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Articles on Research Brief

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Fruit bats have honed their sweet tooth through adaptive evolution. Keith Rose/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Why don’t fruit bats get diabetes? New understanding of how they’ve adapted to a high-sugar diet could lead to treatments for people

Fruit bats can eat up to twice their body weight in fruit a day. But their genes and cells evolved to process all that sugar without any health consequences − a feat drug developers can learn from.
Philadelphia’s neighborhoods are green and not so green. Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

More vulnerable people live in Philadelphia neighborhoods that are less green and get hotter

An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Penn State ran computer models on two Philadelphia census tracts. The neighborhood with more vulnerable residents was also hotter.
The New York City borough of Manhattan at night, viewed from the Rockefeller Center observation deck. Sergi Reboredo/VW Pics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Artificial light lures migrating birds into cities, where they face a gauntlet of threats

Migrating birds need stopover locations en route where they can rest and feed. A new study shows that artificial light draws them away from sites they would normally use and into risky zones.
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.
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.
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.
High school students in Colorado have protested the use of standardized tests. Caiaimage/Chris Ryan via Getty Images

1 in 4 Colorado 11th-graders skipped their state’s standardized test − geography and income help explain why

The opt-out movement caught on heavily in Colorado in the late 2010s. A group of education scholars is exploring the reasons why.
Joining up with someone who holds a different perspective influences your take on online posts. Frazao Studio Latino/E+ via Getty Images

People dig deeper to fact-check social media posts when paired with someone who doesn’t share their perspective – new research

A new study unexpectedly found a way to help people assess social media posts with less bias and more care – pairing them up with partners who have a different perspective.
Ketamine is an anesthetic that must be administered carefully and by a health care professional. Jeniffer Fontan/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Ketamine can rapidly reduce symptoms of PTSD and depression, new study finds

The analysis shows that ketamine may start relieving symptoms of PTSD within one day, but it is still unclear how long the effects last and how many injections are needed to maintain benefits.
Few people with SNAP benefits could use them for online purchases before the COVID-19 pandemic. Urupong/ iStock via Getty Images Plus

Letting low-income Americans buy groceries online in 2020 with SNAP benefits decreased the share of people without enough food – new research

The share of low-income US families who sometimes or often didn’t have enough food to eat fell from 24.5% to 22.5% between late April and late July of 2020, a research team found.
Teachers had more negative comments about Black boys than they did about other groups. aldomurillo/E+ via Getty Images

We analyzed over 3.5 million written teacher comments about students and found racial bias

Teachers use tougher language when describing the misbehavior of Black children, new research shows.

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