It's been one year since a Category 4 storm turned Puerto Rico into a disaster zone. Today, nearly every pillar of society — including the economy, health care and schools — remains hobbled.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Rebuilding
Analysis and Comment
The US$2 billion that the Amazon founder and his wife are donating to help the homeless and educate young kids may appear selfless. But this money may also soften calls to raise taxes on the rich.
Today, 8 out of every 10 Americans live in a city or suburb.
As Trump fumes about the Hurricane Maria death toll, it's clear that politics and political considerations often play an important role in how death toll estimates are communicated to the public.
Cybercriminals may steal data from laptops and mobile phones when they are plugged in via USB ports.
With fall almost upon us, there's a lot we can learn from the changing season.
Social psychologists have been busy documenting the harmful effects that this brand of chivalry has on women. But are they missing something?
Hosay, a religious ritual performed by Trinidadian Muslims, combines the somber Islamic observance of Ashura, brought by immigrant Indians, and the joy of Trinidad's famous carnival.
In a completely new approach to treating addiction, researchers use genetically engineered skin cells to inactivate cocaine and block cravings and addiction in mice.
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.
The Masterpiece Cakeshop case in the Supreme Court was not just a showdown over gay rights and religious liberty. It also reveals an ongoing process of redefining US suburban life as more diverse.
Transgender voting rights could be undermined in two broad ways during the 2018 midterm elections.
Through games and household tasks, parents can help their children learn basic math skills like counting, geometry and algebraic thinking.
Does it seem like everyone you know drinks apple cider vinegar, mainly in hopes of losing weight? Vinegar has a long history of high hopes attached to it. A doctor who loves vinegar explains.
Trump's plan to slap $200 billion more in tariffs on Chinese goods is premised on yesterday's waste-fueled economy. Tomorrow's economy is 'circular.'
The billions of dollars worth of aid dispatched every year to alleviate the suffering and damage after earthquakes and hurricanes would do more good if it didn't get clumped up.
In a completely new approach to treating addiction, researchers use genetically engineered skin cells to inactivate cocaine and block cravings and addiction in mice.
Over the course of two years, a sociologist studied a group of affluent, white kids to see how they made sense of sensitive racial issues like privilege, unequal opportunity and police violence.
From human suffering to political chicanery to environmental degradation, the tide of bad news, blared in headlines every day, seems overwhelming. One poet and classics scholar asks: What can be done?
Cuba is avowedly secular. But as the country debates a new Constitution that would protect LGBT rights, churches have come out strongly against gay marriage — a sign of change on the Communist island.
Widespread flooding in North Carolina from Hurricane Florence shows the need for better advance planning in inland areas of the south and mid-Atlantic, especially near rivers.
A hurricane evacuation researcher in South Carolina explains why evacuating when the sun's out actually makes sense.
How do narrow ribbons of sand like North Carolina's Outer Banks withstand the force of hurricanes? The answer lies in their shape-shifting abilities.
Zebrafish are known for their black and gold stripes, but researchers are still figuring out how pigment cells interact to form these patterns.
A tiny percentage of museums’ natural history holdings are on display. Very little of these vast archives is digitized and available online. But museums are working to change that.
Yet the money spent on student loans, Pell Grants and funding for research is not generally keeping pace with the demand for higher ed.
As debates over protests during the national anthem continue to rage, two scholars examine how legal and moral battles over the merits of patriotism in public schools have been playing out for years.
With such an enormous challenge, where would it make sense to start? We looked into our archives for stories on what it would take to eradicate homelessness in the US today.
A record number of immigrant children are being detained in the US. Here's what you need to know.
Lessons learned from Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and the Fukushima disaster in 2011 have changed how utilities brace for big storms.
Through his art and his travels, 19th-century French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix sought to understand the chaos of an era he called 'the century of unbelievable things.'
Questions about supplies of rare-earth elements, crucial in high-tech devices, pushed researchers to look to industrial waste for new sources of the key materials.
If you would like to assist from afar, let the professionals procure goods and services.
As Hurricane Florence is expected to pound the Carolinas with significant flooding, an insurance expert explains how the program designed to help the millions affected recover.
Don't believe the skeptics or the conspiracy theorists: Weather forecasters can't slant hurricane warnings to make political points.
Thousands died after Hurricane Maria, but it did not have to be that way. Early evidence should have led the government to a much stronger response.
