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Congressional oversight is at the heart of America's democracy

  • Written by Derek W. Black, Professor of Law, University of South Carolina
Lawmakers have the power to constrain the White House. AP Photo/Susan Walsh

President Donald Trump increasingly acts as though he believes he can ignore Congress and set wide-ranging national policies on his own.

He has, for instance, recently taken unilateral steps to cut off foreign aid to countries he says are sending too many migrants to the...

Read more: Congressional oversight is at the heart of America's democracy

What parents should do to help students prepare for the first year of college

  • Written by Lara Schwartz, Director, Project on Civil Discourse, American University School of Public Affairs
First-year college students frequently report being stressed.Antonio Guillem from www.shutterstock.com

As the school year begins to wind down, high school seniors – and those who care about them – typically have their eyes on two prizes: getting into college and graduating from high school.

While both milestones are worthy of...

Read more: What parents should do to help students prepare for the first year of college

Pet owners want to be masters, not servants – which is why we value dogs more than cats

  • Written by Colleen P. Kirk, Assistant Professor of Marketing, New York Institute of Technology

Cat videos may rule the internet, but dogs possess mastery of their owners’ hearts – at least if spending is any guide.

Dog owners spend US$240 a month caring for their pets, compared with $193 for cats, according to the 2017-2018 National Pet Owners Survey from the American Pet Products Association. The extra money goes primarily...

Read more: Pet owners want to be masters, not servants – which is why we value dogs more than cats

Calcium-munching bacteria could be a secret weapon against road salt eating away at concrete roads and bridges

  • Written by Yaghoob Farnam, Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering, Drexel University
Fixing cracks and potholes in concrete roads like this one may be easier with help from bacteria.Yaghoob Farnam, CC BY-SA

Bacteria, which have been working for millennia as nature’s stonemasons, could soon be enlisted to help neutralize the destructive effects of road salt.

According to the Transportation Research Board, it takes about 10...

Read more: Calcium-munching bacteria could be a secret weapon against road salt eating away at concrete roads...

How unjust social structures help some but harm others

  • Written by Shervin Assari, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health, University of Michigan
Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on April 3, 1968, giving the last speech of his life. He addressed social inequalities, discussing the low pay of garbage workers in that city.Charles Kelly/AP File Photo

The college admissions cheating scandal has outraged millions, bringing to light the gaps between the privileged and less privileged citizens....

Read more: How unjust social structures help some but harm others

Venezuela's power struggle reaches a tense stalemate, as human suffering deepens

  • Written by David Smilde, Professor of Sociology, Tulane University
Venezuelans have faced food and medicine shortages since late 2015. Now power outages have cut off water supplies, too.AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko

Even in a country where crisis has become the norm, the past month has been eventful for Venezuela.

On April 3 Juan Guaidó, the Venezuelan National Assembly president who is leading an effort to...

Read more: Venezuela's power struggle reaches a tense stalemate, as human suffering deepens

Voter ID laws don't seem to suppress minority votes – despite what many claim

  • Written by Ben L. Pryor, Researcher, Oklahoma State University
An election official checks a voter's photo identification at an early voting polling site in Austin, Texas. AP Photo/Eric Gay

Strict voter ID laws require residents to possess a valid, state-approved identification in order to vote.

Support and opposition to these laws primarily fall along party lines. Proponents – mainly Republicans –...

Read more: Voter ID laws don't seem to suppress minority votes – despite what many claim

What causes greed and how can we deal with it?

  • Written by Laura E. Alexander, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska Omaha
Human beings want more even if it comes at the expense of others.svershinsky/Shutterstock.com

Recent news stories have highlighted unethical and even lawless actions taken by people and corporations that were motivated primarily by greed.

Federal prosecutors, for example, charged 33 wealthy parents, some of whom were celebrities, with paying bribes...

Read more: What causes greed and how can we deal with it?

Want to understand accented speakers better? Practice, practice, practice

  • Written by Melissa Michaud Baese-Berk, Associate Professor of Linguistics, University of Oregon
If the goal is to communicate, why should the speaker bear all the burden?Mimi Thian/Unsplash, CC BY

Conversation is at the heart of people’s lives. We use language to communicate our hopes and dreams to our closest friends, to ask for help from colleagues at work and to describe our ailments to medical professionals. Typically this process...

