Science & Society
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Health & Medicine
Western wildfires’ health risks extend across the country
As western wildfires become more common, hazardous smoke is sending people — especially children — to emergency rooms on the East Coast.
By Megan Sever -
Science & Society
How having health care workers handle nonviolent police calls may impact crime
A new study analyzes a Denver program that sends a mental health professional and EMT to handle trespassing and other minor crime offenses.
By Sujata Gupta -
Science & Society
Growing wildfire threats loom over the birthplace of the atomic bomb
Climate change is expected to make wildfires worse across much of the Southwest United States. A key nuclear weapons lab could be in the hot zone.
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Science & Society
Mass shootings and gun violence in the United States are increasing
In the wake of mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, a gun violence researcher shares what can be done to reduce gun violence deaths.
By Nikk Ogasa -
Science & Society
Why some scientists want serious research into UFOs
Science grapples with unknown phenomena all the time. Investigating UAP and whether they're related to aliens shouldn't be different, researchers say.
By Liz Kruesi -
Science & Society
COVID-19 has killed a million Americans. Our minds can’t comprehend that number
We intuitively compare large, approximate quantities but cannot grasp such a big, abstract number as a million U.S. COVID-19 deaths.
By Sujata Gupta -
Science & Society
Pressure to conform to social norms may explain risky COVID-19 decisions
As a science reporter covering COVID-19, I knew I should mask up at Disney World. Instead, I conformed, bared my face and got COVID-19.
By Sujata Gupta -
Humans
Eating meat is the Western norm. But norms can change
A meat-heavy diet, with its high climate costs, is the norm in the West. So social scientists are working to upend normal.
By Sujata Gupta -
Science & Society
Why it’s so hard for a one-hit wonder to have a lasting music career
An analysis of nearly 3 million pop songs from 1959 to 2010 shows fame is a dance between similarity and innovation.
By Chris Gorski -
Psychology
Latin America defies cultural theories based on East-West comparisons
Theories for how people think in individualist versus collectivist nations stem from East-West comparisons. Latin America challenges those theories.
By Sujata Gupta -
Health & Medicine
Why taking medications during pregnancy is so confusing
It's hard to know what new drugs are safe when medical research excludes pregnant people.
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Science & Society
‘Paradise Falls’ thrusts readers into the Love Canal disaster
‘Paradise Falls’ tells the story of the Love Canal environmental tragedy from the point of view of the people who lived near the former dump site.