowance: 4 questions answered
  39. Skipping the vaccine line is not only unethical – it may undermine trust in the rollout
  40. The US delivers $1.9 trillion jolt of economic relief: 4 essential reads
  41. How a silent movie informs the current debate over the right to be forgotten
  42. It's not just a social media problem – how search engines spread misinformation
  43. Kids spending too much time staring at screens? Focus on positive goals to get them moving and reading and talking
  44. US army chaplain Emil Kapaun advancing toward sainthood
  45. I went down the 'rabbit hole' to debunk misinformation – here's what I learned about Big Ben and online information overload
  46. Netflix series 'Last Chance U' speaks to the reality of athletes I study
  47. China's 'mask diplomacy' wins influence across Africa, during and after the pandemic
  48. Biden ends policy forcing asylum-seekers to 'remain in Mexico' – but for 41,247 migrants, it's too late
  49. How 18 million Americans could move into rural areas – without leaving home
  50. Pollen can raise your risk of COVID-19 – and the season is getting longer thanks to climate change