Both natural and artificial Christmas trees have environmental impacts, but they're not major. What matters most is what happens to the trees after the holidays.
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Analysis and Comment
We can't agree what the 'will of the people' was in 2016, but these are the representatives they elected in 2017.
Multiple studies have found the overall impact on labor markets to be minor, even if some workers will need new career paths.
A survey done of transgender people right after they read a story on the government's move to deny transgender identity shows the emotional impact that denying that identity can have.
The significant churn in the Trump administration has caused confusion in foreign policymaking. In contrast, Bush's presidency was marked by collegiality, which contributed to many successes.
Experts describe their research into how smartphones collect and share private personal information with tracking companies and advertisers.
Behind today's mythical Santa Claus from the North Pole, is a real saint – St. Nicholas. How he came to be today's gift-giving jolly figure from the North Pole is a fascinating story by itself.
Forecasts of designer babies followed the announcement of the gene-edited twins, just as they have for any reproductive technology since 1978. This signals the public must learn more about genetics.
The oil-exporting organization may have mustered the political will to cut production, but its disunity remains intact.
A populist movement that threatened to topple a French government more than 60 years ago has important lessons for today’s protests and why they represent a reckoning.
The Constitution's guarantee of due process means this effort should not be taken lightly, legal scholars argue.
In Myanmar, spousal abuse is legal and stigma stop most women from reporting sexual violence. A bill championed by feminists but long stalled in Parliament may soon give women their basic rights.
On Dec. 10, 1903, the US military leased 45 square miles of Cuban territory to build a naval base. How did Guantanamo Bay become an infamous prison for alleged terrorists?
In their zeal to evangelize the world, at the end of 19th century, young families were sent overseas with little to no training in anything beyond the Bible and no promise of funding.
A grassroots movement to end racial disparities in schoolhouse discipline is beginning to take root throughout the nation and winning important victories at the local level. Can it sustain the effort?
For centuries, readers have written in the margins of their books to indicate admiration, disagreement or inspiration. Plath was no different.
Fertility apps aim to help women understand their bodies. But while some find tracking their data a positive experience, others may feel burdened or trapped.
Without much delay, Facebook and Twitter could make significant changes to limit political manipulation and propaganda. Will they? And will users ask it of the social media giants?
A 90-minute presentation in 1968 showed off the earliest desktop computer system. In the process it introduced the idea that technology could make individuals better – if government funded research.
Financial markets are increasingly worried the US economy is heading for a crash. An economist explains what's got investors spooked.
The Supreme Court long ago rejected the idea of a federal right to education. Can a series of new lawsuits convince the court to change its mind?
Men who can't take drugs for erectile dysfunction and overweight people who can't lose weight sometimes turn to natural supplements, thinking they are safe. Many times, they are not.
Sexual subcultures create space for critical social conversations and the formation of meaningful political alliances.
For decades, international law did not allow one country to attack another that was using chemical weapons on its own people without UN approval. That’s changed, which means trouble for Syria.
Strikes and rallies have gripped Colombia for months. That's bad news for its new government but a sign of progress in a country that had little tolerance for dissent during its 52-year civil war.
President Trump has been criticized for the appointment of political allies as attorney general. But history is filled with examples of AGs who were friends and political supporters of the president.
Alongside their famous dangers, radioactive materials have many beneficial uses. With as many more predicted as have already been discovered, nuclear physicists are searching for more isotopes.
By looking closely at traits like wing feathers and spot patterns, a computer scientist trained an algorithm to recognize individual woodpeckers.
American military personnel must pass a fitness for duty exam before they serve. Nuclear weapons handlers undergo a rigorous screening process. Shouldn't the president also undergo such exams?
Vaccination rates for children in some parts of California are down, despite a law that narrowed exemptions. Here's a look at why people refuse to listen to evidence when it comes to the flu vaccine.
Hundreds of US cities have pledged to meet the carbon reduction targets in the Paris climate accord. Now it's time for them to start showing results.
Meister Eckhart was a 14th-century Dominican friar, who gave sermons on the direct experience of God. His words are finding resonance among today’s spiritual seekers.
A climate scientist has been visiting the same glacier in Peru for years and explains the complex effects its rapid melting is having.
Private companies – many based in the US – are blocking access to their websites from particular countries around the world. It's contributing to a splintering of the global internet.
It planted the seeds of the tea party and the Trump administration.
If Mr Beyonce wins his argument that an arbitration clause should be struck down for lack of diversity, the barn door will be blown off the whole profession.
