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Why the big fuss over Nancy Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan?

  • Written by Meredith Oyen, Associate Professor of History and Asian Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
imageWill she visit Taiwan or not? Either way, China has made its views known.Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hasn’t confirmed when – or even if – she is to visit Taiwan. Yet such is the sensitivity over the island’s status that reports of her possible trip have resulted in a warni...

Read more: Why the big fuss over Nancy Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan?

Why declaring monkeypox a global health emergency is a preventative step -- not a reason for panic

  • Written by Kathryn H. Jacobsen, William E. Cooper Distinguished University Chair, Professor of Health Studies, University of Richmond
imageThe monkeypox virus, shown in this illustration, can be transmitted through close contact between people.Thom Leach/Science Photos Library via Getty Images

Countries that are members of the United Nations are obligated to report cases of unusual diseases that have the potential to become global health threats. In May 2022, more than a dozen...

Read more: Why declaring monkeypox a global health emergency is a preventative step -- not a reason for panic

The opioid crisis isn’t just the Sacklers’ fault – and making Purdue Pharma pay isn’t enough on its own to fix the pharmaceutical industry’s deeper problems

  • Written by David Herzberg, Associate Professor of History, University at Buffalo
imageMany companies have sold dangerous prescription drugs.Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

You may have heard of the Sackler family and the role that they and their privately held company, Purdue Pharma, played in the opioid crisis. One TV series depicting the family as a villainous clan has earned 14 Emmy nominations. Another is in the...

Read more: The opioid crisis isn’t just the Sacklers’ fault – and making Purdue Pharma pay isn’t enough on...

How the omicron subvariant BA.5 became a master of disguise – and what it means for the current COVID-19 surge

  • Written by Suresh V. Kuchipudi, Professor and Chair of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Penn State
imageThe new BA.5 subvariant has caused a sharp rise in cases and hospitalizations throughout much of the United States.Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The omicron subvariant known as BA.5 was first detected in South Africa in February 2022 and spread rapidly throughout the world. As of the second week of July 2022, BA.5 constituted nearly...

Read more: How the omicron subvariant BA.5 became a master of disguise – and what it means for the current...

Proclaim debt amnesty throughout all the land? A biblical solution to a present-day problem

  • Written by Eva von Dassow, Associate professor of Ancient History, University of Minnesota
imagePart of a restoration edict of Ammisaduqa, one of the rulers of ancient Babylon.© The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA

Student loan debt is one of the most burdensome forms of debt in America today. According to oft-cited statistics, approximately 43 million Americans have student loan debt, cumulatively amounting to around US$1.7...

Read more: Proclaim debt amnesty throughout all the land? A biblical solution to a present-day problem

There is a lot of antisemitic hate speech on social media – and algorithms are partly to blame

  • Written by Sabine von Mering, Director, Center for German and European Studies, Brandeis University
imageSocial media is being used all over the world to express hatred of Jews.Urupong/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

Antisemitic incidents have shown a sharp rise in the United States. The Anti-Defamation League, a New York-based Jewish civil rights group that has been tracking cases since 1979, found that there were 2,717 incidents in 2021. This represents...

Read more: There is a lot of antisemitic hate speech on social media – and algorithms are partly to blame

Russians reportedly building a satellite-blinding laser – an expert explains the technology

  • Written by Iain Boyd, Professor of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
imageA powerful enough laser beam could blind spy satellites.MuthuKutty/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

Russia is building a new ground-based laser facility for interfering with satellites orbiting overhead, according to a recent report in The Space Review. The basic idea would be to dazzle the optical sensors of other nations’ spy satellites by flooding them...

Read more: Russians reportedly building a satellite-blinding laser – an expert explains the technology

A brief history of Esperanto, the 135-year-old language of peace hated by Hitler and Stalin alike

  • Written by Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Westminster College
imageAn Esperanto teacher instructs a class in a room with a painting of the language's creator on the wall.Janek Skarzynski/AFP via Getty Images

In the late 1800s, the city of Białystok – which was once Polish, then Prussian, then Russian, and is today again part of Poland – was a hub of diversity, with large numbers of Poles, Germans,...

Read more: A brief history of Esperanto, the 135-year-old language of peace hated by Hitler and Stalin alike

Cross-pollination among neuroscience, psychology and AI research yields a foundational understanding of thinking

  • Written by Paul S. Rosenbloom, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, University of Southern California
imageIf you want to build a true artificial mind, start with a model of human cognition.DrAfter123/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

Progress in artificial intelligence has enabled the creation of AIs that perform tasks previously thought only possible for humans, such as translating languages, driving cars, playing board games at world-champion...

Read more: Cross-pollination among neuroscience, psychology and AI research yields a foundational...

