Infant mortality has risen in states that enacted tighter abortion restrictions in the wake of the June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision. This occurs for newborns – those less than a day old – as well as older infants – those 1 month to 1 year old. In addition, states with new restrictions...
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An Arkansas Group’s Effort to Build a White Ethnostate Forms Part of a Wider Us Movement Inspired by White Supremacy
In October 2023, a group calling itself Return to the Land established its first “Whites only community” in the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas. They followed that with a second enclave nearby in 2025. The group, which describes itself as a “private membership association” that helps groups form “European heritage communities,” plans to build four more...
How Can Businesses Use Your Data to Charge You More? A Privacy Expert Explains
From airline tickets and e-commerce to rideshares and food delivery, some companies are quietly using your personal data to decide how much you pay — and it could mean you’re paying more than the person next to you. France Bélanger, a University Distinguished Professor in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, is an expert on...
Why Small Business Owners Are More Likely to Be Right Wing
Small business owners are more likely to identify with and vote for right-wing parties, a new study in the British Journal of Political Science, published by Cambridge University Press reveals. The research suggests it is the experience of being a small business owner that leads people to adopt conservative views on government regulation. The study, which analysed...
African Art Gets a Global Stage in Johannesburg
Amid a shifting cityscape, artists, cultural workers, and the Continent’s oldest art fair have forged an inspiring path forward Johannesburg’s art scene is a picture of paradox. It is gritty and resilient, but also filled with energy and excitement. It has continuously thrived in the absence of institutional support and infrastructure. While facing the same...
Scientific Objectivity Is a Myth – Cultural Values and Beliefs Always Influence Science and the People Who Do It
Even if you don’t recall many facts from high school biology, you likely remember the cells required for making babies: egg and sperm. Maybe you can picture a swarm of sperm cells battling each other in a race to be the first to penetrate the egg. For decades, scientific literature described human conception this way,...
“Greetings from 51 Pegasi B”: How NASA Made Exoplanets into Tourist Destinations
A new JCOM paper analyzes the synergy between artists and scientists in a popular exoplanet science communication campaign Looking for the perfect vacation? Do you crave late-night fun? PSO J318.5−22, the planet with no star where nightlife never ends, is perfect for you! Prefer some peace and a chance to catch some rays? Kepler-16b, the land of...
Latin American Literature Contains Warnings for American Universities That Yield to Trump
As university leaders work to make deals with the Trump administration, many college presidents are at an ethical crossroads. On the one hand, they must do all they can to restore funding for vital research. On the other, they risk ceding to the demands of a president with views that don’t align with their missions....
Breaking the Code in Network Theory: Who Leads and Who Follows?
Breakthrough reveals not just who’s connected—but who’s leading the pack As summer winds down, many of us in continental Europe are heading back north. The long return journeys from the beaches of southern France, Spain, and Italy once again clog alpine tunnels and Mediterranean coastal routes during the infamous Black Saturday bottlenecks. This annual migration,...
Establishing Power Through Divine Portrayal and Depictions of Violence
Today a desert – as far as the eye can see. However, anyone looking more closely will discover hundreds of images carved into the rock. This ancient Egyptian graffiti attests to the fact that a new claim to sovereignty emerged here on the periphery over 5,000 years ago. One of these kings was known as...