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Vice President Mike Pence reads the final electoral vote counts declaring Joe Biden the next U.S. president during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 7, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

The Electoral Count Act of 1887 is showing its age – here’s how to help Congress certify a presidential election with more certainty

Derek T. Muller, University of Iowa

Concerned about problems in counting Electoral College votes that determine the next president, lawmakers are considering changes to the Electoral Count Act. What is the act, and what’s wrong with it?
Groundwater is used for irrigation and drinking water, but those wells are rarely more than one kilometre deep. A huge volume of salty water exists as much as 10 kilometres below the Earth’s surface. (Shutterstock)

Groundwater — not ice sheets — is the largest source of water on land and most of it is ancient

Grant Ferguson, University of Saskatchewan and Jennifer C. McIntosh, University of Arizona

Groundwater is the second-largest store of water on Earth. Governments and industry use groundwater reservoirs to store waste, but it may also have environmental functions that haven’t been revealed.
A part of the brain called the lateral parabrachial nucleus regulates pain, anxiety and breathing. Aleksei Morozov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Pain and anxiety are linked to breathing in mouse brains – suggesting a potential target to prevent opioid overdose deaths

Sung Han, University of California San Diego and Shijia Liu, University of California San Diego

Opioids can cause death by slowing breathing to dangerously low levels, or stopping it altogether. Examining one area of the brain may eventually lead to safer painkillers.
The toxic culture in video game company Activision Blizzard is part of the larger problem of sexual harassment in esports. Cameron Baird/Red Bull Content Pool

Microsoft purchase of Activision Blizzard won’t clean up gamer culture overnight: 5 essential reads about sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech

Eric Smalley, The Conversation

Sexual harassment and discrimination in gaming and tech are not inevitable or permanent, write experts in the field. The solutions are positive community standards and women in power.
Students and teachers alike struggle with digital connectivity – but education is just one area in which technology matters. AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

State efforts to close the K-12 digital divide may come up short

Stephanie Holcomb, Rutgers University; Andrea Hetling, Rutgers University; Gregory Porumbescu, Rutgers University - Newark , and Vishal Trehan, Rutgers University - Newark

Claims the digital divide has been ‘closed’ don’t include the full picture of internet inequality in the United States.
One ‘mechanical tree’ is about 1,000 times faster at removing carbon dioxide from air than a natural tree. The first is to start operating in Arizona in 2022. Illustration via Arizona State University

These machines scrub greenhouse gases from the air – an inventor of direct air capture technology shows how it works

Klaus Lackner, Arizona State University

Klaus Lackner is finding new ways to cut the technology’s high costs and energy demand, and he’s about to launch the first ‘mechanical tree’.

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In the metaverse, your avatar, the clothes it wears and the things it carries belong to you thanks to blockchain. Duncan Rawlinson - Duncan.co/Flickr

The metaverse is money and crypto is king – why you’ll be on a blockchain when you’re virtual-world hopping

Rabindra Ratan, Michigan State University and Dar Meshi, Michigan State University

For the metaverse to work, people need to own their virtual bodies and possessions and be able to spend money. The same cryptographic technology behind bitcoin will make that possible.
Telecommunications companies around the world are expanding their next-generation, or 5G, networks. Guo Shining/VCG via Getty Images

What is 5G? An electrical engineer explains

Prasenjit Mitra, Penn State

5G is 10 times faster than 4G, promising better wireless internet access. It’s also expected to put the Internet of Things revolution in high gear.
Reproductive rights are at the center of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case before the Supreme Court. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Yes, it’s easier to get birth control than it was in the 1970s – but women still need abortion care

Emily M. Godfrey, University of Washington

The Supreme Court is considering a case that could restrict abortions. One argument is that birth control eliminates the need for abortion. But contraception doesn’t offer an easy fix.
Louisiana residents object to mask mandates at a state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting in August 2021. AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte

Watch for these conflicts over education in 2022

Short-term disputes are really symptoms of deeper divisions in the US over who deserves academic opportunity, and how to present the nation’s history.
The Taliban retook control of Afghanistan in August 2021, without major opposition. Photo by Mohd Rasfan /AFP via Getty Image

Taliban 2.0 aren’t so different from the first regime, after all

Atal Ahmadzai, St. Lawrence University and Faten Ghosn, University of Arizona

Four months after the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan, a clearer picture of their rule is emerging. Despite public assurances, the Taliban continue to violate human rights.
You can start these conversations simply, like saying, “I need to think about the future. Can you help me?” Richard Ross/The Image Bank via Getty Images

End-of-life conversations can be hard, but your loved ones will thank you

Deborah Carr, Boston University

When you prepare to talk about end-of-life decisions and the legacy you want to leave behind, try thinking about them as gifts you bestow to family and friends.