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Why the Nobel Peace Prize brings little peace

  • Written by Ronald R. Krebs, Beverly and Richard Fink Professor in the Liberal Arts and Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, an advocacy group that has worked to draw attention to their “catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”

Every year, the winners of the Nobel Prizes are announced to great fanfare. And none receives more scrutiny than the Nobel Peace Prize...

Read more: Why the Nobel Peace Prize brings little peace

Bundy trial embodies everything dividing America today

  • Written by Ann Eisenberg, Assistant Professor of Law, University of South Carolina
imageA supporter of Cliven Bundy protests in Nevada. AP Photo/John Locher

It’s that time of year again: The Bundys are going to trial.

This fall, brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy and their father, Cliven, will face charges over a standoff with federal officials in a dispute over federal lands in Nevada.

Many are wondering if they’ll be let off...

Read more: Bundy trial embodies everything dividing America today

Are self-driving cars the future of mobility for disabled people?

  • Written by Srikanth Saripalli, Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University
imageA self-driving shuttle at Texas A&M.Swaroopa Saripalli, CC BY-ND

Self-driving cars could revolutionize how disabled people get around their communities and even travel far from home. People who can’t see well or with physical or mental difficulties that prevent them from driving safely often rely on others – or local government or...

Read more: Are self-driving cars the future of mobility for disabled people?

Urban noise pollution is worst in poor and minority neighborhoods and segregated cities

  • Written by Joan A. Casey, Postdoctoral scholar, University of California, Berkeley
imageUnder the El tracks, downtown Chicago.Franck Michel, CC BY

Most Americans think of cities as noisy places – but some parts of U.S. cities are much louder than others. Nationwide, neighborhoods with higher poverty rates and proportions of black, Hispanic and Asian residents have higher noise levels than other neighborhoods. In addition, in...

Read more: Urban noise pollution is worst in poor and minority neighborhoods and segregated cities

Blade Runner's chillingly prescient vision of the future

  • Written by Marsha Gordon, Professor of Film Studies, North Carolina State University

Can corporations become so powerful that they dictate the way we feel? Can machines get mad – like, really mad – at their makers? Can people learn to love machines?

These are a few of the questions raised by Ridley Scott’s influential sci-fi neo-noir film “Blade Runner” (1982), which imagines a corporation whose...

Read more: Blade Runner's chillingly prescient vision of the future

Knowing the signs of Lewy body dementia may help speed diagnosis

  • Written by Melissa J. Armstrong, Assistant Professor, Neurology, University of Florida
imageLewy body dementia and other illnesses of aging brains cause immeasurable suffering for patients and their families. sabthai/Shutterstock.com

Lewy body dementia reached the public eye in 2014 after reports that Robin Williams died with diffuse Lewy body disease.

But, despite the fact that Lewy body dementia is the second most common dementia, it...

Read more: Knowing the signs of Lewy body dementia may help speed diagnosis

Should Uncle Sam 'send in the Marines' after hurricanes?

  • Written by Julia Brooks, Researcher in international law and humanitarian response, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI), Harvard University

When humanitarian emergencies flare up, what should prompt the U.S. government to “send in the Marines”?

Disasters like Hurricane Harvey’s floods in Houston and Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico’s roads and power grid can quickly overwhelm civilian authorities and emergency responders. Military support can...

Read more: Should Uncle Sam 'send in the Marines' after hurricanes?

Catalonia's referendum unmasks authoritarianism in Spain

  • Written by Monica Clua Losada, Associate Professor in Global Political Economy, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

I have long worried about the rise of authoritarianism in the European Union.

The Spanish government’s violent crackdown during the Catalonia referendum on Oct. 1 is the latest crisis to challenge EU institutions. Several member states are facing serious questions about territorial sovereignty. Just look to the Scottish referendum to leave...

Read more: Catalonia's referendum unmasks authoritarianism in Spain

The opioid epidemic in 6 charts

  • Written by Andrew Kolodny, Co-Director of Opioid Policy Research, Brandeis University
imageMichelle Holley holds a photograph of her daughter Jaime Holley, 19, who died of a heroin overdose in November 2016.Lynne Sladky/AP Photo

Drug overdose deaths, once rare, are now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., surpassing peak annual deaths caused by motor vehicle accidents, guns and HIV infection.

