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Social stress can speed up immune system aging – new research

  • Written by: Eric Klopack, Postdoctoral Researcher in Gerontology, University of Southern California
imageImmunosenescence, or immune aging, can lead to less effective responses to vaccines and greater vulnerability to invading pathogens.Kudryavtsev Pavel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As people age, their immune systems naturally begin to decline. This aging of the immune system, called immunosenescence, may be an important part of such age-related healt...

Read more: Social stress can speed up immune system aging – new research

Trouble paying bills can take a heavy toll on fathers' mental health, leading to family conflict

  • Written by: Joyce Y. Lee, Assistant Professor of Social Work, The Ohio State University
imageMost research on poverty has focused on the effects on mothers, but a new study shows the importance of turning increased attention to fathers' mental health.kieferpix/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

For families on low incomes, difficulty paying utility bills, rent,...

Read more: Trouble paying bills can take a heavy toll on fathers' mental health, leading to family conflict

How we describe the metaverse makes a difference – today's words could shape tomorrow's reality and who benefits from it

  • Written by: Tom Boellstorff, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Irvine
imageThe metaverse might be a work in progress, but a key prototype – the virtual world – has been around for several decades.Screen capture from Second Life by Tom Boellstorff, CC BY-ND

Quick, define the word “metaverse.”

Coined in 1992 by science fiction author Neal Stephenson, the relatively obscure term exploded in popularity...

Read more: How we describe the metaverse makes a difference – today's words could shape tomorrow's reality...

The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to do science – and it’s seeing the universe more clearly than even its own engineers hoped for

  • Written by: Marcia Rieke, Regents Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
imageThe mirror on the James Webb Space Telescope is fully aligned and producing incredibly sharp images, like this test image of a star.NASA/STScI via Flickr

NASA is scheduled to release the first images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, 2022. They’ll mark the beginning of the next era in astronomy as Webb – the largest...

Read more: The James Webb Space Telescope is finally ready to do science – and it’s seeing the universe more...

Privacy isn't in the Constitution – but it's everywhere in constitutional law

  • Written by: Scott Skinner-Thompson, Associate Professor of Law, University of Colorado Boulder
imageWho's allowed to watch what you do and say?Shannon Fagan/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Almost all American adults – including parents, medical patients and people who are sexually active – regularly exercise their right to privacy, even if they don’t know it.

Privacy is not specifically mentioned in the U.S. Constitution. But for...

Read more: Privacy isn't in the Constitution – but it's everywhere in constitutional law

Legal fights persist over policies that require teachers to refer to trans students by their chosen pronouns

  • Written by: Genny Beemyn, Director, Stonewall Center, UMass Amherst
imageTrans student rights often hang in the balance.Maskot/Getty Images

In Tennessee, a proposed law would let public school teachers refuse to call transgender students by the pronouns they use for themselves.

At Shawnee State University – a public university in Ohio – a professor got paid US$400,000 to settle a lawsuit that he filed against...

Read more: Legal fights persist over policies that require teachers to refer to trans students by their...

5 things to know about the Fed's biggest interest rate increase since 1994 and how it will affect you

  • Written by: D. Brian Blank, Assistant Professor of Finance, Mississippi State University
imageWall Street is following Fed rate hike news with rapt attention.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

The Federal Reserve on June 15, 2022, lifted interest rates by 0.75 percentage point, the third hike this year and the largest since 1994. The move is aimed at countering the fastest pace of inflation in over 40 years.

Wall Street had been expecting a half-point...

Read more: 5 things to know about the Fed's biggest interest rate increase since 1994 and how it will affect...

Woodward and Bernstein didn't bring down a president in Watergate – but the myth that they did lives on

  • Written by: W. Joseph Campbell, Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication
imageU.S. President Richard Nixon at a White House lectern reading a farewell speech to his staff following his resignation on Aug. 9, 1974. George Tames/New York Times Co./Getty Images

In their dogged reporting of the Watergate scandal, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncovered the crimes that forced Richard Nixon to resign...

Read more: Woodward and Bernstein didn't bring down a president in Watergate – but the myth that they did...

Tumblr's enduring appeal reveals the potency of the web's cultural memory

  • Written by: Jeanna Sybert, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of Pennsylvania
imageSince its inception in 2007, Tumblr has served as a countercultural hub.Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

When tech billionaire Elon Musk made a deal to acquire Twitter in April 2022, many Twitter users threatened to shut down their accounts and migrate elsewhere online.

Tumblr – a microblogging platform launched in 2007...

Read more: Tumblr's enduring appeal reveals the potency of the web's cultural memory

EU law would require Big Tech to do more to combat child sexual abuse, but a key question remains: How?

  • Written by: Laura Draper, Senior Project Director at the Tech, Law & Security Program, American University
imageEuropean Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson announced a set of proposed regulations requiring tech companies to report child sexual abuse material.AP Photo/Francisco Seco

The European Commission recently proposed regulations to protect children by requiring tech companies to scan the content in their systems for child sexual abuse...