Following a fatal beating of a student, Chicago started a Safe Passage program in 2009 to ensure students get to and from school safely. Nine years on, how is it working?
By some measures, Americans are giving less to charity through their jobs than they used to. But many companies say that increasing this kind of charity is a priority for them.
Thirty percent of global emissions will be generated from democracies governed by populist nationalist leaders who have very different playbooks than more traditional politicians.
Despite the primacy of Christmas in American culture, the visibility of Hanukkah in pop culture reminds Jews that they have their own holiday in which they can take pride.
Cancer immunotherapy is a revolutionary treatment for many but it can cause nasty side effects like inflammation of the colon that can derail treatment. Could the solution be a fecal transplant?
Republicans have sought to limit Medicaid, and a key component of those efforts is requiring that those who receive Medicaid benefits work. But many already do, and others can't, a scholar explains.
Research and News
New research confirms that people tend to rush to judgment, in spite of believing their own decisions and those of others are carefully based on lots of evidence and data. And that can be good or bad.
The Interior Department is expanding oil and gas leasing on land in six western states that is vital habitat for the greater sage grouse. Lawsuits are certain to follow.
For the second year in a row global greenhouse emissions from fossil fuels have risen, putting 2018 on course to set a new record, according to an annual audit from the Global Carbon Project.
Some AI technologies aren't advanced enough to provide useful insights, but simpler tools can yield new opportunities to explore the humanities.
Americans are spending almost three and a half hours on their phones and tablets every day, twice the amount just five years ago. A behavioral scientist offers a few tips on how to take control.
World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. With many advances in preventing and treating the disease, the disease has fallen from top of mind for many. An epidemiologist explains why that could be dangerous.
CRISPR babies
Questions abound about whether the scientist who created the first gene edited human beings took shortcuts in the ethical oversight process. But pedantically focusing on protocol misses the point.
In an era of big scientific collaborations, China's renegade actions have hurt its reputation. As international researchers back away, it may be the country's military that ultimately suffers.
George H. W. Bush
George H.W. Bush, who pledged to be 'the environmental president,' took a market-based approach to pollution control that helped clear the air. Now some experts think it could work on climate change.
Climate change
As the expected costs of climate change grow, cities are on the frontlines of adapting to sea level rise and more intense storms – and finding ways to pay for it.
Leer en Español
México hizo de la conectividad a Internet un derecho constitucional en 2013, pero la mayoría de las personas pobres aún no tienen acceso. De obtenerlo, gozarían de una mayor movilidad económica.
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Analysis from academics around the world
Editors’ Picks
Children in countries like South Korea and Russia are more obedient, while American kids tend to be more self-indulgent.
The Slave Societies Digital Archive documents the lives of approximately 6 million free and enslaved Africans in the Americas.
How does being thankful about things in your own life relate to any selfless concern you may have about the well-being of others? A neuroscientist explores the gratitude/altruism connection.
A recent survey found that Americans trust local media outlets far more than national ones.
The 'thin green line' of resistance against any new infrastructure for shipping oil, gas and coal abroad has won many battles. But it faces a new source of pressure: the Trump administration.
Around this time of the year, The Salvation Army's red kettles become visible as part of holiday giving. How this British evangelical organization came to the US is interesting history.
The 'like' button does far more than just express how much a person likes a particular picture or post. It could be used to make social comparisons.
NASA's InSight Mars lander touches down Nov. 26, part of a careful robotic approach to exploring the red planet. But human exploration of Mars will inevitably introduce Earth life. Are you OK with that?
A new virtual campus tour project in North Carolina could change the way students in rural or otherwise remote areas are able to 'see' prospective colleges without ever leaving their high schools.
In a time when women were expected to be silent, no topic was off limits for Pulter, who penned verses about politics, science and loss. Her manuscript was just published in a free digital archive.
Research shows that access to urban green space makes people and neighborhoods healthier. But parks can't work their magic if their design ignores the needs of nearby communities.
A behavioral scientist explains why people become vegans, why some meat-eaters find them so irksome and how scientists may be nudging us all toward a more plant-centric existence.
Sharing seeds was common practice among farmers throughout history until the rise of agribusiness. Now seeds are trademarked and regulated, but there's a new place to get them for free: the library.
Presidents past have used a nearly limitless power of pardon to halt criminal prosecutions before. What's to stop Trump?
Phones' functions go far beyond making calls these days. Here's the basics on why you can use some features and not others – and why planes may someday soon be filled with passengers yakking on phones.
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