Read more: Want to understand accented speakers better? Practice, practice, practice

Using computers to crack open centuries-old mathematical puzzles

  • Written by Christopher Rasmussen, Associate Professor of Mathematics, Wesleyan University
A snippet of 'Arithmetica,' from Diophantus.Wikimedia

In mathematics, no researcher works in true isolation. Even those who work alone use the theorems and methods of their colleagues and predecessors to develop new ideas.

But when a known technique is too difficult to use in practice, mathematicians may neglect important – and otherwise...

Read more: Using computers to crack open centuries-old mathematical puzzles

More Articles ...

  1. Genes and genealogy and making the most of famous relations
  2. As climate change erodes US coastlines, an invasive plant could become an ally
  3. The Trump administration's attempts to defund the Special Olympics, explained
  4. Pollen is getting worse, but you can make things better with these tips from an allergist
  5. What your pet's microchip has to do with the Mark of the Beast
  6. How Twitter and other social media can draw the US into foreign interventions
  7. New York gets serious about traffic with the first citywide US congestion pricing plan
  8. 3 times political conflict reshaped American mathematics
  9. Laws are chipping away at democracy around the world
  10. Kids exposed to flame retardant PBDE are at risk for lifelong liver or cardiovascular problems
  11. Did a censored female writer inspire Hemingway's famous style?
  12. So you want to tax the rich – here's which candidate's plan makes the most sense
  13. Brain scan evidence in criminal sentencing: A blessing and a curse
  14. Anti-vaxxers appear to be losing ground in the online vaccine debate
  15. 7 unexpected things that libraries offer besides books
  16. The unique vulnerabilities and needs of teen survivors of mass shootings
  17. Is it the end of 'statistical significance'? The battle to make science more uncertain
  18. As its ruling dynasty withers, Gabon – a US ally and guardian of French influence in Africa – ponders its future
  19. Atheism has been part of many Asian traditions for millennia
  20. Is doing your taxes making you crazy? Here's why it shouldn't
  21. Citizen science shows that climate change is rapidly reshaping Long Island Sound
  22. How state power regulators are making utilities account for the costs of climate change
  23. Rail travel is cleaner than driving or flying, but will Americans buy in?
  24. Microbes that live in fishes' slimy mucus coating could lead chemists to new antibiotic drugs
  25. Last of the giants: What killed off Madagascar's megafauna a thousand years ago?
  26. Data reveals the value of an assist in basketball
  27. What happens to rural and small-town Trump voters after Trump is gone?
  28. Medicaid work requirements: Is there a path forward that could help the poor, not harm them?
  29. Jessie Simmons: How a schoolteacher became an unsung hero of the civil rights movement
  30. For a flooded Midwest, climate forecasts offer little comfort
  31. Want to fix gerrymandering? Then the Supreme Court needs to listen to mathematicians
  32. What Oklahoma's opioid settlement means for other states, cities and counties suing Purdue Pharma
  33. Why pay transparency alone won't eliminate the persistent wage gap between men and women
  34. How single women are driving gentrification in Hong Kong and elsewhere
  35. Net price calculators were supposed to make it easier to understand the cost of college – instead, many are making it more difficult
  36. Do you have a moral duty to pay taxes?
  37. Nonprofits that scrimp on overhead aren't necessarily better than those spending more
  38. When Ebola and other epidemics strike, a dysfunctional 'outbreak culture' hinders adequate response
  39. What you need to know about the Mueller report: 4 essential reads
  40. When medical workers behave badly during disease outbreaks, everyone suffers
  41. Attacks against elections are inevitable – Estonia shows what can be done
  42. The surprising (and Long) story of the first use of ether in surgery
  43. Fending off new Sackler money is easier for museums and schools than returning old gifts
  44. An unexpected pathway to treating neurodegenerative diseases
  45. How the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings turned baseball into a national sensation
  46. Principle behind Google's April Fools' pigeon prank proves more than a joke
  47. Extreme weather news may not change climate change skeptics' minds
  48. You'll hear these 4 arguments in defense of the Electoral College – here's why they're wrong
  49. DOJ efforts to kill Obamacare, the cat with 9 lives, could cause health care havoc for millions
  50. Supreme Court to rule on use of religious symbols in war memorials