top story in May-June 2009
A New Clue to Finding Land Mines
Duke University Engineers use the classic detective game of CLUE™ to teach robots how to navigate minefields and find hidden explosives.
An Economy of Change
Our spinogram allows you to watch the U.S. economy change before your very eyes.
Morals Authority
Liberals and conservatives conceive of morality in decidedly different ways. Jonathan Haidt has mapped out their competing ethical universes in hopes they can learn to peacefully coexist.
We Are Accused of Over-cheerfulness
Letters to the editor: OK, bucko, step outside and say we’re afraid of population growth. Go ahead. See what happens.
Leon Botstein: In It for the Duration
A Miller-McCune interview of intellectual provocateur Leon Botstein.
A History in the Making
Julie Cajune leads a groundbreaking Montana initiative to compile American-Indian history and include it in public education.
Lessons From the Reverse Engineering of Nature
A Miller-McCune Research Essay by Columbia University professor Shahid Naeem on the importance of biodiversity and the true significance of the human species.
A Government at Risk?
Wonks examine the state of American self-governance; little hopeful audacity is found.
Study in Contrepreneurship
In its first four years, Catherine Rohr’s Prison Entrepreneurship Program shows some success in turning drug dealers and other convicts into legit businessmen.
archive
The Salt Mine Solution
In the Salado salt formation a half-mile below the New Mexico desert, WIPP has room to store all the radioactive waste an expanded nuclear power program could produce. Emphasis on the word could.
Tilting at Turbines
Many environmentalists oppose a “green” idea for tidal power in the U.K. So do British surfers.
Benefits of the Daddy Brain
New research shows that fatherhood can make you a better man. While men don’t endure the pangs of childbirth, studies show they get some of the same cognitive and physical benefits from their own altered biochemistry, which occurs once the baby arrives.
Nonprofit-Funded, University-Based News
Can journalism schools oversee the public-interest news organizations of the future? Yes, with caveats.
Golf of Ages
We look at studies analyzing the longevity of pro golfers’ careers, health benefits for amateur players, environmental impact of the greens as well as sexism on the links.
related to May-June 2009
politics
- Conservatives’ Politics of Fear a Biological Response
- Scandals Do Drive Voters — When Abuse of Power Is Involved
- Are Facebook, Twitter Fostering Civic Engagement?
- Taking Liberties Back From the Patriot Act
- Anger, Politics and the Wisdom of Uncertainty
business
- Learning to Read When a School System Falters
- Conservatives’ Politics of Fear a Biological Response
- No Debate: Kids Can Learn By Arguing
- For Better Grades, Try Bach in the Background
- One Laptop Per Child Redux
science
- Teens Weigh Ethical Animal Research Dilemmas
- ‘The Real Science Gap’ Receives Investigative Reporting Prize
- Scientists Take Charles Darwin on the Road
- Petroleum Engineering Shows U.S. Students’ Hidden Prowess
- Wording Change Softens Global Warming Skeptics
culture
media
- How Google Disrespected Mexican History
- ‘State of Minds’ Puts Research in the Spotlight
- Lessons From China and India’s Newspaper Boom
- The Third Way to Media Success
- Golden Age of Newscasts is Now — on NPR
legal affairs
- Law Without (As Many) Lawyers
- Eyewitness IDs Can Be Made Better
- Legal Services Wanted; Lawyers Need Not Apply
- Deadbeat Dad Policy Needs Renewed Scrutiny
- Lee Baca Wants to Educate L.A.’s Prisoners
environment
- T.C. Boyle Interview: Nature and the Novelist
- Wording Change Softens Global Warming Skeptics
- Big Voice in Climate Debate Silenced
- The Doubt Makers
health
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from the source
Gender Wage Gap Skewed By Survey Flaws
The wage gap between the sexes in America has been closing much faster than anyone realized, but that’s tempered by learning it’s been much wider than measurements had shown.
‘Orcas as Slaves’ Argument Sinks
An effort to identify five performing orcas as slaves failed in part, argues one scholar, because there’s no legal precedent establishing them as persons.
The Perceived Delicacy of the Female Conductor
New research finds listeners judge symphonic music differently when they’re told the conductor is a woman.
House Puts Transportation in Partisan Crossfire
Transportation used to be one of the few guaranteed areas of agreement when ideology trumped pragmatism in D.C. But that’s no longer the case.
Pressure to Conform Can Inspire Creativity
New research suggests less-creative people do more innovative thinking when they are told individualism is the norm, and instructed to conform.
Better Super Bowl Makes for Better Ads
A lot of people say they watch the Super Bowl mostly for the ads. But it turns out a good game surrounding those ads makes them seem better.
Overseas Troops Finally Get Fair Shot at Voting
After decades of obstacles hindering the voting process, new laws will allow overseas and military voters to submit their votes in time for the 2012 election.
Neglected Tropical Diseases Neglected No More?
World health leaders announce coordinated push to eradicate or control neglected tropical diseases.
Children’s Books Increasingly Ignore Natural World
A survey of award-winning children’s picture books from 1938 to 2008 suggests our increasing estrangement from the natural environment.
Traffic Solution: Make Drivers Less Lonely
Rather than moaning about too many cars on the road, the Ridesharing Institute says the real key to battling traffic congestion and pollution is filling empty passenger seats.
Hall of fame
Slugging — The People’s Transit
In Washington, D.C., commuters have taken thousands of cars off highways via a homegrown rideshare system known as “slugging.” Can the government create more slugs — without stepping on any?
Bacteria ‘R’ Us
Emerging research shows that bacteria have powers to engineer the environment, to communicate and to affect human well-being. They may even think.
A New Take on Political Ideology
An evolutionary psychologist proposes a new framework for understanding the root causes of our political beliefs.
The Real Science Gap
It’s not insufficient schooling or a shortage of scientists. It’s a lack of job opportunities. Americans need the reasonable hope that spending their youth preparing to do science will provide a satisfactory career.
Triumph of the Cyborg Composer
David Cope’s software creates beautiful, original music. Why are people so angry about that?