Russia is trying to create social tension in the US to boost its own strength on the world stage. That includes targeting society itself.
Hurricanes in the southern US have caused widespread damage inland in recent decades, mainly through river flooding. But evacuations and stormproofing focus almost entirely on keeping people safe on the coasts.
Before colonialism, India embraced homosexuality and gender fluidity. The Supreme Court's repeal of a 157-year-old gay sex ban partially reclaims that history, but LGBTQ Indians still face hurdles.
Around 1 in 8 Americans was poor in 2017. That doesn't compare well to other developed nations.
Since the Byzantine era, gossipy anecdotes about the mishaps of rulers and their inner circles have been compiled, shared and published.
Forged documents were used by the US government 100 years ago to justify hostile actions against Russia. All but one US newspaper accepted the government's propaganda. The lessons for today are stark.
A new discovery adds to our existing understanding of Homo sapiens in Africa.
These single-celled organisms naturally respond to the Earth's weak magnetic field. Scientists are untangling how it all works, looking to future biomedical and other engineering applications.
Moonves, accused by 12 women of sexual harassment and assault, managed to walk away with a face-saving exit package that may even include some of his $182 million severance.
An expert argues our connection with these figures is longstanding. They are embedded in our myths and help us explore deeper questions about being human.
Many people board up their houses and stay in place during disasters – but often they aren't prepared to go without water, power or transportation for days or weeks afterward.
Many factors can influence people to evacuate or stay in place when disasters loom. Research using Facebook posts suggests that people with broad social networks are more apt to get moving.
How do experts know when and where the next big hurricane is going to hit? A look at the complicated science of forecasting.
Many people board up their houses and stay in place during disasters – but often they aren't prepared to go without water, power or transportation for days or weeks afterward.
A new discovery adds to our existing understanding of Homo sapiens in Africa.
Around 1 in 8 Americans was poor in 2017. That doesn't compare well to other developed nations.
A new law provides flexibility in terms of how the state can meet this new target for the electricity it consumes.
Effective political campaigns use three main online strategies; research identifies which of them is most effective.
College rankings are set up to make you believe one college is better than another. But a closer look reveals college rankings may be measuring something entirely different.
A psychologist explains what can happen to individuals and societies that lose their grip on the truth.
'Treason' is the only crime specifically defined in the US Constitution. The word is being used a lot these days, and a law professor says no one actually appears to know what treason is.
A historian reminds us that protests in prisons are often followed by retaliation.
Death by suicide has increased at an alarming rate in recent decades. With September being Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, an expert offers screening questions that even laypeople can use.
It's when times are good that the seeds of the next financial crisis are sown.
Images of famine or poverty are often used by human rights groups to galvanize support. And they often do. The ethics of these images is a more complex story.
If you disagree with the political slant of the network, it might color your views of others in the room – and change your behavior.
Violence against journalists is on the rise. Many people don't realize that such acts have a long tradition in the US, where partisan rancor was once a hallmark of American journalism.
Since 2016, women's colleges have seen an uptick in enrollment. We asked the leaders of three women's colleges – Bryn Mawr, Douglass College and St Kate's – to explain the attraction.
More than two dozen states and cities are suing over a controversial new citizenship question.
An unprecedented onslaught from the US hasn't destroyed the terrorist organization. What is the secret of its resilience?
A simple act of kindness between George Bush and Michelle Obama illuminates our need for friendship and well-being.
2018 brought the announcement of a new geologic age that covers the last 4,200 years. How do scientists divide up Earth's timeline and what do these demarcations mean?
Research and News
A Sept. 14 report on drug use suggested that opioid use has declined. But troubling trends in drinking among teens and young adults stood out. An addiction specialist explains the unique dangers.
An expert explains why the Jewish practice of abstaining from food on Yom Kippur is so out of step with the rest of Jewish tradition.
Small-batch brewers are starting to tinker with biologic drugs to meet their own medical needs. A side effect of their success would be a disruption to how big pharma makes and distributes drugs.
US ozone pollution has fallen in recent decades, but exposure to low levels of ozone still has serious effects on human health and well-being.
BPA, used widely in plastics and as a liner in food cans, was replaced by a related chemical called BPS. But it seems that this substitute may also harm eggs and sperm and disrupt hormones.
Mutations in BRCA genes are linked to the early onset of breast and ovarian cancers. But the effect of most mutations is unclear. Now new research can distinguish harmless from dangerous mutations.
