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Articles on Significant Terms

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Entertainer and author Janelle Monáe performs during the 2019 Grammys flanked by android-like backup dancers. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

What is Afrofuturism? An English professor explains

Even though Afrofuturist works are set in fictional worlds, they provide a blueprint for social, political and economic systems free from exploitation and oppression.
In an ectopic pregnancy, when the growing embryo causes a uterine tube rupture like the one in this micrograph, the patient could die from internal bleeding or infection without emergency surgery. Cultura RM Exclusive/Michael J. Klein, M.D./Image Source via Getty Images

What is ectopic pregnancy? A reproductive health expert explains

Treating a potentially deadly pregnancy complication gets caught up in the abortion debate. A nurse-midwife explains why it shouldn’t.
A digital twin attempts to capture every aspect of a real thing, including up-to-the-moment changes. lambada/E+ via Getty Images

What are digital twins? A pair of computer modeling experts explain

A digital twin is to a computer model as live video is to a still photo. These virtual replicas can be used to understand and make predictions about a wide range of complex systems, including people.
Cancer-causing viruses like HPV can cause cells to divide indefinitely and, in the case of Henrietta Lacks, become immortal. Tom Deerinck/NIH via Flickr

What are HeLa cells? A cancer biologist explains

The immortal cancer cells of Henrietta Lacks revolutionized the fields of science, medicine and bioethics. And they still survive today, more than 70 years after her death.
The white ‘bathtub ring’ around Lake Mead, shown on Jan. 11, 2022, is roughly 160 feet high and reflects falling water levels. George Rose/Getty Images

What is dead pool? A water expert explains

The Colorado River provides water and electricity to 40 million people in the western US, but falling water levels threaten both of those resources.
Most nonprofits must file this paperwork with the IRS every year. Dean R Specker/iStock via Getty Images Plus

What’s a 990 form? A charity accounting expert explains

The government makes the information nonprofits report on this form available to the public, enhancing transparency and accountability.
When in doubt, throw it out – but not in the recycling bin. Basak Gurbuz Derman/Moment via Getty Images

What is wishcycling? Two waste experts explain

Tossing something into your recycling bin that can’t be processed does more harm than good.
Telecommunications companies around the world are expanding their next-generation, or 5G, networks. Guo Shining/VCG via Getty Images

What is 5G? An electrical engineer explains

5G is 10 times faster than 4G, promising better wireless internet access. It’s also expected to put the Internet of Things revolution in high gear.
When people have to pay for every bag of trash they throw out, they produce less waste. Mint Images RF via Getty Images

What is pay-as-you-throw? A waste expert explains

When governments want people to do less of something, one way to make that happen is to charge them for doing it. That’s the idea behind pay-as-you-throw waste policies.
Giving a portion of one’s wealth annually is part of the spiritual practice in Islam. gahsoon/E+ via Getty Images

What is Zakat? A scholar of Islam explains

Zakat, or charity, is a fundamental practice within the Islamic faith.
Experts estimate that close to 90% of the U.S. population must be vaccinated to reach herd immunity for COVID-19. David McNew/AFP via Getty Images

What is herd immunity? A public health expert and a medical laboratory scientist explain

Vaccination campaigns like the ones that eventually eliminated polio and measles in the United States required decades of education and awareness in order to achieve herd immunity in the U.S. population.
Tiny changes, like a butterfly’s wing flapping, can be amplified downstream in a chaotic system. Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

What is chaos? A complex systems scientist explains

Part of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for work modeling Earth’s climate using its chaotic, complex weather. To scientists, chaos lies in the gray zone between randomness and predictability.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark donates millions of dollars to journalism schools as well as other causes. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation

What’s a major donor? A fundraising expert explains

How much money it takes to attain this status varies according to the size of the nonprofit getting the gift.
A late 19th-early 20th century painting by Abbas Al-Musavi depicting the Battle of Karbala, which occurred in 680. Gift of K. Thomas Elghanayan in honor of Nourollah Elghanayan, Photo: Brooklyn Museum

What is the Islamic New Year? A scholar of religion explains

The Islamic New Year marks the first day of Muharram, a sacred month of prayer and annual reflection.

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