METRO - Metropolitan Digital

What is Chabad-Lubavitch? A Jewish studies scholar explains

Lubavitchers have put up leaflets, posters and even murals of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson around the world, with many proclaiming him the messiah. Nizzan Cohen via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SAIf y...

Schneur Zalman Newfield, Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies, Hunter College

Overseas US voters get ignored by political campaigns − but could be crucial supporters
Election workers prepare to mail absentee ballots to Americans, including those living overseas.Allison Joyce/Getty ImagesOne group of American voters is being largely ignored in the closely watched polling leading up to the Nov. 5 elections: U.S. citizens living abroad…
Philly hospitals test new strategy for ‘tranq dope’ withdrawal – and it keeps patients from walking out before their treatment is done
Patients suffering withdrawal from fentanyl and xylazine can require intensive care.SDI Productions/E+ Collection via Getty ImagesUnimaginable pain and restlessness. Vomiting so frequent and forceful that it can perforate the esophagus. Blood pressure and heart rate so …
4 ways AI can be used and abused in the 2024 election, from deepfakes to foreign interference
The American public is on alert about artificial intelligence and the 2024 election. A September 2024 poll by the Pew Research Center found that well over half of Americans worry that artificial intelligence – or AI, computer technology mimicking the processes and…
Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding − entirely caused by humans
A consequence of dredging deep channels is that water also enters more easily with tides and storm surge.Google EarthCenturies ago, estuaries around the world were teeming with birds and turbulent with schools of fish, their marshlands and endless tracts of channels mel…

Presidential elections provide opportunities to teach about power, proportions and percentages

The complex voting system in the U.S. requires a sophisticated understanding of math.bamlou/DigitalVision VectorsTo American voters, the process of electing a president and other officials may be diff...

Liza Bondurant, Associate Professor of Secondary Math Education, Mississippi State University

Socially distanced layout of the world’s oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases
Excavations at Çatalhöyük show how closely people lived before the settlement collapsed.Mark Nesbitt/Wikimedia Commons, CC BYIn my research focused on early farmers of Europe, I have often wondered about a curious pattern through time: Farmers lived in …
On crime and justice, Trump and Harris records differ widely
Though crime and criminal justice policy are central issues in many elections, that’s not true in 2024. Surveys show that relatively few American voters rank crime as their most important concern.Yet both former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Har…
‘Childless cat ladies’ is a political catchphrase that doesn’t match reality − Democrats and Republicans have similar demographics and experiences when it comes to parenthood
Republicans and Democrats tend to have children at around the same rates and ages and to view parenthood in a similar way.iStock / Getty Images PlusRepublican vice presidential candidate JD Vance infamously said in 2021that the Democratic Party is run by “a bunch …
People displaced by hurricanes face anxiety and a long road to recovery, US census surveys show − smarter, targeted policies could help
Hurricane Helene flooded homes with water and mud in Marshall, N.C. Many people will be out of their homes for months or longer.AP Photo/Jeff RobersonThe trauma of natural disasters doesn’t end when the storm or wildfire is gone, or even when communities are being…

How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials

An illustration of a court scene during the late-17th century witch trials in Salem, Mass.Christine_Kohler/iStock via Getty Images PlusI teach a course on New England witchcraft trials, and students a...

Bridget Marshall, Professor of English, UMass Lowell

This course explores the history of contested presidential elections
The 2000 election featuring George W. Bush and Al Gore was ultimately decided by the Supreme Court.Tannen Maury via Getty ImagesUncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.Title of course:Contested U.S. Presidential Elections…
Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it
How did early cells keep themselves distinct while allowing for some amount of exchange?UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering/Peter Allen, Second Bay Studios, CC BY-NDBillions of years of evolution have made modern cells incredibly complex. Inside cells are small compartments called orga…
Why FEMA’s disaster relief gets political − especially when hurricane season and election season collide
President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the effects of Hurricane Milton on Oct. 10, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty ImagesRumors and lies about government responses to natural disasters are not new. Politics, misinformation and blame-shifting have long surrounded government response…
A devastating hurricane doesn’t dramatically change how people vote – but in a close election, it can matter
Residents walk on a damaged street in Sarasota, Fla., on Oct. 10, 2024. Eva Marie Uzcategui for The Washington Post via Getty Images North Carolina and Florida are changing administrative rules and, in some cases, issuing emergency funding that is intended to make it easier for people in areas damag…
No country still uses an electoral college − except the US
Every four years, Congress gathers to count electoral votes.AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteThe United States is the only democracy in the world where a presidential candidate can get the most popular votes and still lose the election. Thanks to the Electoral College, that has happened five times in the…

MicroRNA − a new Nobel laureate describes the scientific process of discovering these tiny molecules that turn genes on and off

Microplastic pollution is everywhere, even in the exhaled breath of dolphins – new research

Aquaculture could harm animal welfare or protect it, depending on what species the farms raise

Black Myth: Wukong – how China’s gaming revolution is fueling its tech power

Bouncing between war-torn countries: Displacement in Lebanon and Syria highlights cyclical nature of…

What is Chabad-Lubavitch? A Jewish studies scholar explains

With abortion heading back to the Supreme Court, is it time to retire the 'my body, my choice' slogan?

Sri Lanka teeters on economic edge, from pandemic-fueled financial crisis and Ukraine war spillovers

A brief history of colorful presidential relatives, from Alice Roosevelt to Hunter Biden

Supreme Court upholds American Indian treaty promises, orders Oklahoma to follow federal law

Afghanistan after the US withdrawal: The Taliban speak more moderately but their extremist rule hasn't evolved in 20 years

Large retailers don’t have smokestacks, but they generate a lot of pollution − and states are starting to regulate it

How your employer uses perks like wellness programs, phones and free food to control your life

Curious Kids: What is a whistleblower?

Video of 6-year-old girl's arrest shows the perils of putting police in primary schools

Why Poland’s new government is challenged by abortion

India's goddesses of contagion provide protection in the pandemic – just don't make them angry

What is Chabad-Lubavitch? A Jewish studies scholar explains

Overseas US voters get ignored by political campaigns − but could be crucial supporters

Philly hospitals test new strategy for ‘tranq dope’ withdrawal – and it keeps patients from walking out before their treatment is done

4 ways AI can be used and abused in the 2024 election, from deepfakes to foreign interference

Coastal cities have a hidden vulnerability to storm-surge and tidal flooding − entirely caused by humans

Presidential elections provide opportunities to teach about power, proportions and percentages

Socially distanced layout of the world’s oldest cities helped early civilization evade diseases

On crime and justice, Trump and Harris records differ widely

‘Childless cat ladies’ is a political catchphrase that doesn’t match reality − Democrats and Republicans have similar demographics and experiences when it comes to parenthood

People displaced by hurricanes face anxiety and a long road to recovery, US census surveys show − smarter, targeted policies could help

How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials

This course explores the history of contested presidential elections

Rain may have helped form the first cells, kick-starting life as we know it

Why FEMA’s disaster relief gets political − especially when hurricane season and election season collide

A devastating hurricane doesn’t dramatically change how people vote – but in a close election, it can matter

No country still uses an electoral college − except the US