Is Ryan Kelly’s iconic photograph an American ‘Guernica’?
Ryan Kelly's iconic photograph from Charlottesville evokes a 'Unite the Right' moment from 1937 – and the anti-war masterpiece by Picasso that emerged from it.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Charlottesville
Charlottesville and the politics of fear
Trump is a master of using anger to motivate his base. An anti-terrorism researcher explains how to stem the tide.
Analysis and Comment
Harvard study strengthens link between breast cancer risk and light exposure at night
Study uses satellite data to add to growing evidence that nighttime light exposure raises risk of breast cancer, with the strongest link among young women.
Are Islamic State recruits more street gang members than zealots?
With terrorists striking again in Spain and in Finland, one cannot help but ask -- again -- why people want to follow the Islamic State. Some new theories are emerging.
How religion motivates people to give and serve
Religious values, deeply rooted in texts, serve as an important motivator for giving. Religious Americans volunteer more, give more, and give more often.
Making driverless cars safe for people on foot
Pedestrians ensure their safety by making eye contact with human drivers. Autonomous cars will have to communicate with nearby people in other ways.
More states are allowing guns on college campuses
More and more states are passing legislation requiring that students and faculty be permitted to carry concealed weapons on campus. But shouldn't universities have a choice when it comes to campus safety?
Curbing climate change: Why it’s so hard to act in time
Why is it so hard to reach consensus about how to slow climate change? Multiple time lags get in the way: some make it hard to convey the risk, while others prolong the search for solutions.
Explaining polygamy and its history in the Mormon Church
Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, taught that a righteous man could help numerous women and children go to heaven by being 'sealed' in plural marriage. Norms have been revised, but tensions remain.
How much longer will Maduro’s grip on power last? Look to the military
The loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers is getting shaky. History shows from the Arab Spring to Latin American coups, when the military withdraws support for a leader, a fall from power is imminent.
Why state-level single-payer health care efforts are doomed
With Obamacare in peril and no health care plan in sight, it's logical to ask whether states could design their own single-payer health insurance plans. Efforts in California show why it's unlikely.
Legal weed: An accidental solution to the opioid crisis?
As Canada moves towards legalization of cannabis in 2018, there is growing evidence of the drug's potential to treat opioid addiction itself, as well as the chronic pain that often drives it.
Why tourists go to sites associated with death and suffering
In recent years, the number of people traveling to sites of death, natural disaster, acts of violence, tragedy and crimes against humanity has dramatically increased. Is it immoral?
How ancient cultures explained eclipses
The sun was worshiped as a deity in many cultures – and witnessing it get extinguished could be a particularly terrifying event.
How union stakes in ailing papers like the Chicago Sun-Times may keep them alive
Giving labor unions a financial stake in a company such as a newspaper can offer unique advantages that could benefit employees, society and the bottom line.
FirstNet for emergency communications: 6 questions answered
A multibillion-dollar effort is just beginning to build an all-new nationwide wireless broadband network for emergency responders. How will it work, why do we need it and how will it last 25 years?
Trump’s rejection of national climate report would do more damage than exiting the Paris Agreement
The Trump administration's decision to dismiss or accept a government-prepared climate report will have life-or-death consequences, says a climate scientist involved in the previous report.
Does biology explain why men outnumber women in tech?
Here's what research actually says about differences between males and females – and the question of what's innate and what's acquired.
How subversive artists made thrift shopping cool
Over the past 100 years, discarded and secondhand goods have been used by artists to reject mainstream aesthetics.
Are you lonesome tonight? Why we, like Elvis, turn to food for comfort
Perhaps no one entertainer from the 20th century influenced pop culture as much as Elvis. And yet, by his own admission, the King turned to food for comfort. Here's why food takes on added meaning.
How a British royal’s monumental errors made India’s partition more painful
The partition of India led to a genocide that was unprecedented in scale. How far was one man, Lord Mountbatten, who hurriedly drew the new borders, responsible?
Disarming North Korea means making concessions
A former Department of Defense and State Department official explains why a hardline approach on North Korea will likely fail, as it did with Iran.
Tracing the sources of today’s Russian cyberthreat
The Russian cyberthreat goes back over three decades, extends into the country's educational systems and criminal worlds, and shows no signs of letting up.
Bait and switch: Anchovies eat plastic because it smells like prey
A new study shows that anchovies – key food for larger fish – are attracted to plastic trash because it smells like food. This suggests that toxic substances in plastic could move up through food chains.
How parents can help their freshman teens cope with stress
School can always be stressful, but starting high school for the first time comes with its own fears and anxieties. Here's some simple advice for parents to help their freshmen navigate the new year.
The road to India’s partition
At midnight on August 15, 1947, India achieved freedom from more than two centuries of colonial rule. Hours earlier, Pakistan was declared a new nation. Was partition inevitable?
Are men seen as ‘more American’ than women?
In the first study of the relationship between gender and national identity, the authors wonder if the answer might explain why the country still hasn't had a female vice president or president.
Why the US shouldn’t start a trade war with China
Some fear that recent actions against China taken by the Trump administration mean we're on the verge of a trade war. What would be the cost?
The hidden stories of medical experimentation on Caribbean slave plantations
Slaves were involved in medical experimentation in the 1700s – both as sources of knowledge and as nonconsenting participants.
