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Spider glue's sticky secret revealed by new genetic research

  • Written by Sarah Stellwagen, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Spider glue is actually a specialized silk protein.Sarah Stellwagen, CC BY-ND

What do all of the over 45,000 described spider species on Earth have in common? Each makes at least one type of silk. And there are an awful lot of types out there.

An individual orb weaving spider – the kind that spins the classic two-dimensional aerial spiral webs...

Read more: Spider glue's sticky secret revealed by new genetic research

Antibiotic resistance is not new – it existed long before people used drugs to kill bacteria

  • Written by Ivan Erill, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Antibiotic resistance can spread between microbes within hours.Lightspring/Shutterstock.com

Imagine a world where your odds of surviving minor surgery were one to three. A world in which a visit to the dentist could spell disaster. This is the world into which your great-grandmother was born. And if humanity loses the fight against antibiotic...

Read more: Antibiotic resistance is not new – it existed long before people used drugs to kill bacteria

Brazilian universities fear Bolsonaro plan to eliminate humanities and slash public education budgets

  • Written by Renato Francisco dos Santos Paula, Professor, Universidade Federal de Goias

Tens of thousands of students and professors protested nationwide on May 30 against a Jair Bolsonaro administration proposal to slash Brazil’s public education budget and starve university humanities departments of resources.

It was the second mass demonstration in two weeks against the education policies of Brazil’s divisive new...

Read more: Brazilian universities fear Bolsonaro plan to eliminate humanities and slash public education...

Will children in your state get the support they need? It depends on the 2020 census

  • Written by Heather L. Hanna, Assistant Research Professor and Research Fellow at Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University
The U.S. Census struggles to accurately count the number of children under 5.Syda Productions/shutterstock.com

The first three years of a child’s life are the most crucial for brain development. In fact, children raised in poverty have less brain tissue compared to their counterparts.

The U.S. has educational and social programs that can help...

Read more: Will children in your state get the support they need? It depends on the 2020 census

Trump's Mexico tariffs don't make sense, but Americans will pay a steep price anyway if they go into effect

  • Written by Christina Fattore, Associate Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University
Mexican avocados may soon be more expensive in American supermarkets.AP Photo/Mark Lennihan

The Trump administration says it intends to slap a 5% tariff on every medium-sized car, avocado and other Mexican import beginning June 10 – all almost US$1 billion worth that crosses the border into the U.S. each day on average.

The president is using...

Read more: Trump's Mexico tariffs don't make sense, but Americans will pay a steep price anyway if they go...

Hackers seek ransoms from Baltimore and communities across the US

  • Written by Richard Forno, Senior Lecturer, Cybersecurity & Internet Researcher, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Many of Baltimore's city services are crippled by a cyberattack.The Conversation from City of Baltimore and Love Silhouette/Shutterstock.com, CC BY-SA

The people of Baltimore are beginning their fifth week under an electronic siege that has prevented residents from obtaining building permits and business licenses – and even buying or selling...

Read more: Hackers seek ransoms from Baltimore and communities across the US

How 'America's Got Talent' contestant Kodi Lee shattered stereotypes about disability

  • Written by Stan Link, Associate Professor of the Composition, Philosophy and Analysis of Music, Vanderbilt University
Lee was able to communicate that disability is a part of humanity – not separate from it.America's Got Talent/YouTube

If you haven’t seen Kodi Lee’s May 28 performance on “America’s Got Talent,” it’s worth a watch.

The 22-year-old Lee is blind and has autism. His rendition of Leon Russell’s “A...

Read more: How 'America's Got Talent' contestant Kodi Lee shattered stereotypes about disability

Cheaper versions of the most expensive drugs may be coming, but monopolies will likely remain

  • Written by Yaniv Heled, Associate Professor of Law, Georgia State University
Some biologics can cost up to a million dollars for a year's worth.Tero Vesalainen

In May, the Food and Drug Administration issued much-anticipated guidance that could revolutionize the pricing of some of the most expensive drugs on the market in the U.S. and, possibly, globally.

In this document, the FDA explains to drug manufacturers how to...

Read more: Cheaper versions of the most expensive drugs may be coming, but monopolies will likely remain

Climate change is driving rapid shifts between high and low water levels on the Great Lakes

  • Written by Drew Gronewold, Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
Waves on Lake Superior crash against the Duluth, Minn. waterfront Sept. 10, 2014.Randen Pederson, CC BY

The North American Great Lakes contain about one-fifth of the world’s surface fresh water. In May, new high water level records were set on Lakes Erie and Superior, and there has been widespread flooding across Lake Ontario for the second...

