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In China, single women as young as 27 are considered ‘leftover.’ Maciej Toporowicz/Monument via Getty Images

Why are some Chinese women still looking to the West for love?

Their desire to pursue marriage abroad not only reveals their longing for a better life but also reveals the pervasive gender, age and class inequalities that continue to plague modern-day China.
The first encounters between European settlers and Native Americans are captured on a wood engraving in this 1888 image. DigitalVision Vectors

Indigenous Peoples Day offers a reminder of Native American history − including the scalping they endured at the hands of Colonists

Popular culture often describes scalping − the forceful removing of a person’s scalp − as an indigenous practice. But white settlers accelerated this form of violence against Native Americans.
Photograph of the first Solvay Conference in 1911 at the Hotel Metropole. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes is standing third from the right. Benjamin Couprie/Wikimedia Commons

Superconductivity at room temperature remains elusive a century after a Nobel went to the scientist who demonstrated it below -450 degrees Fahrenheit

Superconductivity may sound like science fiction, but the first experiments to achieve it were conducted over a century ago. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, credited with the discovery, won a Nobel Prize in 1913.
The U.S. government is the single largest buyer of services and goods, like vehicles. That has an impact on the economy. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Climate change is about to play a big role in government purchases – with vast implications for the US economy

The Biden administration directed agencies to consider the cost of greenhouse gas emissions in their future purchasing and budget decisions. An example shows just how much is at stake.
Each year, services on St. Francis’ feast day draw humans and animals alike to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Lokman Vural Elibol/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Birds, worms, rabbits: Francis of Assisi was said to have loved them all – but today’s pet blessings on his feast day might have seemed strange to the 13th century saint

Medieval monastics were often discouraged from owning companion animals, which were viewed as a distraction, a religion scholar explains.
Basic research often involves lab work that won’t be appreciated until decades down the line. Sebastian Condrea/Moment via Getty Images

Tenacious curiosity in the lab can lead to a Nobel Prize – mRNA research exemplifies the unpredictable value of basic scientific research

The winners of the 2023 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine made a discovery that helped create the COVID-19 vaccines. They couldn’t have anticipated the tremendous impact of their findings.
A display of books that have been banned in various places is on view at a community gathering space in Washington, D.C. Craig Hudson for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Where the Supreme Court stands on banning books

Current precedent relies on a 1982 case in which five justices generally agreed there were limits on a school’s power to ban books, but they didn’t agree on why.
The course of nanotechnology, like the carbon nanotubes in this laboratory, has been guided by many stakeholders. VCG/VCG via Getty Images

Navigating the risks and benefits of AI: Lessons from nanotechnology on ensuring emerging technologies are safe as well as successful

Two decades ago, the nanotechnology revolution avoided stumbling by bringing a wide range of people to the table to chart its development. The window is closing fast on AI following suit.
Regular testing for HIV protects you and those around you. pixinoo/iStock via Getty Images Plus

HIV self-test kits are meant to empower those at risk − but they don’t necessarily lead to starting HIV treatment or prevention

Many people at heightened risk for HIV have never been tested. Those who have self-tested for HIV often don’t go on to receive care or change their sexual behavior.
Astronomers can estimate ages for stars outside the Solar System, but not planets. Corbis Historical via Getty Images

How do astronomers know the age of the planets and stars?

Measuring the ages of planets and stars is tricky. An observational astrophysicist describes the subtle clues that provide good estimates for how old different space objects are.
Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife arrive at the U.S. District Court in New York City on Sept. 27, 2023. Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images

Feinstein’s death raises the question: How are vacant Senate seats filled?

California’s governor has already announced his pick for the the seat, Laphonza Butler. Here’s more on the state-by-state process for replacing a senator who has died, is facing criminal charges or has serious illness.