Soapbox

  1. A photo of a woman sitting on a couch and holding a baby while she talks on the phone and types one handed on a laptop.
    Neuroscience

    ‘Mommy brain’ doesn’t capture how the brain transforms during pregnancy

    During the transition to motherhood, there's more going on than “momnesia,” neuroscientists argue. The brain changes to prep for the job of caregiving

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  2. An illustration of gardens in a courtyard, including green space on the roof of a walk way between glass buildings.
    Science & Society

    Many plans for green infrastructure risk leaving vulnerable people out

    Green infrastructure is one way to help combat climate hazards like flooding. But without equitable planning, only some communities will benefit.

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  3. An underwater photo of a juvenile dugong swimming in the Red Sea not too far from the surface.
    Life

    A new metric of extinction risk considers how cultures care for species

    Conservation efforts should consider relationships between cultural groups and the species important to them, researchers argue.

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  4. aerial photo of a crosswalk in Tokyo
    Psychology

    Latin America defies cultural theories based on East-West comparisons

    Theories for how people think in individualist versus collectivist nations stem from East-West comparisons. Latin America challenges those theories.

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  5. image of numbers written on a chalkboard
    Math

    How the way we’re taught to round numbers in school falls short

    A rounding technique taught in school doesn’t work well for machine learning or quantum computing, but an alternative approach does, researchers say.

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  6. a sign outside a bar reading 'a shot for a shot' with a picture of a vaccine needle, advertising a free drink for people who got a COVID-19 vaccine
    Science & Society

    Nudge theory’s popularity may block insights into improving society

    Small interventions that influence people’s behavior can be tested. But the real world requires big, hard-to-measure changes too, scientists say.

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  7. photo of a climate protester holding a sign that reads 1.5 degrees
    Climate

    Climate change communication should focus less on specific numbers

    Even if nations don’t meet goals to curb global climate change, any progress is better than none.

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  8. house on Virginia's Tangier Island surrounded by flood water
    Climate

    Climate change could make Virginia’s Tangier Island uninhabitable by 2051

    Tangier Island could be lost to rising seas sooner than previously realized. Whether to save the island or move its residents remains undecided.

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  9. protester holds a sign that reads "I am not invisible"
    Science & Society

    How science overlooks Asian Americans

    Existing scientific datasets fail to capture details on Asian Americans, making it hard to assess the group’s overall well-being.

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  10. a little Black girl getting a peach-tented bandaid from a nurse
    Health & Medicine

    Redefining ‘flesh-colored’ bandages makes medicine more inclusive

    Peach-colored bandages label dark-skinned patients as outside the norm, says med student Linda Oyesiku. Brown bandages expand who gets to be normal.

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  11. Indiana bats
    Animals

    Why bat scientists are socially distancing from their subjects

    Scientists are calling for a “hands-off” approach to research to decrease the chances of spreading the coronavirus to bats in North America.

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  12. people staying cool during heat wave
    Climate

    Hurricanes have names. Some climate experts say heat waves should, too

    A newly formed international alliance aims to raise awareness about extreme temperatures and protect vulnerable populations.

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