Federal Toxmap Shutters, Raising the Ire of Pollution Researchers
With little explanation, the National Library of Medicine announced that it would be “retiring” the Toxmap website on Dec. 16, 2019. The decision has raised concerns among researchers and environmental...
View ArticleHumans Are Driving the Evolution of Urban Rats
Control campaigns against urban rats have become widespread. But in attempting to curb rodent populations, humans may be driving their evolution in unexpected — and troubling — ways: While some rats...
View ArticleCan an AI Fact-Checker Solve India’s Fake News Problem?
With more than half a billion Indians online, the Indian government and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp now struggle to contain the misinformation and disinformation...
View ArticleAging Hospitals Aren’t Ready for the Technology Revolution
Infrastructure investment is one of the few bipartisan candles still burning on Capitol Hill. But the political discussion about infrastructure has all but ignored the issue of America’s aging and...
View ArticleResearchers Link Genes to Income. Other Scientists Beg to Differ.
A U.K.-based team conducted a genome-wide association study, or GWAS, to conclude that genetic variation in humans may contribute — in consistent and measurable ways — to variation in income. The...
View ArticleExtolling the Virtues of the Hunter-Gatherer Lifestyle
In “Civilized to Death,” Christopher Ryan argues that the cure for the many malaises of modern life lies in emulating the nomadic societies of our prehistoric past. Due to their egalitarian, nomadic...
View ArticleClogging the System: The Feud Over Flushable Wipes
Cities scramble to deal with clogged sewer systems and congealed masses of flushed items known as fatbergs. Now, the wastewater industry is conducting research to test the flushability of bathroom...
View ArticleThe Law Isn’t Doing Enough to Help Transgender Homeless Americans
Rates of homelessness are especially high among transgender Americans, who also experience discrimination and harassment in shelters. But the government has largely failed to meet the needs of this...
View ArticleAre Artificial Wombs a Feminist Tool for Liberation?
Artificial wombs could radically change the physical, social, and emotional costs of pregnancy. But the technology doesn’t address the patriarchal values that still dehumanize the value of the...
View ArticleFor Latin American Environmentalists, Looming Threats of Violence
In 2018, Latin America was the world’s most dangerous region for environmental activists, accounting for more than half of the 164 environmental defenders murdered that year. Foreign mining and energy...
View ArticleAn Undercover Journey Into the Heart of Madness
In “The Great Pretender,” Susannah Cahalan explores a landmark 1970s study involving eight healthy volunteers admitted to psychiatric institutes and diagnosed with a mental illness. Their experiences...
View Article‘Evidence-Based Medicine’ and the Expulsion of Peter Gøtzsche
In fall of 2018, the Danish physician was voted out of Cochrane, an organization he co-founded and helped make a global force. The expulsion revitalized debates on the pharmaceutical industry’s...
View ArticleEp. 42: Screening Illicit Drugs to Prevent Fentanyl Deaths
In this episode, join freelance journalist Zachary Siegel and podcast host Lydia Chain as they explore the harm reduction organizations testing illicit drugs with forensic lab equipment to reduce...
View ArticleThe Amazon Lost 24,000 Square Miles of Land This Decade
The Royal Statistical Society recently announced its International Statistic of the Decade, intended to capture the decade’s most pressing issues. The winning figure was the 24,000 square miles of land...
View ArticlePsychology’s Bias Toward Rich Western Societies Limits Findings
In recent years, researchers have repeatedly shown that when it comes to personality, environment can play at least as big a role as genetics. But most psychological studies are still done in rich,...
View ArticleThe Sum of What? On Gender, Visibility, and Wikipedia
The gender imbalances among Wikipedia’s editors and biographies — both over 80 percent male — are well documented. But what of the backbone of the encyclopedia: the sources cited within its pages? To...
View ArticleHow a New Wave of Orbiting Sentinels Is Changing Climate Science
A new generation of advanced remote-sensing satellites is compiling a granular record of what is happening in the world’s most distant and difficult-to-reach latitudes in the climate-change era. Two...
View ArticleIn India, Indigenous Tribes Clash With the Government Over Trees
As part of an ambitious pledge to reduce carbon emissions, the Indian government now requires any project involving forest clearing to be coupled with a plan to create a new forest somewhere else. As...
View ArticleTo Minimize Impact on Climate, Reduce Air Travel
Some have argued that flying less isn’t an impactful way to reduce carbon emissions. But previous figures have underestimated its importance. By flying less often for both pleasure and business,...
View ArticleThe Race to Conserve America’s Black-Footed Ferrets
Arizona’s Aubrey Valley hosted some of the first ferrets reintroduced to the wild. But following what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared a success, ferret numbers suddenly began to plummet....
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