Expert commentary from Karen Douglas, professor of social psychology at the University of Kent, UK, whose research focuses on beliefs in conspiracy theories. Why are conspiracy theories so popular? Who believes them? Why do people believe them? What are some of the consequences of conspiracy theories and can such theories be harmful? What are the principal...
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Staying Healthy Mentally and Physically While Protesting During a Pandemic
As people take to the streets in protest during the COVID-19 pandemic, Keck Medicine of USC experts share advice on how the public can protect both their mental well-being and physical health during this time. The importance of acknowledging the trauma many Americans experience “During this time when the American public is already mentally stretched...
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Rewilding: Rare Birds Return When Livestock Grazing Has Stopped
After a particularly long week of computer based work on my PhD, all I wanted was to hike somewhere exciting with a rich wildlife. A friend commiserated with me – I was based at Newcastle University at the time, and this particular friend wasn’t keen on the UK’s wilderness, its moorlands and bare uplands, compared...
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George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery Deaths: Racism Causes Life-Threatening Conditions for Black Men Every Day
High-profile police shootings and deaths of black men in custody – or even while out jogging – bring cries of racism across the country. The May 25 death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020 by a white...
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How Pandemics Past and Present Fuel the Rise of Mega-Corporations
In June 1348, people in England began reporting mysterious symptoms. They started off as mild and vague: headaches, aches, and nausea. This was followed by painful black lumps, or buboes, growing in the armpits and groin, which gave the disease its name: bubonic plague. The last stage was a high fever, and then death. Originating...
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George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery Deaths: Racism Causes Life-Threatening Conditions for Black Men Every Day
High-profile police shootings and deaths of black men in custody – or even while out jogging – bring cries of racism across the country. The May 25 death of George Floyd by a white police officer in Minneapolis and the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia on Feb. 23, 2020 by a white...
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George Floyd: Why the Sight of These Brave, Exhausted Protesters Gives Me Hope
In a way, you could say we’ve been holding our breath this whole time, until now. What you’re witnessing is Black America exhaling and breathing fire all over the country. We calculate, in horror, the awful symmetry of the killings of Eric Garner in 2014 in Staten Island and George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020....
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In Glowing Colors: Seeing the Spread of Drug Particles in a Forensic Lab
When two scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) brought black lights and glow powder into the Maryland State Police crime lab, they weren’t setting up a laser tag studio or nightclub. Instead, their aim was to study the way drug particles get spread around crime labs when analysts test suspected drug...
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Climate Change’s Toll on Freshwater Fish: A New Database for Science
Scientists have created a new database to help track the impacts of climate change on fish living in rivers, lakes and other inland waters throughout the world. The Fish and Climate Change Database — or FiCli (pronounced “fick-lee”) — is a searchable directory of peer-reviewed journal publications that describe projected or documented effects of climate change on...
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Portland State Study Finds Bike Lanes Provide Positive Economic Impact
Despite longstanding popular belief, bicycle lanes can actually improve business. At worst, the negative impact on sales and employment is minimal, according to a new study from Portland State’s Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC). The report is part of a larger National Street Improvements Study, conducted by Portland State University, with support from consulting...