Read more: Climate change is driving rapid shifts between high and low water levels on the Great Lakes

Violence climbs in Colombia as president chips away at landmark peace deal with FARC guerrillas

  • Written by Fabio Andres Diaz, Researcher on Conflict, Peace and Development, International Institute of Social Studies
Police protect a judicial complex where former FARC rebel leader Seuxis Hernandez was standing trial on May 20, 2019. The former peace negotiator has been arrested on drug charges and is now fighting extradition to the United States. AP Photo/Ivan Valencia

Thousands of Colombian militants and soldiers will have their day in court.

A panel of...

Read more: Violence climbs in Colombia as president chips away at landmark peace deal with FARC guerrillas

More Articles ...

  1. The racist roots of American policing: From slave patrols to traffic stops
  2. The war on women coaches
  3. What is Eid and how do Muslims celebrate it? 6 questions answered
  4. Angkor Wat archaeological digs yield new clues to its civilization's decline
  5. Big tech surveillance could damage democracy
  6. Is Robert Mueller an antique? The role of the facts in a post-truth era
  7. Getting poorer while working harder: The 'cliff effect'
  8. D-Day succeeded thanks to an ingenious design called the Mulberry Harbours
  9. Pilots sleeping in the cockpit could improve airline safety
  10. Hate crimes associated with both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism have a long history in America's past
  11. The economic cost of devastating hurricanes and other extreme weather events is even worse than we thought
  12. To tackle climate change, immigration and threats to democracy, Europe's fractious new Parliament will have to work together
  13. Environmental reporting can help protect citizens in emerging democracies
  14. Howard Stern talks childhood trauma, and a trauma psychiatrist talks about its lasting effects
  15. Pancreatic cancer specialist explains challenges of the disease and treatment advances
  16. The question you should never ask women – period
  17. MacKenzie Bezos's $17 billion pledge tops a growing list of women giving big
  18. J. Edgar Hoover’s revenge: Information the FBI once hoped could destroy Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. has been declassified
  19. I'm an MLK scholar – and I'll never be able to view King in the same light
  20. How soybeans became China's most powerful weapon in Trump's trade war
  21. Fighting malaria with fungi: biologists engineer a fungus to be deadlier to mosquitoes
  22. Naked mole rat genes could hold the secret to pain relief without opioids
  23. Ancient DNA is revealing the origins of livestock herding in Africa
  24. Who are the 1 in 4 American women who choose abortion?
  25. Why thousands are getting hit with unexpected medical bills
  26. Sharing profits and ownership with workers not only make them happier, it benefits the bottom line too
  27. I was an expert witness against a teacher who taught students to question the Holocaust
  28. Why fewer and fewer Americans are getting divorced
  29. Journalist killings, arrests and assaults climb worldwide as authoritarianism spreads
  30. The case against voting for charisma
  31. Israel's political stalemate reveals the power of ultra-Orthodox Jews
  32. What Israel's new election reveals about the struggle over Jewishness
  33. The US drinking water supply is mostly safe, but that's not good enough
  34. A radical idea to get a high-renewable electric grid: Build way more solar and wind than needed
  35. This year the flu came in two waves – here’s why
  36. We're in a golden age of black horror films
  37. Congressional action on Yemen may be the first salvo against presidential war powers
  38. Gene-edited babies don't grow in test tubes -- mothers' roles shouldn't be erased
  39. Gene-edited babies don't grow in test tubes — mothers' roles shouldn't be erased
  40. Gene-edited babies don't grow in test tubes – mothers' roles shouldn't be erased
  41. More Americans are suing over gerrymandered state maps – but the Supreme Court is not likely to step in
  42. 6 ways to protect your mental health from social media's dangers
  43. How to teach and parent better in the age of big data
  44. CBD: The next weapon in the war against opioid addiction?
  45. High-tech fishing gear could help save critically endangered right whales
  46. Sanders and AOC want to cap interest rates on consumer loans at 15% – here's why that's a bad idea
  47. India's Prime Minister Modi pursues politics of Hindu nationalism – what does that mean?
  48. Trump and the problem with pardons
  49. How the new 'Aladdin' stacks up against a century of Hollywood stereotyping
  50. Assange’s new indictment: Espionage and the First Amendment