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Tiny cacao flowers and fickle midges are part of a pollination puzzle that limits chocolate production

  • Written by DeWayne Shoemaker, Professor and Department Head, Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee
imageOnly 10%-20% of cacao flowers are pollinated.carlosgaw/E+ via Getty Images

It’s almost impossible to imagine a world without chocolate. Yet cacao trees, which are the source of chocolate, are vulnerable.

I am a passionate chocolate lover and an entomologist who studies cacao pollination. The crop’s sustainability currently appears to...

Read more: Tiny cacao flowers and fickle midges are part of a pollination puzzle that limits chocolate...

Why are so many 12th graders not proficient in reading and math?

  • Written by Elizabeth Leyva, Director, Entry-Level Mathematics, Texas A&M-San Antonio
imageMore students are taking algebra II in high school – but many aren't actually learning it.Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Math and reading scores for 12th graders in the U.S. were at a historic low even before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a massive shift to remote learning, according to results of the...

Read more: Why are so many 12th graders not proficient in reading and math?

Hundreds of fish species, including many that humans eat, are consuming plastic

  • Written by Alexandra McInturf, PhD Candidate in Animal Behavior, University of California, Davis
imageA biologist examines microplastics found in sea species at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research in Greece, Nov. 26, 2019.Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images

Trillions of barely visible pieces of plastic are floating in the world’s oceans, from surface waters to the deep seas. These particles, known as microplastics, typically form when...

Read more: Hundreds of fish species, including many that humans eat, are consuming plastic

Sensores: así monitorean nuestros cuerpos y todo el mundo

  • Written by Nicole McFarlane, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Tennessee
imageLos sensores de temperatura de infrarrojos permiten medir la temperatura sin tocar a la persona. AP Photo/LM Otero

Hay sensores por todas partes. Están en puertas automáticas, en cajas registradoras, en consultorios médicos y hospitales. Se utilizan por dentro y por fuera del cuerpo.

Los sensores detectan aspectos del mundo...

Read more: Sensores: así monitorean nuestros cuerpos y todo el mundo

What the $25 billion the biggest US donors gave in 2020 says about high-dollar charity today

  • Written by David Campbell, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York
imageJeff Bezos and MacKenzie Scott, seen here before they divorced in 2019, were the top two U.S. charitable donors the following year. Jorg Carstensen/dpa/AFP via Getty Images

Editor’s note: According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the top 50 Americans who gave the most to charity in 2020 committed to giving a total of US$24.7 billion to...

Read more: What the $25 billion the biggest US donors gave in 2020 says about high-dollar charity today

Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of the public political apology

  • Written by Edwin Battistella, Professor of Linguistics, Southern Oregon University
imageIs 'expressing regrets' the equivalent of sticking air quotes around apologies?Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

When Georgia representative and sometime QAnon enthusiast Marjorie Taylor Greene met with fellow House Republicans on Feb. 3, she may have apologized. Or she may not have.

During the closed-door meeting in which...

Read more: Marjorie Taylor Greene and the death of the public political apology

Evidence of an impending breakup may exist in everyday conversation – months before either partner realizes their relationship is tanking

  • Written by Sarah Seraj, Ph.D. Student, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts
imageSigns of a fraying relationship can appear in subtle ways.Betsie Van der Meer via Getty Images

When doubts about a relationship start to creep in, people don’t just blurt them out. They might not want to worry their partner and figure they’ll ride out what could just be a rough patch. They probably think they can hide their feelings...

Read more: Evidence of an impending breakup may exist in everyday conversation – months before either partner...

COVID-19 shows why it's time to finally end unpaid college internships

  • Written by Matthew T. Hora, Assistant Professor of Adult and Higher Education, Director of the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imageStudents often cannot afford to take unpaid internships.sturti/E+ via Getty Images

Unpaid internships are often seen as an important rite of passage for college students. And with good reason. Studies have found that students acquire new skills and networks that enhance their job prospects.

In the years just after graduating from college, students...

Read more: COVID-19 shows why it's time to finally end unpaid college internships

Scientists at work: New recordings of ultrasonic seal calls hint at sonar-like abilities

  • Written by Lisa Munger, Instructor of Natural Sciences, University of Oregon
imageScientist and seal, under the Antarctic ice.McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory, CC BY-NDimageDivers inside the shelter hut prepare to drop into the ocean.McMurdo Oceanographic Observatory, CC BY-ND

I’m sitting on the edge of a hole drilled through 15 feet of Antarctic sea ice, about to descend into the frigid ocean of the southernmost dive site in...