The legal threat to diversity on campus
For colleges and universities that lack the multi-billion-dollar endowments of schools like Harvard, the mere threat of legal action may be enough to put an end to race-conscious admissions policies.
Why social smoking can be just as bad for you as daily smoking
About one in 10 Americans say they sometimes smoke, often in social settings. Many think it's not so bad for them. A new study has some scary findings, when it comes to matters of the heart.
Voyager Golden Records 40 years later: Real audience was always here on Earth
Humanity is the real target for these recordings which continue to inspire us to better understand ourselves and our place in the cosmos.
How safe is chicken imported from China? 5 questions answered
China has started exporting cooked chicken meat to the United States. Is it safe to eat? An agriculture extension specialist discusses possible concerns about food safety and contamination.
Red team-blue team? Debating climate science should not be a cage match
End-to-end encryption isn’t enough security for ‘real people’
The slippery slope of the oligarchy media model
Trump and Obama have one surprising thing in common – the words they use
Why the withering nuclear power industry threatens US national security
Tracing the links between basic research and real-world applications
Barcelona Attacks
Jihadist terrorists have long had Spain in their sights – here’s why
A toxic combination of history and social tension makes Spain fertile ground for extremist recruitment.
Barcelona’s Las Ramblas: economic powerhouse and symbolic heart of a city
The boulevard runs through the heart of the city, drives its tourist economy and acts as a symbol of life in Catalonia.
Confederate statues
The Confederate statue debate: 3 essential reads
Should they stay or should they go?
Why the case for the removal of Confederate memorials isn’t so clear-cut
What message does it send when we remove symbols of an unsavory – but important – part of American history?
What to do with Confederate statues?
A scholar of southern politics finds inspiration in an unexpected place.
North Korea
Why didn’t sanctions stop North Korea’s missile program?
The international community has been trying to stop North Korea from developing long-range missiles for decades. So how did North Korea get them?
Facing the threat from North Korea: 5 essential reads
Refresh your knowledge on the origins of North Korea's nuclear threat and the options world leaders have to deal with it.
China is the key to avoiding nuclear ‘fire and fury’ in North Korea
The most viable nonmilitary solution to the standoff with North Korea is to get China to apply pressure. But that's not so easy.
NAFTA negotiations
Trump’s threat to withdraw from NAFTA may hit a hurdle: The US Constitution
As the Trump team begins renegotiating NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, a key plank in its strategy – a threat to withdraw – may be a hollow one.
Trump’s trade policy is unlikely to deliver big wins for US workers
The Trump administration's new deal with China, which won't benefit many workers, shows the pitfalls of pursuing bilateral agreements at the expense of multilateral ones like NAFTA.
Solar eclipse
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Does biology explain why men outnumber women in tech?
Here's what research actually says about differences between males and females – and the question of what's innate and what's acquired.
What the Google gender ‘manifesto’ really says about Silicon Valley
Five years after a major sexism scandal, Silicon Valley's misogynist culture remains strong and pervasive – and history reveals the stakes could be as high as the entire US tech sector.
How Big Pharma is hindering treatment of the opioid addiction epidemic
The number of people dying from opioid overdose continues to rise, in part because of cheap street drugs. Yet the price of a drug used to treat addiction is out of reach for many.
Reengineering elevators could transform 21st-century cities
New technology could make it practical to build skyscrapers far taller than even today's highest – and change how people live, work and play in tall buildings.
Don’t hate your gut: It may help you lose weight, fight depression and lower blood pressure
Trillions of microorganisms living inside your digestive system may influence your health and even your weight. Here's how your gut may communicate with your brain, bone marrow and immune system.
Editing human embryos with CRISPR is moving ahead – now’s the time to work out the ethics
The news may have come as a surprise, but it probably shouldn't have. A bioethics expert walks through how big a deal this announcement is – and what we should be considering now.
The backstory behind the unions that bought a Chicago Sun-Times stake
The newspaper's new owners harken back to a tradition of labor-led media in the early part of the 20th century, which represented a bulwark against corporate power.
Why Medicaid matters to you
Medicaid, a state-federal entitlement program that people associate only with the poor, pays for care for more than six in 10 nursing home residents. That could be you, or someone you love.
Why you may not need all those days of antibiotics
We've been told for a long time that we must take all of our antibiotics. But maybe we didn’t need so many to begin with. Here's why.
Concussions and CTE: More complicated than even the experts know
A recent study that showed that 110 of 111 brains of deceased NFL players had a serious brain disease raised concerns once again about concussions. But there's a lot we still need to know.
The true failure of foreign language instruction
Whether it's due to native language loss or unsupported high school curricula, the lack of bilingualism in the US is notable. Why can't more Americans speak another language? How should that change?
Misleading statements on Russia meeting recall Clinton’s impeachment
If Trump is lying to his own lawyers about Russia, he is risking Bill Clinton's fate.
Hinduism and its complicated history with cows (and people who eat them)
Vigilante Hindu groups in India have lynched several people for eating beef. A scholar traces the history of beef-eating in ancient India.
Why police reforms rarely succeed: Lessons from Latin America
Research shows how politics can easily halt reforms that require time to take effect.
How do the chemicals in sunscreen protect our skin from damage?
Energy from the sun's rays can cause skin damage and cancers. Sunscreens can absorb or reflect the dangerous UV light. Here's how it works.
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