By Kelly Lambert, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Richmond
Trash pandas’ talent for escaping via lab vents may frustrate researchers, but their problem-solving skills make their brains a fascinating area of research.
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By Zachary W. Binder, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UMass Chan Medical School
After a sharp uptick in flu cases in mid-December 2025, flu activity across the U.S. and Canada remains high.
Although cases are trending downward in Canada as of Jan. 9, 2026, the season has yet to peak in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As…
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By Sarah Stroup, Professor of Political Science, Middlebury College
Jennifer Hadden, Associate Professor, Brown University
Since Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term in office, President Donald Trump has slashed U.S. foreign aid spending. It began with a stop-work order that paused spending on everything from treating tropical…
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By Jordan Kraft Lambert, Director of Ag Innovation and Partnerships, College of Business, Colorado State University
Jennifer Martin, Associate Professor of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
Kim Stackhouse-Lawson, Professor of Animal Science, Colorado State University
Sara Place, Associate Professor of Feedlot Systems, Colorado State University
Cowboys guided a herd of longhorn cattle through downtown Denver to celebrate the opening of the annual National Western Stock Show on Jan. 8, 2026. As ranchers bring their best cattle to compete for blue ribbons over the course of this month, it’s a good time to consider whether beef production can be part of a circular economy.
Circularity is an economic model where raw materials are responsibly sourced, waste products are put to best use and the system…
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By JT Torres, Director of the Harte Center for Teaching and Learning, Washington and Lee University
Jeff Saerys-Foy, Associate Professor of Psychology, Quinnipiac University
Reading comprehension scores are tanking, and fewer Americans are picking up books. But practicing deep reading can help you process content more carefully and keep you from falling for misinformation.
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By Amanda Meng, Senior Research Scientist, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
Alberto Dainotti, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Georgia Institute of Technology
Zachary Bischof, Senior Research Scientist, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology
The Iranian regime’s internet shutdown, initiated on Jan. 8, 2026, has severely diminished the flow of information out of the country. Without internet access, little news about the national protests that flared between Dec. 30, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026, and the regime’s violent crackdown has reached the world. Many digital rights and internet monitoring groups…
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By Peter Simons, Lecturer in History, Hamilton College
The US government used to have American farmers’ backs, but that support has been dwindling for decades. New subsidies signal big changes for farmers.
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By Christy Cobb, Associate Professor of Christianity, University of Denver
The Bible is filled with brave and courageous women.
Deborah, the judge who fought a war to protect her people. The widow Ruth, who wittingly convinces a man to marry her in order to continue the lineage of her mother-in-law, Naomi. Esther, who boldly stands up to an evil politician, Haman, in order to save the Jewish…
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By Jiao Wang, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
The numbers are in, and they paint a picture that defies the conventional wisdom of Washington’s trade hawks. In 2025, China’s trade surplus surged to a record high of US$1.2 trillion (£900 billion). In December alone, the surplus reached US$114 billion, driven by a higher-than-expected 6.6% growth in exports and 5.7% growth in imports.
The trade surplus refers to the amount by which Chinese exports outnumber its imports. And far from being strangled by external pressure – in particular from the US under Donald Trump – China’s…
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By Manal Mohammed, Senior Lecturer, Medical Microbiology, University of Westminster
Many people across cultures grow up hearing that cold weather makes you sick. Going outside without a coat, breathing in cold air, sleeping in a chilly room, getting caught in cold rain or snow, or simply feeling chilled are often blamed for causing colds or flu.
This belief feels true to many people because illness often follows cold exposure. However, modern research shows that the connection between cold weather and illness is more nuanced than the idea that cold directly causes disease.
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