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A California teacher takes part in a demonstration in September 2023 to support the rights of transgender people. Leonard Ortiz/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted

Sports researchers learned that conservative political leanings among state legislators lead to biases against transgender athletes among voters.
Louisa May Alcott took part in a 19th-century literary culture of anonymity and guessing games. Universal Images Group/Getty Images

How I identified a probable pen name of Louisa May Alcott

By disguising her name, Alcott could publish in less prestigious venues without worrying about tarnishing her literary reputation.
Scientists still debate the origins of Earth’s life-sustaining elements. BlackJack3D/E+ via Getty Images

Earth may have had all the elements needed for life within it all along − contrary to theories that these elements came from meteorites

Scientists analyzing isotope ratios have found that many of the elements that make up life could be left over from Earth’s formation.
Electroconvulsive therapy involves inducing a controlled seizure under anesthesia. Inkoly/iStock via Getty Images Plus

How electroconvulsive therapy heals the brain − new insights into ECT, a stigmatized yet highly effective treatment for depression

Electroconvulsive therapy often evokes inaccurate images of seizing bodies and smoking ears. Better understanding of how it reduces depression symptoms can illuminate new ways to treat mental illness.
Would technologies like the airplane ever get off the ground without people balancing commitment to their vision with openness to new ideas? HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Intellectual humility is a key ingredient for scientific progress

An intellectually humble person may have strong commitments to various beliefs − but balanced with an openness to the likelihood that others, too, may have valuable insights, ideas and evidence.
A lead pipe in the kitchen ceiling of a home in Newark, N.J. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Citizen science projects tend to attract white, affluent, well-educated volunteers − here’s how we recruited a more diverse group to identify lead pipes in homes

For a project on identifying lead water pipes in homes, outreach through partner groups produced a more representative set of volunteers.
As suburbs encroach on farmland, residents’ risk of exposure to farm chemicals rises. Carly Hyland

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is showing up in pregnant women living near farm fields – that raises health concerns

New research provides evidence for the first time that the primary chemical in Roundup is reaching people in nearby homes, and it isn’t just from the food they eat.
Candles on a large Hanukkah menorah shine in front of a Christmas tree at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, in 2015. Gregor Fischer/picture alliance via Getty Images

Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically − but the same is true of Christmas

Assimilation no doubt played a role in making Hanukkah the commercialized holiday it is today. But other factors shaped the modern festival, too, a scholar of Jewish studies and gender explains.

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