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A crowd of people stand in a street that looks packed with traffic. Smoke billows behind them down the street above buildings.

Could Biden stop Netanyahu’s plans? A national security expert looks at Israel’s attack on Rafah

Gregory F. Treverton, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Grid of CT images of chest

Lung cancer is the deadliest of all cancers, and screening could save many lives − if more people could access it

Nina Thomas, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

As climate change amplifies urban flooding, here’s how communities can become ‘sponge cities’

Franco Montalto, Drexel University

An alley covered with water flowing to a drain
War games risk stirring up troubled waters as Philippines − emboldened by US − squares up to Beijing at sea

Fred H. Lawson, Northeastern University

Men in fatigues stand and sit on a beach staring at a structure at sea which has smoke billowing from it.
Supreme Court upended decades of precedent by allowing legal voting in illegally gerrymandered districts

Sam D. Hayes, Trinity College

A large, columned building in front of a dark blue sky.
Palestinian writers have long explored the horrors of amputation

Graham Liddell, Hope College

Young boy without a leg uses crutches as he leans against a wall. A faceless adult stands in the foreground.

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etching of people in ancient Roman garb harvesting grain and using oxen and horses

Future pandemics will have the same human causes as ancient outbreaks − lessons from anthropology can help prevent them

Ron Barrett, Macalester College

A line drawing of a person whose head is surrounded by loops of confusion, with a question mark atop it all.

How to tell if a conspiracy theory is probably false

H. Colleen Sinclair, Louisiana State University

Homeschooled kids face unique college challenges − here are 3 ways they can be overcome

Kenneth V. Anthony, Mississippi State University and Mark E. Wildmon, Mississippi State University

A woman assists two young children with schoolwork at a table inside their home.
Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now

Katrina Burgess, Tufts University

A man with a police hat lifts up the hood of an old car to reveal a man lying there in a black and white photo.
The number of religious ‘nones’ has soared, but not the number of atheists – and as social scientists, we wanted to know why

Christopher P. Scheitle, West Virginia University and Katie Corcoran, West Virginia University

An open dictionary page with the word 'atheist' circled in red ink.
Venus is losing water faster than previously thought – here’s what that could mean for the early planet’s habitability

Eryn Cangi, University of Colorado Boulder

A hazy planet with small orbs flying off it.
Sepia photograph of toddler held in lap of adult with half of head cut off

‘Hidden mother’ photos don’t erase moms − rather, they reveal the labor and love that support the child

Andrea Kaston Tange, Macalester College

Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds − even with programs designed to benefit poor communities

Eric Stokan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Aaron Deslatte, Indiana University, and Michael Overton, University of Idaho

Baltimore rowhouses are juxtaposed with skyscrapers.
Artists created images of Christ that focused not on historical accuracy but on reflecting different communities − a scholar of religious history explains

Virginia Raguin, College of the Holy Cross

A painting of a man with hands stretched out, halo around his head, wearing a red and purple color gown.
Unlicensed teachers now dominate new teacher hires in rural Texas schools

James P. Van Overschelde, Texas State University and Minda Lopez, Texas State University

Students raise their hands in class.
3 reasons the UAW is having success in organizing Southern workers – with two Mercedes plants in Alabama the next face-off

Stephen J. Silvia, American University School of International Service

Man smiles while wearing a red t-shirt that ays 'Future UAW' with blurry signs in the background that say 'Union yes' with checkmarks.
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Campus protests

A group of people stand next to microphones.

Media coverage of campus protests tends to focus on the spectacle, rather than the substance

Danielle K. Brown, Michigan State University

Columbia University protests look increasingly like those in 1968 as police storm campuses nationwide

Stefan M. Bradley, Amherst College

Two police officers stand in front of the doors of a college building that students have taken over.
Why universities turn to the police to end student protests − and why that can spiral out of control

John J. Sloan III, University of Alabama at Birmingham

A large crowd of police officers walk down a street with an old building behind them.
College administrators are falling into a tried and true trap laid by the right

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd, University of New Orleans

Two police officers arrest a student.
Cops on campus: Why police crackdowns on student protesters are so dangerous

Roberta Lexier, Mount Royal University

A black and white photo shows armed soldiers marching on a student protest.
Read more on the protests

War in Gaza

Woman in sunglasses waves a Palestinian red, green, white and black flag surrounded by people wearing keffiyah.

What students protesting Israel’s Gaza siege want — and how their demands on divestment fit into the BDS movement

Mira Sucharov, Carleton University

A look inside the cyberwar between Israel and Hamas reveals the civilian toll

Ryan Shandler, Georgia Institute of Technology; Daphna Canetti, University of Haifa, and Tal Mimran, Zefat Academic College

Palestinian and Israeli flags overlaid by letters and numbers.
International prosecution of Israeli or Hamas leaders wouldn’t bring quick justice − and even bringing them to court will be difficult

Victor Peskin, Arizona State University

A blue sign says 'International Criminal Court' and people stand in the grass behind, holding some Palestinian flags on a grey day.
Are embassies off-limits? Ecuadorian and Israeli actions suggest otherwise − and that sets a dangerous diplomatic precedent

Jorge Heine, Boston University

people in helmets and riot gear carrying guns stand outside a white building.
Israel hits back at Iran: How domestic politics is determining Israeli actions

James Horncastle, Simon Fraser University

A woman in a black hijab shouts while holding a green, white and red flag.
Read more stories about the Israel-Hamas war

Caregiving

Cheerful older woman holds a mug while looking out the window, enjoying the view in the summertime.

