The last time you went to a hospital, you probably had to fill out forms listing the medications you are taking and updating your emergency contacts. You also might have been asked a question about what is to be done with “excess tissues or specimens” that may be removed during diagnosis or treatment. Are you willing to donate these...

The gradual reduction of smoking – the number one cause of preventable death and illness – is one of the triumphs of public health in the United States. About 16.8 percent of Americans smoke today, compared to 42 percent in the 1960s.

But even...

Chemical waste, mass production and consumerism are all byproducts of an industrialized global economy.

The fashion industry is no different. Technology has helped the industry meet growing demand by making...

The common wisdom about climate change is that it’s too big and too abstract for humans to comprehend, that it’s too hard to talk about. But it turns out many people are having tangible experiences of our...

Another week in America, another week of sadness and hand-wringing prompted by gun violence.

While the most recent incidents are tinged by race, they also point to a country awash in guns and the too many deaths that result from their use (or abuse). But are these shootings any more likely to...

Veepstakes speculation is rampant as we approach the national conventions for both major political parties.

Media reports have detailed the wide array of options available to Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as they decide who will be their number twos for this campaign, and perhaps for four or eight years to come.

Who will Trump and Clinton pick?...

The Homo sapiens view of our world is all a matter of perspective, and we need to remember that we’re among the larger creatures on Earth. At around 1.7 meters in length, we’re much closer in size to...

On July 6, Hillary Clinton took a half-step toward Bernie Sanders’ free public college tuition plan. She proposed partnering with states to zero out tuition by 2020 for families making US$125,000 or less.

We know that American higher education faces serious long-term problems. However, reducing tuition or college debt to zero isn’t the...

The European Union, still nursing wounds from its crisis over the euro and “Grexit,” is facing a much more severe threat that strikes at the very heart of the EU’s legitimacy. And the problem concerns the very measures put in...

“The Olympic Games in Rio are an unnatural disaster,” The New York Times recently declared.

As someone who has spent two decades studying and writing about the ancient and modern Olympics, I’m not surprised by the pronouncement. It simply fulfills a prophecy many foretold in the months (and years) leading up to the 2016 Olympic...