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Sugar alternatives go by many names including artificial sweeteners, low-calorie sweeteners and nonsugar sweeteners. Marie LaFauci/Moment via Getty Images

WHO’s recommendation against the use of artificial sweeteners for weight loss leaves many questions unanswered

The WHO report concluded that habitual use of nonsugar sweeteners is linked to a modest increase in diabetes, hypertension and stroke. But the research it’s based on has limitations.
By getting to know your neighbors and investing in your community, you can make your neighborhood safer. Vladimir Vladimirov/E+/Getty Images

Four strategies to make your neighborhood safer

Crime is spiking and you’re scared. Here are strategies to get past the fear and diminish the threat of crime in your community.
NEPA requires federal agencies to analyze environmental impacts of projects like interstate highway construction. John Bohn/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Will faster federal reviews speed up the clean energy shift? Two legal scholars explain what the National Environmental Policy Act does and doesn’t do

Do environmental reviews improve projects or delay them and drive up costs? Two legal scholars explain how the law works and how it could influence the ongoing transition to renewable energy.
People pray over the body of Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster at the abbey of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, near Gower, Mo., in April 2023. AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

What is incorruptibility? A scholar of Catholic worship explains

People are congregating in Missouri after news spread that the exhumed body of a nun had not decayed four years after her death. There is a long history to these claims.
How much of a culture could be due to things like the grain it traditionally grew? Visoot Uthairam/Moment via Getty Images

Nearly 20% of the cultural differences between societies boil down to ecological factors – new research

A number of theories try to explain how cultural differences come to be. A new study quantifies how such factors as resource abundance, population density and infectious disease risk can contribute.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant seen across the Dnieper River, which was receding after a downstream dam was destroyed. Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images

Kakhovka dam breach raises risk for Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant – receding waters narrow options for cooling

The International Atomic Energy Agency says the plant has enough water to last for several months. What happens afterward or if the remaining water is lost to the war could lead to a disaster.
Gliomas can form connections with distant areas of the brain, exploiting them for their own spread and growth. Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

Brain tumors are cognitive parasites – how brain cancer hijacks neural circuits and causes cognitive decline

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive type of brain cancer, causing significant decline in cognitive function. New research suggests a common anti-seizure drug could help control tumor growth.
The breach of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine could have lasting ecological and health impacts. Ukrainian Presidential Office via AP

Kakhovka dam breach: 3 essential reads on what it means for Ukraine’s infrastructure, beleaguered nuclear plant and future war plans

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the attack on crucial civilian infrastructure. Experts explain what the incident means for future war plans, and for the safety of the affected region.
Former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence appear together in November 2020. Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Mike Pence is jockeying against Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination – joining the ranks of just one vice president who, in 1800, also ran against a former boss

Pence’s announcement that he will run for president brings to mind how rare it is for a vice president to compete against a former running mate.
The hours spent – and the content viewed – by teens on social media can lead to depression, anxiety and body image issues. Mixmike/E+via Getty Images

Mounting research documents the harmful effects of social media use on mental health, including body image and development of eating disorders

Research shows that social media, with it endless promotion of unrealistic standards of beauty, has had a negative impact on millions of young people.
A witness cries while giving testimony in a trial against former Guatemalan dictator Gen. José Efraín Ríos Montt in 2013. Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images)

This course studies NGOs aiming to help countries recover from mass atrocities and to prevent future violence

College students learn about people who have dedicated their professional lives to reducing the threat of violence – and their successes and failures.
Wildfires can destroy hundreds of homes within hours. PH2(AW/SW) Michael J. Pusnik, Jr / Navy Visual News Service / AFP via Getty Images

Why insurance companies are pulling out of California and Florida, and how to fix some of the underlying problems

It’s not a question of if insurance will become unavailable or unaffordable in areas at high risk of wildfires, hurricanes and other damage – it’s a question of when. A disaster risk expert explains.

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