A new study on inequality analyzes the impact of fiscal policy, dramatically altering the standard view of rich and poor in America. It may also change how voters and candidates think about the issue.
This “pi plate” shows some of the progress toward finding all the digits of pi.
Piledhigheranddeeper
Our data-driven model was able to create a reasonably accurate assessment of justices’ views on issues, predict their alignments on cases and identify who might be a swing vote.
Our modern crops need some help in the immunity department.
Andy / Andrew Fogg
Modern agriculture is synonymous with monoculture. That lack of diversity is bad news for plants’ natural immune defenses. Researchers are figuring out how to help plants fend off microbes – without pesticides.
The only way to fly the friendly skies – or dark voids of space.
Tom Simpson/Flickr
We’re on the cusp of being able to consistently launch and land rockets, greatly reducing the cost of space travel. But how long before there’s a Millennium Falcon in every garage?
Wenhui Qiu, Shanghai University; Ming Yang, Shanghai University, and Nancy Wayne, University of California, Los Angeles
Manufacturers have removed the industrial chemical BPA from many products over concerns that it mimics hormones in the body. Now studies show that BPS, a popular substitute, has similar effects.
Why do special educators leave teaching?
US Department of Education Follow
A shortage of special education teachers is threatening states’ abilities to provide high quality education for students with disabilities. Changing teachers’ working conditions can help.
Are lax guns laws changing how people interact in the Show-Me State?
RebelAt of English Wikipedia via Wikimedia Commons
The relationship between social science research and advocates and policymakers is undermined if they cherry-pick evidence that supports their goals, ignoring the wider field.
A molecular beam epitaxy machine used to create semiconductor samples.
John C. Bean (University of Virginia) and Tom Vandervelde (Tufts University)
A scientist explains how a liberal arts education made ‘subtle yet significant contributions’ to his understanding of what science is, how it’s done, and how advancements are made.
Trump after learning of his victories in Michigan and Mississippi.
REUTERS/Joe Skipper
Crews patch them, just to see these recurrent potholes come back again. New research focuses on microwaves zapping patches to make a more permanent pothole fix.
Can we learn to feed the multitudes?
Bread loaves via www.shutterstock.com
About one in seven Americans report going hungry at some point during the year, a fact apparently far from the minds of the presidential candidates.
Researchers compared the shipwreck history to tree ring data from slash pines to piece together the hurricane history over past centuries.
Grant Harley
In an attempt to better understand hurricanes, researchers recreate hundreds of years of hurricane records with Spanish shipwreck logs and tree ring data.
We have known for decades that folic acid can prevent most common neural tube defects, but most countries don’t fortify staple foods with the nutrient.
‘I’m not saying, I’m just saying.’
Punyaruk Baingern/Shutterstock.com
Cheap gas is traditionally a boost for the U.S. economy but this time the economy could be badly hurt because of the domestic drilling boom and financial bets made by the oil & gas industry.
Sanders and Clinton have been trading blows over who’d be best to reform Wall Street, but new research suggests they may not have the ‘authority’ to do it.
Hillary Clinton with Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
Scott Morgan/Reuters
Democratic candidates support access to contraception, while candidates from the Republican Party favor policies that could severely restrict access to contraception.
Young people can shape election results.
Fred Prouser/ Reuters
About 49 million young people are eligible to vote, representing a major potential political force. So, what can universities do to increase their turnout?