Wetlands are some of the world's most undervalued weapons against climate change. They store huge quantities of carbon – but without better protection, many could soon be drained or paved over.
A new study suggests perceptions of how strongly people of color identify with their race can have a big impact on their job prospects and how much money they earn.
Everybody has a personal internal clock in their brain that dictates when we feel like eating, waking and sleeping. But what happens when our life doesn't match our body clock? And how do we read it?
The Large Hadron Collider has generated mind-blowing science in the last decade – including the Higgs boson particle. Why is the LHC so important, and how will physicists use it in the years to come?
Comparing the locations of key internet data centers and cable routes with maps of expected sea-level rise suggests it's time to shore up internet connections in the face of a changing climate.
Bug sprays with DEET feel oily and smell gross. That's why scientists are developing new mosquito repellents based on natural plant oils. But translating these into commercial products isn't easy.
Taking this step may improve the quality of life for vulnerable people and reduce the amount of air conditioning they use, making their neighborhoods less prone to power outages.
Dangerous open wounds known as cutaneous ulcers are common in people with diabetes and bedsores. Now scientists have figured out how to reprogram the cells inside these wounds to heal themselves.
Some behaviors might help tell propaganda-spewing trolls apart from regular internet users, but the main protection is for people to think more critically about online information.
The Department of Education says there were 240 school shootings during a recent school year. Another database only counts 29. How could the numbers be so different -- and who is right?
Anorexia nervosa can be a deadly disease. A recent analysis of several studies showed that it may be even harder to treat than previously believed. But the news isn't all bad.
New research shows that injecting wastewater deep underground can cause earthquakes far from the injection site. It also raises questions about which rock layers are the safest injection targets.
September 11 anniversary
Even indirect exposure to the terrorist attacks of September 11 has left profound and deep impact on those too young to remember a world before that.
Catholic Church
An expert explains how a complex set of canon laws and trials are the major obstacle to holding priests accountable. The power to take action is often vested in the Vatican.
Hurricane season
A new study shows that natural disasters enrich white victims while hurting people of color, worsening wealth inequality. And government aid contributes to the problem.
Our new podcast
Research and Expert Database
Hurricane Florence
Editors’ Picks
You've heard of the genome, and possibly the proteome – all the proteins in the human body. But have you heard about the glycome – the collection of sugars – that may hold the key to diagnosing disease?
Revelations about the president's behavior in a new book and an unsigned op-ed, writes a Yale psychiatrist, support what she and mental health specialists have warned: Trump is dangerously unstable.
From solitary confinement, Moliere Dimanche started drawing on anything he could find. The result was a series of fantastical, allegorical images that depict abuse, racism and profound isolation.
Google News does not differentiate search results according to users' politics – but it does favor mainstream news sites, which are seen as leaning left, and doesn't clearly disclose how its algorithms work.
A weather expert explains where petrichor – that pleasant, earthy scent that accompanies a storm's first raindrops – comes from.
Fleeing economic collapse, around 2.3 million Venezuelans have left the country over the past few years.
It's a comforting falsehood that once an artifact joins a museum's collection, it's safe for eternity. Museums face many foes in the fight to preserve – a lack of funds might be the biggest.
The career arc of Nichelle Nichols – the first black woman to have a continuing co-starring role on TV – shows how diverse casting can have as much of an impact off the screen as it does on it.
Sen. John McCain, dead from brain cancer, ended his career with growing repudiation by his party and the public for positions, from national defense to bipartisanship, that he has long embodied.
Cultured meat comes from cells in a lab, not muscles in an animal. While regulatory and technological aspects are being worked out, less is known about whether people are up for eating this stuff.
An expert explains how a complex set of canon laws and trials are the major obstacle to holding priests accountable. The power to take action is often vested in the Vatican.
Several companies are trying to develop life extension methods that could enable some people to live far longer. There are some ethical dilemmas.
Republicans in Congress today are different than GOP figures who challenged President Nixon during Watergate. GOP leaders now stand in contrast to those who once chose country over loyalty to one man.
Prisoners in 17 states are striking to call attention to harsh conditions and low pay for their labor, something that may run afoul of the 13th Amendment and other legal commitments.
Colombia's coffee industry is at risk due to unpredictable seasons, floods, landslides, droughts and pests. Farmers say they want to learn to adapt to these environmental changes but don't know how.
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- Simple blood test could read people’s internal clock
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