Duke University’s mission is to provide a liberal education for our undergraduates. This means we empower our students to find their own academic paths by teaching them to reason and to empathize in unprecedented ways. As a research university, we have the resources to connect students to the processes of inquiry and discovery—and to give our students opportunities to learn from, and collaborate with, our faculty members.
Nuclear power provides 60 percent of US carbon-free electricity generation, but existing plants are aging and only one is under construction. Should government intervene to keep nuclear energy in the mix?
Shale gas drilling site, in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania.
Nicholas A. Tonelli
Natural gas is widely viewed as a clean fuel, but methane, its main component, is a powerful greenhouse gas. Two experts propose a plan for detecting and cutting methane leaks across North America.
CFOs spend two-thirds of their waking hours working, according to a survey. The difficulty that companies are having hiring and retaining qualified employees is also at a 20-year high.
Pools at an algae farm in Borculo, east Netherlands.
AP Photo/Arthur Max
Scientists and government agencies have been studying biofuel production from algae for years. Research points toward a more affordable and efficient production process that recycles water.
Scientists call large marine protected areas effective tools for conserving sea life. But do they benefit countries that create them? Scholars explain how Palau's huge marine protected area seeks to protect resources for Palauans.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) flanked by Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), left, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as they addressed the unpopularity of their replacement bill.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Poor people who have cancer are one of the most financially vulnerable groups in the US. Obamacare aimed to improve their access to care. A recent study shows how it did.
Weapons used in the attack in San Bernardino in 2015.
Reuters/San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department/Handout
While mass shooting tragedies in Las Vegas and elsewhere make headlines, the reality is gun violence is becoming almost routine in many American neighborhoods. Where do the guns come from?
It's all in the presentation: In studies, consumers were more apt to choose fuel-efficient vehicles depending on how the same pieces of information were displayed on labels.
Mark Zuckerberg is, quite famously, a college dropout. But his case is the exception – not the rule.
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
While the media glamorizes famous college dropouts like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, the reality is that most successful people in the U.S. went to – and finished – college.
Human genome editing raises a lot of questions.
Gene sequence image via www.shutterstock.com.
A new report from the National Academies of Science and Medicine outlines conditions that have to be met before gene editing that results in heritable genomic changes can be considered.
Human oocyte in vitro fertilization.
Ziess Microscopy/Flickr
Babies first learn to recognize the rhythm and intonation of language. The process begins in the womb, where the intonation patterns are transmitted to the baby through the fluids.
When should you let your gifted child skip grades?
Children image via www.shutterstock.com
About two out of seven children are likely bored in their classrooms, as they aren't learning much that is new. Should these children skip grades? What's the evidence on grade-skipping?
Race and perceived beauty are closely intertwined.
'Faces' via www.shutterstock.com
A sociologist wanted to know how simply self-identifying as 'multiracial' – regardless of how you actually looked – would influence your attractiveness.
In Wells Fargo’s case, a discussion often wasn’t required.
Wells Fargo via www.shutterstock.com
Regulators fined Wells Fargo US$185 million for fraudulently opening up more than two million fake deposit and credit card accounts. Will the victims get their pound of flesh from those responsible?
Women line the Atlantic City boardwalk to protest the 1968 Miss America pageant.
Feminist Theories & Art Practices
For decades, the Miss America pageant had excluded minorities while celebrating a very narrow definition of womanhood. Then two separate protests – a women's liberation picket and the lesser-known Miss Black America pageant – said 'enough is enough.'
How can this robot know where to move safely, and where it will collide with something else?
Humanrobo