As a former public health...

Read more: The opioid epidemic in 6 charts

How the Chinese cyberthreat has evolved

  • Written by Dorothy Denning, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School
imageWhat are Chinese hackers after in U.S. computer systems?BeeBright/Shutterstock.com

With more than half of its 1.4 billion people online, the world’s most populous country is home to a slew of cyberspies and hackers. Indeed, China has likely stolen more secrets from businesses and governments than any other country.

Covert espionage is the main...

Read more: How the Chinese cyberthreat has evolved

More Articles ...

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  2. Chilled proteins and 3-D images: The cryo-electron microscopy technology that just won a Nobel Prize
  3. Do tax cuts stimulate the economy more than spending?
  4. The enduring power of print for learning in a digital world
  5. I've spent years looking at what was actually in Playboy, and it wasn't just objectification of women
  6. How inherited fitness may affect breast cancer risk
  7. Why people around the world fear climate change more than Americans do
  8. How fair is it for just three people to receive the Nobel Prize in physics?
  9. After a disaster, contaminated floodwater can pose a threat for months to come
  10. Scientists join forces to save Puerto Rico's 'Monkey Island'
  11. Governments, car companies must resolve their competing goals for self-driving cars
  12. How dangerous people get their weapons in America
  13. Nobel winners identified molecular ‘cogs’ in the biological clocks that control our circadian rhythms
  14. When gun control makes a difference: 4 essential reads
  15. How to talk to your kids about opioids
  16. Don't take opioids off the market - make it harder to abuse them
  17. Dear Elon Musk: Your dazzling Mars plan overlooks some big nontechnical hurdles
  18. Three steps Congress could take to help resolve the net neutrality debate – without legislating a fix
  19. How investing in public health could cure many health care problems
  20. American women died in Vietnam, too
  21. What Gandhi can teach today's protesters
  22. The difference between black football fans and white football fans
  23. The real reason some people become addicted to drugs
  24. Merkel's challenge: Governing Germany in an age of rising nationalism
  25. Why Pope Francis is reviving a long tradition of local variations in Catholic services
  26. Is free speech alive and well? 5 essential reads
  27. Why the FCC's proposed internet rules may spell trouble ahead
  28. Worries about spreading Earth microbes shouldn't slow search for life on Mars
  29. Tax 'reform' for the rich: Trump's plan abandons his working-class supporters
  30. Trump's tax plan would weaken faith in fairness of US tax system
  31. Should we worry that half of Americans trust their gut to tell them what's true?
  32. Why higher ed needs to get rid of the gender gap for 'academic housekeeping'
  33. Shrinking and altering national monuments: Experts assess Interior Secretary Zinke's proposals
  34. Beyond bleach: Mold a long-term problem after flooding and disasters
  35. Healthy choices are neither good or bad; only thinking makes them so
  36. Is partisan gerrymandering illegal? The Supreme Court will decide
  37. Defying Trump, Alabama elects Roy Moore – and embraces the same old politics of rage
  38. Defying Trump, Alabama GOP picks Roy Moore – and embraces the same old politics of rage
  39. Brewing a great cup of coffee depends on chemistry and physics
  40. What it's like to be gay and in a gang
  41. Interior Secretary Zinke invokes Teddy Roosevelt as model, but his public land policies don't
  42. How to select a disaster relief charity
  43. Mexico’s road to recovery after quakes is far longer than it looks
  44. The surprising connection between 'take a knee' protests and Citizens United
  45. Why don't big companies keep their computer systems up-to-date?
  46. How the anal cancer epidemic in gay and bi HIV-positive men can be prevented
  47. Why your kids might be able to see better if they play outdoors more often
  48. Secret weapon for space travelers: A steady diet of TV?
  49. By concealing identities, cryptocurrencies fuel cybercrime
  50. Opioid epidemic causing rise in hepatitis C infections and other serious illnesses