There have been surprisingly few experimental efforts to explore the possible avenues by which Hawai‘i’s snails might have crossed oceans to arrive in their new home. In fact, to date there has been precisely one study on this topic of which I am aware. In 2006, Brenden Holland, a researcher in the biology department at… Continue reading How Snails Cross Vast Oceans
Advancing Women’s Health Requires Better Evidence
For decades, advances in health and health care have had a bias toward the male body. The reasons for this bias aren’t nefarious, but it is simply the case that the research is incomplete. It was long assumed that what researchers found in a male could generally be applied to a female; that, on the… Continue reading Advancing Women’s Health Requires Better Evidence
Mercy Can Save Us – SpiritualDirection.com
In our present moment in history, so many are cautious towards or reject altogether anything in the arena of God and religion. Our culture appears to be more divided than ever, people demean each other over social media constantly, dialogue and discussion are being replaced with mob rule, and our churches continue to hold low… Continue reading Mercy Can Save Us – SpiritualDirection.com
Emmy Murphy Is a Mathematician Who Finds Beauty in Flexibility
How does your math timeline intersect with your history as a trans person? I transitioned at the tail end of grad school. When I was coming out, I didn’t know of any other trans people in math. I remember I found one article by this trans guy who wrote a short account of his experiences.… Continue reading Emmy Murphy Is a Mathematician Who Finds Beauty in Flexibility
As China Ascends, Concerns Grow It Might Be Tempted into a ‘Splendid Little War’
When a nation newly ascends or returns to the status of a leading international power, it often feels the need to publicly demonstrate its rise through a brief, victorious war. Today, China’s increasing strength may tempt it to pursue such a conflict, and not necessarily with Taiwan, if it anticipates—perhaps incorrectly—that victory will be swift,… Continue reading As China Ascends, Concerns Grow It Might Be Tempted into a ‘Splendid Little War’
See How Scientists Put Together the Complete Human Genome
For the first time, researchers have sequenced all 3,117,275,501 bases of our genetic code Credit: Martin KrzywinskiAdvertisement The human genome is at last complete. Researchers have been working for decades toward this goal, and the Human Genome Project claimed victory in 2001, when it had read almost all of a person’s DNA. But the stubborn… Continue reading See How Scientists Put Together the Complete Human Genome
Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Requires a ‘Compensation-First’ Approach
Teachers who work in childcare settings in the United States earn $11.65 per hour on average—less than half of what their peers working in schools earn, and below a living wage in most U.S. counties. Accordingly, even prior to the pandemic, childcare teachers (PDF) left the profession at considerably higher rates than K–12 teachers. In… Continue reading Building a Professional Early Childhood Workforce Requires a ‘Compensation-First’ Approach
AI Diagnoses Devastating Olive Tree Infection
An aggressive plant pathogen that wipes out olive trees is projected to cost Italy billions of euros over the next 50 years. Xylella fastidiosa—a bacterium named for its pickiness when grown in the laboratory—was detected in southern Italy in 2013. It is now designated a “quarantine organism” in the European Union: infected trees, some hundreds… Continue reading AI Diagnoses Devastating Olive Tree Infection
Truth Decay and National Security, Gun Violence, Blockading Crimea: RAND Weekly Recap
This week, we discuss how Truth Decay affects national security; America’s gun violence problem; why blockading Crimea may be Ukraine’s best option; improving educational outcomes for kids in foster care; the benefits of investing in women’s health research; and why the Army should be looking for slightly older recruits. Photo by Stephen Emlund/Getty Images Over… Continue reading Truth Decay and National Security, Gun Violence, Blockading Crimea: RAND Weekly Recap
Don’t Forget the Sign of the Cross
Mass begins with the Sign of the Cross which symbolizes many things: Our God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit; it reminds us just how much we are loved because God was willing to die rather than be separated from us; and it shows us what we are worth, the very life of God. What… Continue reading Don’t Forget the Sign of the Cross