Read more: Scientists at work: New recordings of ultrasonic seal calls hint at sonar-like abilities

The SolarWinds hack was all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a 'wicked' problem and what can be done about it

  • Written by Terry Thompson, Adjunct Instructor in Cybersecurity, Johns Hopkins University
imageMilitary units like the 780th Military Intelligence Brigade shown here are just one component of U.S. national cyber defense.Fort George G. Meade Public Affairs Office/Flickr

Takeaways:

· There are no easy solutions to shoring up U.S. national cyber defenses.

· Software supply chains are vulnerable to hackers.

· Many U.S....

Read more: The SolarWinds hack was all but inevitable – why national cyber defense is a 'wicked' problem and...

More Articles ...

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  2. Mothers who earned straight A's in high school manage the same number of employees as fathers who got failing grades
  3. New steps the government's taking toward COVID-19 relief could help fight hunger
  4. Why a shootout between Black Panthers and law enforcement 50 years ago matters today
  5. Is the US Capitol a 'temple of democracy'? Its authoritarian architecture suggests otherwise
  6. Drake and Jake, Mountain Dew's millions and the Marvel Universe – which ads won the Super Bowl, and which fell flat
  7. Talking politics in 2021: Lessons on humility and truth-seeking from Benjamin Franklin
  8. Will the COVID-19 vaccine work as well in patients with obesity?
  9. No internet, no vaccine: How lack of internet access has limited vaccine availability for racial and ethnic minorities
  10. I analyzed all of Trump's tweets to find out what he was really saying
  11. The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists
  12. Corporate concentration in the US food system makes food more expensive and less accessible for many Americans
  13. The hidden story of when two Black college students were tarred and feathered
  14. In mice, a mother’s love comes from the gut
  15. When dogs bark, are they using words to communicate?
  16. Of microbes and mothers – certain gut bacteria in mice can disrupt the mother-child relationship
  17. Slave-built infrastructure still creates wealth in US, suggesting reparations should cover past harms and current value of slavery
  18. Impeachment trial: Research spanning decades shows language can incite violence
  19. When Black kids – shut out from the whitewashed world of children's literature – took matters into their own hands
  20. The First Amendment will likely protect the anonymity of Redditors who discussed GameStop stock
  21. Latest jobs report shows why the unemployment rate needs fixing
  22. Fecal microbe transplants help cancer patients respond to immunotherapy and shrink tumors
  23. Do you see red like I see red?
  24. Impeaching a former president – 4 essential reads
  25. Graduate students need a PhD that makes sense for their real lives
  26. No joke: Using humor in class is harder when learning is remote
  27. How the National Prayer Breakfast became an opportunity for presidents and faith leaders alike to push their political agendas
  28. Amanda Gorman's poetry shows why spoken word belongs in school
  29. Why disputes between Congress and the White House so often end up in court
  30. Bringing Mars rocks back to Earth – Perseverance Rover lands on Feb. 18, a lead scientist explains the tech and goals
  31. North Korea targeted cybersecurity researchers using a blend of hacking and espionage
  32. How some drugs can turn into a cancer-causing chemical in the body
  33. These are the students free community college programs help the most
  34. What a squeezed rubber ducky suggests about the lingering effects of vaccine misinformation
  35. Citizen scientists are filling research gaps created by the pandemic
  36. The US government's $44 million vaccine rollout website was a predictable mess – here’s how to fix the broken process behind it
  37. Can an employee object to mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on religious grounds?
  38. Living with natural gas pipelines: Appalachian landowners describe fear, anxiety and loss
  39. 5 ways the Biden administration may help stem the loss of international students
  40. One year on, Muslim women reflect on wearing the niqab in a mask-wearing world
  41. To defuse political violence across US, conflict mediators apply lessons from gang disputes and foreign elections
  42. What The Weeknd's changing face says about our sick celebrity culture
  43. Loss of muscle mass among elderly can lead to falls, and staying put during the pandemic doesn't help
  44. How Bezos and Amazon changed the world
  45. How food banks help Americans who have trouble getting enough to eat
  46. What is food insecurity?
  47. The Biden administration can eliminate food insecurity in the United States – here's how
  48. Coronavirus variants, viral mutation and COVID-19 vaccines: The science you need to understand
  49. How Connecticut's schools have managed to maintain lunch distribution for kids who need it most during the COVID-19 pandemic
  50. 3 ways Black people say their white co-workers and managers can support them and be an antidote to systemic racism