On October 12, New York City’s Museum of Modern Art unveiled its exhibition of Henri Matisse’s cut-outs. This came on the heels an exhibition of the cut-outs at the Tate Modern in London, which displayed…
It’s not all bad news for older brains.
Man image via www.shutterstock.com
For years, conventional wisdom held that growing older tends to be bad news for brains. Past behavioral data largely pointed to loss in cognitive – that is, thinking – abilities with age, including poorer…
In the US the risk of getting measles or dying from influenza is greater than the risk of getting Ebola.
Jaime R Carrero/Reuters
News that a doctor in New York City tested positive for Ebola sparked mandatory quarantine orders for heath workers returning from West Africa in New York and New Jersey last week. The outbreak has killed…
Two Massachusetts politicians campaign in New Hampshire
Brian Snyder/Reuters
According to Senate historians, 1,950 men and women have served in that body since 1789. Since the direct election of Senators began in 1914, just three of those senators have, after losing re-election…
One way to manage problem gambling would be to limit the supply of poker machines.
EPA
Casino gaming is on the rise across much of the developed world, with governments increasingly unable to resist the allure of windfall taxes and a hefty influx of cash for the local economy. Massachusetts…
Zoos provide succor for species having a tough time of it in the wild.
B. A. Minteer
Today, many zoos promote the protection of biodiversity as a significant part of their mission. As conservation “arks” for endangered species and, increasingly, as leaders in field conservation projects…
What if an experimental treatment seems to hold a terminal patient’s only hope?
Pill bottle image via www.shutterstock.com
On November 4, the state of Arizona will decide whether to join Colorado, Missouri, Louisiana and Michigan in passing so-called right to try laws. If passed, the “Arizona Terminal Patients’ Right To Try…
There are high hopes that the new head of the Fed, Janet Yellen, will change the culture at the central bank and the lenders it regulates.
IMF/Flickr via CC BY-NC-ND
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen has her work cut out for her if she hopes to change the culture at the world’s most important central bank. Media reports abound with evidence that the financial industry…
On an October day in 1894, a group of New York City’s leading doctors gathered to unveil a statue in honor of one of the greatest surgeons of his day and the founder of New York’s Women’s Hospital, J…
No tech here…
Stack of hands image via shutterstock.com
Foundation essay: This article is part of a series marking the launch of The Conversation in the US. Our foundation essays are longer than our usual comment and analysis articles and take a wider look…
Nothing but corn as far as the eye can see
Timothy M. Hagle
Every four years Iowa begins the presidential nomination process with the Iowa Caucuses. The start of caucus season is also the start of complaints by those who object to Iowa going first in the nomination…
Bikesharing has exploded in popularity in recent years, including in New York with the Citi Bike program, but the pricing structures have been a cause for concern.
NYCDOT/Flickr via CC BY-SA-ND
Bikesharing has boomed in Europe and North America in recent years following decades of slow growth since its introduction on the streets of Amsterdam in 1965. Like any industry undergoing rapid expansion…
Young doctors are being judged based in their age, not their ability.
Stock image of doctors from www.shutterstock.com
A medical colleague was shaking his head in disgust. “What is wrong with these medical students today?” he asked. “They just don’t have the same work ethic they used to. In our day, we didn’t have to be…
Many people around the world, in certain locations, have asked, “where is global warming?” This is because they have experienced very cold wintry conditions and weird weather that they do not associate…
Icy times for mom-to-be meant bad news for baby-on-board.
Shaun Best/Reuters
In January 1998 five days of freezing rain collapsed the electrical grid of the Canadian province of Québec. The storm left more than 3 million people without electricity for anywhere from a few hours…
Common goals can become a common problem.
Shutterstock classroom
The Common Core State Standards Initiative (or Common Core) is a quintessentially American approach to addressing the relatively modest academic performance of many students. The Common Core seeks to raise…
Short-term panic draws attention away from long-term solutions.
Paul Hanna/Reuters
It does not make the news when a two year old boy dies of Ebola in Guinea. Nor when his sister, his mother and his grandmother succumb. It takes time for local officials to recognize an outbreak. By the…
Is there room for more?
US Capitol image via shutterstock.com
The American public’s dislike of Congress is far from a new development in US politics. However, over the past few years the situation has gotten even worse with public approval of this institution hovering…
Casinos like this one in Maryland bring benefits as well as costs. The challenge is working out which is greater.
www.marylandlivecasino.com
During the past two decades, the US casino industry has expanded dramatically. According to the American Gaming Association, there are now nearly 1,000 commercial and tribal casinos in the country. Plans…
An artist’s rendering of Wynn’s proposed $1.6 billion casino on the Mystic River, Everett.
The [upcoming vote](http://ballotpedia.org/Massachusetts_Casino_Repeal_Initiative,Question_3(2014) on whether to scrap plans to allow casino resorts in Massachusetts fits into a broader pattern of individuals…
Confucius stands guard at Beijing’s Renmin University.
George (Sam) Crane
In today’s China, the philosopher Confucius is back. To mark his 2,565th birthday this September, the nation’s President, Xi Jinping, paid homage to the sage at an international conference convened for…
A bitter inversion: AbbVie nixed its US$54 billion acquisition of Irish drug maker Shire after the US Treasury eroded the benefits of doing a corporate inversion.
Reuters
Corporate inversions have been front page news in the US for months with everyone from President Barack Obama to the man on the street expressing a view as their usage has surged. Unfortunately, many of…
Cubans are migrating to the US in greater numbers.
Reuters
Compared to the number of Mexican immigrants entering the US through its southwestern border, migration of Cubans may seem insignificant. Yet the numbers of Cubans coming to the US has soared since Raul…
How much risk can health workers be asked to take on?
Mike Segar/Reuters
Taking care of sick people has always involved personal risk. From plague to tuberculosis to smallpox to SARS, health-care workers have put themselves in danger in the course of fulfilling their duties…
Hope you didn’t skip a race …
Scott Miller/Reuters
Although the midterms are typically referred to as federal elections, there is no federal entity that governs the conduct of elections in the US. There are basic election laws governing the timing of federal…