More Articles ...

  1. Dispirited homebuyers show why Fed's unprecedented fight against inflation is beginning to succeed
  2. Astronomers have found an especially sneaky black hole – discovery sheds light on star death, black hole formation and gravitational waves
  3. Why do hammerhead sharks have hammer-shaped heads?
  4. Overturning Roe is not making laws reflect what people want -- new survey highlights flaws in Supreme Court's reasoning in returning abortion authority to states
  5. Alcohol use more likely among Black youths at racially segregated schools
  6. Polio in New York – an infectious disease doctor explains this exceedingly rare occurrence
  7. Sri Lanka's crisis: Can the South Asian economy break from the past and find a route to stability?
  8. Surveillance is pervasive: Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you
  9. Italy heading to snap election as unity coalition crumbles: Explaining the nation's fragmented party system
  10. How a 1989 poster became a fixture on the front lines in the battle over abortion rights
  11. How to navigate self-managed abortion issues such as access, wait times and complications – a family physician explains
  12. Utah's Pioneer Day celebrates Mormons' trek west – but there's a lot more to the history of Latter-day Saints and migration
  13. Food expiration dates don't have much science behind them – a food safety researcher explains another way to know what's too old to eat
  14. Jan. 6 committee set to examine Trump's connection to Capitol rioters – a militia expert explains this complex relationship
  15. Supreme Court reversed almost 200 years of US law and tradition upholding tribal sovereignty in its latest term
  16. Silent, subtle and unseen: How seizures happen and why they're hard to diagnose
  17. It’s a myth that sunscreen prevents melanoma in people of color – a dermatologist explains
  18. Losing a grandmother can have long-lasting mental health effects for kids and adolescents, a new study finds
  19. Human garbage is a plentiful but dangerous source of food for polar bears finding it harder to hunt seals on dwindling sea ice
  20. Warsaw Ghetto's defiant Jewish doctors secretly documented the medical effects of Nazi starvation policies in a book recently rediscovered on a library shelf
  21. Why are drug names so long and complicated? A pharmacist explains the logic behind the nomenclature
  22. The westward spread of zebra and quagga mussels shows how tiny invaders can cause big problems
  23. Heat risk and young athletes — rising temperatures lead to lawsuits and environmental injustice
  24. Behind the crisis in Sri Lanka – how political and economic mismanagement combined to plunge nation into turmoil
  25. When did the first fish live on Earth – and how do scientists figure out the timing?
  26. Political crowdfunding does more than raise money – it can also rile up opponents
  27. Children are bombarded with violence in the news – here's how to help them cope
  28. Lost touch with someone? Reach out – your friend will likely appreciate it more than you think
  29. Abortion funds may not be able to keep up with rising demands, as more people travel out of state for the procedure
  30. To reduce harmful algal blooms and dead zones, the US needs a national strategy for regulating farm pollution
  31. Shinto religion has long been entangled with Japan's politics – and Shinzo Abe was associated with many of its groups
  32. The Supreme Court's ideological rulings are roiling US politics – just as when Lincoln and his Republicans remade the court to fit their agenda
  33. Is monkeypox a pandemic? An epidemiologist explains why it isn’t likely to become as widespread as COVID-19, but is worth watching
  34. How sustainable manufacturing could help reduce the environmental impact of industry
  35. More young voters could come out to vote in November, sparked by abortion and other hot political issues
  36. Young people in the Middle East struggle to see a promising future
  37. Monsters are everywhere in the Bible – and some are even human
  38. Y chromosome loss through aging can lead to an increased risk of heart failure and death from cardiovascular disease, new research finds
  39. Swelling grocery bills are pummeling the poorest – who spend over a quarter of their incomes on food
  40. Decrying Nazism – even when it's not there – has been Russia's 'Invade country for free' card
  41. Enriching uranium is the key factor in how quickly Iran could produce a nuclear weapon – here's where it stands today
  42. With Trump's role on Jan. 6 becoming clearer, and potentially criminal, GOP voters are starting to look at different options
  43. France reenters medical marijuana industry after more than a half-century hiatus – a cannabis historian explains
  44. Manuscripts and art support archaeological evidence that syphilis was in Europe long before explorers could have brought it home from the Americas
  45. Cannabis prohibition in France over the past 50 years has disproportionately punished its Muslim minority
  46. A case for retreat in the age of fire
  47. James Webb Space Telescope: An astronomer explains the stunning, newly released first images
  48. Former Oath Keeper reveals racist, antisemitic beliefs of white nationalist group – and their plans to start a civil war
  49. US abortion restrictions are unlikely to influence international trends, which are largely becoming more liberal
  50. Gifted-student screenings often miss poor students who should qualify