When public universities and their foundations take large sums of money from political and strategic philanthropists, they can’t safeguard academic freedom unless there's some transparency.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Philanthropy
Analysis and Comment
Research suggests that the reason people may put off funding their 401(k) plans or managing credit card debt is because our perception of finance as 'cold' conflicts with our hot-blooded emotions.
In recent years, Christian television has moved into news and politics. A scholar explains its impact on beliefs and on politics.
An informant gathered information from Trump campaign staffers for the FBI's Russia probe. An historian writes that informants are one of the most basic ways the FBI and police investigate.
Pope Francis recently acknowledged that the Catholic Church is struggling to recruit new priests, endangering its very future. Why don't people want to join the clergy?
During the war, few Americans actually saw the 'Rosie the Riveter' poster that's become a cultural icon.
A Twitter account used for official purposes is a public forum protected by the First Amendment, a federal judge has ruled.
A new preventive drug for migraines was approved recently by the FDA. Here's how it works, and how others in the pipeline might be able to help the millions who suffer from migraines.
There is a new type of tick spreading in New Jersey, and it doesn't need a male to reproduce. It's known to spread disease and is proving
difficult to eradicate.
'Bendable concrete' is not an oxymoron. Mimicking designs found in nature, engineers are making concrete that gives under stress without shattering – an advance that could improve US infrastructure.
Wine came to the US in the 16th century but didn't make it to California – the leader in American winemaking – until the 19th century.
Few can resist an assessment that promises to reveal your hidden, true self. But new research suggests that people mistakenly believe difficult to answer questions offer deep insights.
In giving Dodd-Frank the Botox treatment, Congress misses the point of what's wrong with financial regulation: It's an old mess.
While many school shooters suffered peer rejection of some sort, research doesn't support the idea that peer rejection is the culprit behind shootings, a scholar argues.
Abrams just made history by securing the nomination for governor of Georgia. Can she win in November?
Maduro's landslide May 20 re-election marks the official death of democracy in Venezuela. Dozens of nations worldwide have declared the vote illegitimate, and the US imposed new sanctions.
The recent parliamentary election in Iraqi may have been the most transformative of the post-Saddam era, a pollster from Baghdad and an American academic explain.
Several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, have developed ambitious renewable energy targets that hinge in large part on getting their power from turbines stationed in the water.
Did Rachel Carson catalyze the organic farming movement, as many advocates claim? Or would she reject their ban on synthetic fertilizer and see organic as an inefficient way to feed the world?
The court narrowly ruled that employees who sign arbitration agreements can't bring class action suits over unpaid wages.
With controversial Christian educators like Paige Patterson who believe that the Bible teaches women to submit to men, it matters to know today that evangelicals encouraged women's education in the past.
Medicine leads the professions in suicides. Fixing the physician suicide problem requires a re-examination of medicine's "right stuff."
Congress has sent a bill to the White House. It gives terminally-ill patients more false hope than chances for a cure.
Thanks to a burgeoning procrastination economy, developers are creating content that can be consumed in short spurts. What does it mean for productivity?
Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan has called for a school boycott to change the nation's gun laws and make schools safer. A scholar who studies protest explains how the boycott could work.
Over the last 50 years, Americans have steadily gotten older, more bicoastal and less likely to move to a new city.
Accounting for grocery prices and the effort eating home-prepared meals requires, the benefits commonly called food stamps fall far short of paying enough for the poor to eat right.
Large-scale solar and wind tend to push energy prices down, which sounds great as a consumer. But that makes keeping the grid in constant balance harder.
Chemical companies touted synthetic insecticides and herbicides as miracle products in the 1940s and 1950s. But farmers and cropdusting pilots didn't always buy the sales pitch.
Science and technology
A particle physicist explains just what this keystone theory includes. After 50 years, it's the best we've got to answer what everything in the universe is made of and how it all holds together.
Israel and Gaza
Beitar Jerusalem has always attracted the outsiders, the oppressed and the victimized – Israel's 'forgotten Jews.'
DNA testing
We now have the capacity to quickly and cheaply sequence an individual's genome and scour it for disease-causing genes. But how much, and what type, of information does a parent-to-be want to know?
Higher education
A few years ago, a folklorist started gathering data on the creative ways graduates were embellishing their caps. From student debt to immigration, some themes quickly emerged.
Research and Expert Database
Analysis from academics around the world
Editors’ Picks
This Speed Read makes the case why you should be nice to spiders you encounter in your home and consider a live-and-let-live policy.
GMO crops have been rejected in many countries where food shortages are dire. Now, a scientist at the University of Connecticut has figured out how to create better crops with DNA editing.
Thousands of Jewish immigrants and their children changed their names in America – but not at Ellis Island. The reasons are complicated and part of the Jewish struggle with their identity in America.
The Kīlauea volcano on Hawai'i's big island is threatening to produce violent and energetic eruptions not seen since 1924.
Mounting evidence suggests that artificial sweeteners are linked to chronic health problems like obesity and diabetes. Should there be a tax on these foods?
May 16 marks the 300th anniversary of the first woman to write a mathematics textbook.
More people are sending off saliva samples to find out about their genetic roots. But the raw DNA results go way beyond genealogical data – and could deliver unintended consequences.
In voicing youthful outrage over inequality and violence, Bangladeshi rappers are creating a powerful form of protest music — just as American MCs have done for 40 years.
The EPA intends to limit what scientific studies can inform policy – a change long sought by industry. A long-time public health researcher explains the single study at the root of the controversy.
In the past, running for political office and being a mother were seemingly incompatible. A scholar of gender and politics explains why times are changing.
Today's media consumers are being bombarded with bias and sensationalism – and could use a dose of Mad's media literacy.
A strategy to shut down Taliban safe havens in Pakistan could bring the war to an end.
Recent news reports suggest that the US is experiencing a loneliness epidemic. But the research is a bit more complicated.
After thousands of women spoke out against sexual harassment, scholars asked, does harassment affect women's health? Their findings suggest that it does.
The reclusive country’s media is tightly controlled and choreographed. But a close look at the tone and focus of the coverage can shed light on the regime’s priorities and resolve.
Most Read past week
- Should I kill spiders in my home? An entomologist explains why not to
- What is 5G? The next generation of wireless, explained
- With teen mental health deteriorating over five years, there’s a likely culprit
- The Standard Model of particle physics: The absolutely amazing theory of almost everything
- The math behind the perfect free throw
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