They started by re-proving Hardt and Simon’s decades-old result in eight dimensions, this time using a different method they hoped to test out. First, they assumed the opposite of what they wanted to show: that when you slightly perturb the wire frame that defines your surface, a singularity (a single point) always persists. Each time… Continue reading New Proofs Probe Soap-Film Singularities
Turning the Tide on NEET: Global Lessons to Empower UK Youth
The Keep Britain Working Review published in early November is the latest expression of widespread concerns over the levels of economic inactivity in the UK. For years this challenge has hit young people particularly hard. Recent data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed that 948,000 young people aged 16–24 classed as not in… Continue reading Turning the Tide on NEET: Global Lessons to Empower UK Youth
Can Fighting Racism Help Prevent Alzheimer’s? Scientists Think So
This article is part of “Innovations In: Alzheimer’s Disease” an editorially independent special report that was produced with financial support from Eisai. About four years ago Clifford Harper, then 85, announced to his wife that he was quitting alcohol. Harper wasn’t a heavy drinker but enjoyed a good Japanese whiskey. It was the first of… Continue reading Can Fighting Racism Help Prevent Alzheimer’s? Scientists Think So
Could Home Sensors Ease Pressures in Social Care?
The social care system in England is under great strain, with rising demand, budget cuts and a shrinking workforce (PDF). In the last decade several technology-enabled care initiatives have been trialled to help overcome some of these pressures, with a key focus on helping people live independently, at home, for longer. One of these initiatives… Continue reading Could Home Sensors Ease Pressures in Social Care?
To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle
First things first: What is SAT? It uses something called a propositional formula, which you can imagine as a very big sudoku board. In every cell, you only have two options: only one or zero, standing for true or false. You also have the rules, or constraints, about how many zeros or ones can be… Continue reading To Have Machines Make Math Proofs, Turn Them Into a Puzzle
The Rise of Latino America
In a recent focus group we held with 11 U.S. and foreign-born Latinos in Riverside, California, most of the participants expressed grave concerns about the breakup of hard-working and law-abiding families in what one participant called ICE’s “war” against Latinos. And yet, when asked if they were optimistic about the future, all 11 enthusiastically said “yes.” … Continue reading The Rise of Latino America
Fast Fashion Must Go Out of Style
People in the U.S. throw away at least 17 million tons of textiles every year—about 100 pounds of clothing per person. At the same time, unsold blouses, jackets, and other fashion-industry leftovers end up in dumps such as the one in Chile’s Atacama Desert, so vast as to be visible from space. Many of these… Continue reading Fast Fashion Must Go Out of Style
Pennsylvania’s Mandate for Moderation | RealClearPennsylvania
The 2025 Pittsburgh mayoral election delivered a resounding message that most progressive activists would prefer to ignore. Corey O’Connor, who defeated incumbent Ed Gainey in the Democratic primary, achieved high levels of off-year turnout and secured more than 80% of the vote against fedora-wearing perennial Republican candidate Tony Moreno. The margin represented a mandate for… Continue reading Pennsylvania’s Mandate for Moderation | RealClearPennsylvania
Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics
A century ago, the strange behavior of atoms and elementary particles led physicists to formulate a new theory of nature. That theory, quantum mechanics, found immediate success, proving its worth with accurate calculations of hydrogen’s emission and absorption of light. There was, however, a snag. The central equation of quantum mechanics featured the imaginary number… Continue reading Physicists Take the Imaginary Numbers Out of Quantum Mechanics
Despite Union Opposition, Massachusetts House Puts Students and Teachers First with Literacy Reform
Last week, the Massachusetts House unanimously passed a bipartisan literacy reform bill, 155-0, that would mandate the evidence-based, “science of reading” approach that has swept the country. The state, additionally, has a $35 million grant program called Literacy Launch that is dedicated to helping districts transition their curriculum to science-based literacy materials. After years of… Continue reading Despite Union Opposition, Massachusetts House Puts Students and Teachers First with Literacy Reform