Faraway sinks, empty hand sanitizer dispensers, employees who just don’t want to change are all reasons health care workers don’t wash up as often as they should.
Are genetically engineered crops safe for human health and the environment? A new report says yes but points out problems and regulatory gaps. Three members of the study panel offer their takeaways.
Paul Roundy, University at Albany, State University of New York
Yes, climate change is creating conditions for the extraordinary wildfires near Fort McMurray, Alberta, but El Niño played a bigger role, says atmospheric scientist.
With Freedom on the Move, historians hope to reveal patterns of escape and capture, while giving anyone the chance to learn about the individual heroism of runaway slaves.
Big data studies often use easily available user-generated data from the Internet. Researchers assume that this data offers a window into reality. It doesn’t necessarily.
Detecting drier or wetter conditions is crucial for insect survival. We’ve long known they can do this – now researchers have discovered the genetic and neural basis for their humidity-sensing system.
Whatever you call it, the new leader, Michel Temer, has an opportunity to return Brazil to policies that promote growth through fiscally sound social inclusion. Can he do it?
Obama’s military strategy in Iraq and Syria hasn’t defeated the Islamic State, but it isn’t a total failure either. A retired major general and law professor looks at the successes and shortcomings.
Government agencies are turning to social media as a new way to engage with their constituencies. Practitioners in the trenches are excited about the possibilities – while some academics are less so.
Land management in the United States has long focused on creating conditions that benefit game animals like deer and grouse. A conservation scientist explains why that approach is too narrow.
New and imagined digital technologies have important ethical implications. We should devise relevant social norms through a high-profile, public, collaborative process.
A wildlife biologist argues that the canid in eastern North America – known as the eastern coyote, or the coywolf by some – deserves to be classified as a separate species.
The human psyche loves a challenge as well as a pat on the back for achievement. Pervasive computing taps into these drives to ‘gamify’ aspects of life that are typically not games or even much fun.
Richard Forno, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Anupam Joshi, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The country’s actual offensive cyber capabilities remain shrouded in the classified world. But what is public is enough to discuss potential cyber weapons and how they might be used.