US long-term care costs are sky-high, but Washington state’s new way to help pay for them could be nixed

Marc Cohen, UMass Boston

For-profit nursing homes are cutting corners on safety and draining resources with financial shenanigans

Sean Campbell, The Conversation and Charlene Harrington, University of California, San Francisco

An elderly person's hands are folded in the person's lap.
Family caregivers can help shape the outcomes for their loved ones – an ICU nurse explains their vital role

Courtney Graetzer, Vanderbilt University

A smiling elderly woman in a wheelchair is hugged by her daughter.
New studies suggest millions with mild cognitive impairment go undiagnosed, often until it’s too late

Soeren Mattke, University of Southern California and Ying Liu, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A senior woman in a wheelchair sits outside in a garden.
Paying caregivers more could boost Nebraska’s economy − new research

Susan Rebecca Reay, University of Nebraska Omaha and Ernie Goss, Creighton University

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Read more about health

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Pictures in 500 Words

Microscopy image of rod-shaped bacteria, elongated and spherical yeast, and globular starch grains.

Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations

Daniel Veghte, The Ohio State University

GIF of black square that gradually reveals flickering green and red swatches surrounded then swallowed by dark blue in a roughly oblong shape

Human brains and fruit fly brains are built similarly – visualizing how helps researchers better understand how both work

Kristin Scaplen, Bryant University

Read more from our Picture in 500 Words series

Election 2024

Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning

Barry C. Burden, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A gray-haired man in a dark suit standing in front of a banner that says 'Kennedy for president'
Opening statements are the most important part of a trial – as lawyers in Trump’s hush money case know well

Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., Harvard University

A man with golden hair is walking into a courtroom surrounded by police officers and men and women dressed in business attire.
How Trump is using courtroom machinations to his political advantage

Tim Bakken, United States Military Academy West Point and Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University

People sit at a desk with papers and computer cables on it.
5 years after the Mueller report into Russian meddling in the 2016 US election on behalf of Trump: 4 essential reads

Howard Manly, The Conversation

A white man with gray hair sits behind a microphone on a desk.
Read more election coverage

New research in health and science

A blue sign displays departures. People are silhouetted in the foreground.

Mexico emerges as a destination for Americans seeking reproductive health services – not for the first time

Alejandra Marquez Guajardo, Michigan State University

Boeing’s Starliner launch – delayed again – will be an important milestone for commercial spaceflight

Wendy Whitman Cobb, Air University

A conical capsule flies through space, with the Earth visible behind it.
Brain cancer in children is notoriously hard to treat – a new mRNA cancer vaccine triggers an attack from within

Christina von Roemeling, University of Florida and John Ligon, University of Florida

Sygrine lying on top of X-ray images of brain
IceCube researchers detect a rare type of energetic neutrino sent from powerful astronomical objects

Doug Cowen, Penn State

The IceCube research station, a rectangular building with three pillars attached, sitting on snowy ground.
Do implicit bias trainings on race improve health care? Not yet – but incorporating the latest science can help hospitals treat all patients equitably

Nao Hagiwara, University of Virginia and Tiffany Green, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Over-the-shoulder shot of health care provider talking to a patient sitting on a hostpital bed
Read more new science research

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‘What is a fact?’ A humanities class prepares STEM students to be better scientists

Timothy Morton, Rice University

Gen Zers and millennials are still big fans of books – even if they don’t call themselves ‘readers’

Kathi Inman Berens, Portland State University and Rachel Noorda, Portland State University

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Teens see social media algorithms as accurate reflections of themselves, study finds

Nora McDonald, George Mason University

a pair of hands in a darkened room hold a smartphone
How ‘apocalypse’ became a secular as well as religious idea

Erik Bleich, Middlebury and Christopher Star, Middlebury

Thick clouds of smoke emerging from fires below fill the entire sky.
Banning TikTok won’t solve social media’s foreign influence, teen harm and data privacy problems

Sarah Florini, Arizona State University

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Most read this week

1.
Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop

Stephen Wooding, University of California, Merced

Cassava: The perilous past and promising future of a toxic but nourishing crop
2.
Are you one of the millions about to have cataract surgery? Here’s what ophthalmologists say you need to know

Allan Steigleman, University of Florida and Elizabeth M. Hofmeister, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Are you one of the millions about to have cataract surgery? Here’s what ophthalmologists say you need to know
3.
Why are some people faster than others? 2 exercise scientists explain the secrets of running speed

Dawn P. Coe, University of Tennessee and Elizabeth (Kip) Webster, University of Tennessee

Why are some people faster than others? 2 exercise scientists explain the secrets of running speed
4.
Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations

Daniel Veghte, The Ohio State University

Sourdough under the microscope reveals microbes cultivated over generations
5.
What the Supreme Court is doing right in considering Trump’s immunity case

Claire B. Wofford, College of Charleston

What the Supreme Court is doing right in considering Trump’s immunity case
6.
Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now

Katrina Burgess, Tufts University

Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now

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