Read more: EU law would require Big Tech to do more to combat child sexual abuse, but a key question remains:...

More Articles …

  1. Fertilizer prices are soaring – and that's an opportunity to promote more sustainable ways of growing crops
  2. Satellites zoom in on cities' hottest neighborhoods to help combat the urban heat island effect
  3. Where the witches were men: A historian explains what magic looked like in early modern Russia
  4. When all else fails to explain American violence, blame a rapper and hip-hop music
  5. Russians with diverse media diet more likely to oppose Ukraine war
  6. Elder abuse comes in many forms – appropriate Adult Protective Services referrals can help reduce mistreatment
  7. Patriarchy and purity culture combine to silence women in the Southern Baptist Convention – and are blocking efforts to address the sexual abuse scandal
  8. From 'dada' to Darth Vader – why the way we name fathers reminds us we spring from the same well
  9. 'Show' trial of foreign fighters in Donetsk breaks with international law – and could itself be a war crime
  10. There is no one 'religious view' on abortion: A scholar of religion, gender and sexuality explains
  11. Could steam-powered cars decrease the CO2 in the atmosphere?
  12. Alcohol is becoming more common in sexual assault among college students
  13. Grassroots mojo and 4 other reasons Starbucks workers have been so successful unionizing
  14. Immigrants are only 3.5% of people worldwide – and their negative impact is often exaggerated, in the U.S. and around the world
  15. Why Muslim countries are quick at condemning defamation – but often ignore rights violations against Muslim minorities
  16. Inflation hits fresh 40-year high, pushing Fed to get more aggressive with interest rates – and the 'Beveridge curve' should give it courage to do so
  17. Why opting out of opioids can be dangerous in the operating room
  18. What 'grassroots humanitarians' eager to travel to Ukraine or its borders should know before dashing off
  19. Give this AI a few words of description and it produces a stunning image – but is it art?
  20. Decades after special education law and key ruling, updates still languish
  21. What is chronic wasting disease? A wildlife scientist explains the fatal prion infection killing deer and elk across North America
  22. Biden just declared heat pumps and solar panels essential to national defense – here's why and the challenges ahead
  23. Sepsis still kills 1 in 5 people worldwide – two ICU physicians offer a new approach to stopping it
  24. Jan. 6 hearing gives primetime exposure to violent footage and dramatic evidence – the question is, to what end?
  25. Blaming 'evil' for mass violence isn’t as simple as it seems – a philosopher unpacks the paradox in using the word
  26. Newly discovered fast radio burst challenges what astronomers know about these powerful astronomical phenomena
  27. Regardless of seditious conspiracy charges' outcome, right-wing groups like Proud Boys seek to build a white nation
  28. What is 'committed warming'? A climate scientist explains why global warming can continue after emissions end
  29. Imposing penalties can deter rule breakers – but the timing needs to be right
  30. Migration to the US is on the rise again – but it's unlikely to be fully addressed during the Summit of the Americas, or anytime soon
  31. Nations are pledging to create ocean preserves – how do those promises add up?
  32. ADHD: Medication alone doesn't improve classroom learning for children – new research
  33. 'Jurassic World' scientists still haven't learned that just because you can doesn't mean you should – real-world genetic engineers can learn from the cautionary tale
  34. People overestimate groups they find threatening – when 'sizing up' others, bias sneaks in
  35. Did the assault weapons ban of 1994 bring down mass shootings? Here's what the data tells us
  36. Conservative Supreme Court justices disagree about how to read the law
  37. How your race, class and gender influence your dreams for the future
  38. No, Latinos don't actually have less heart disease – a new large study refutes the longstanding 'Latino paradox'
  39. US tragedies from guns have often – but not always – spurred political responses
  40. Why can't you remember being born, learning to walk or saying your first words? What scientists know about 'infantile amnesia'
  41. Primaries are getting more crowded with candidates, and that's good news for extremists and bad news for voters
  42. What triggers the 'trigger laws' that could ban abortions?
  43. How a public hearing is different from an investigation – and what that means for the Jan. 6 committee
  44. As one of Vladimir Putin's closest advisers on Ukraine, Nicolai Patrushev spreads disinformation and outlandish conspiracy theories
  45. Biden throws US solar industry a lifeline with tariff relief, but can incentives bring manufacturing back?
  46. Biden throws US solar installers a lifeline with tariff relief, but can incentives bring manufacturing back?
  47. Global arms industry getting shakeup by war in Ukraine – and China and US look like winners from Russia’s stumbles
  48. School mental health resources critical to ensuring safe school environments
  49. Changes are coming to school meals nationwide – an expert in food policy explains
  50. What is ectopic pregnancy? A reproductive health expert explains