Supreme Court may send abortion back to the states

What’s at stake as Supreme Court appears intent on overturning Roe v. Wade – 3 essential reads

Matt Williams, The Conversation

A draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito suggests that a majority of the court may overturn the landmark 1973 ruling that guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion in the US.

Abortion pills are safe to prescribe without in-person exams, new research finds

Ushma Upadhyay, University of California, San Francisco

During the pandemic, health care providers began prescribing abortion pills without requiring in-person exams. This practice could help people access the care they need when abortion rights are in limbo.

Will new vaccines be better at fighting coronavirus variants? 5 questions answered

Vaibhav Upadhyay, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Krishna Mallela, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Existing coronavirus vaccines are not as effective against newer variants of the virus. Two vaccine experts explain how new vaccines currently in development will likely offer better protection.

A boom in fitness trackers isn’t leading to a boom in physical activity – men, women, kids and adults in developed countries are all moving less

Scott A. Conger, Boise State University; David Bassett, University of Tennessee; Lindsay Toth, University of North Florida

Research is revealing that fitness trackers alone can be helpful facilitators toward changing a sedentary lifestyle but don’t motivate people to increase their physical activity.

Wastewater monitoring took off during the COVID-19 pandemic – and here’s how it could help head off future outbreaks

Susan De Long, Colorado State University; Carol Wilusz, Colorado State University

Over 800 sites across the US report coronavirus data from sewage to the CDC. Here’s how this kind of surveillance system works and what it can and can’t tell you.

PFAS are showing up in children’s stain- and water-resistant products – including those labeled ‘nontoxic’ and ‘green’

Kathryn Rodgers, Boston University

Tests found PFAS in school uniforms, pillows, upholstered furniture and several other items that are often next to children’s skin and near their noses and mouths.

Western river compacts were innovative in the 1920s but couldn’t foresee today’s water challenges

Patricia J. Rettig, Colorado State University

Agreements negotiated a century ago to share water on Western rivers among states are showing their age in a time of water scarcity.

No, Biden can’t just sell off seized Russian yachts and central bank assets to help aid Ukraine – international law and the US Constitution forbid it

Paul B. Stephan, University of Virginia

The US has frozen tens of billions of dollars worth of assets belonging to Russians and their government. A legal scholar explains why confiscating them is a bit trickier.

Some funders are embracing ‘trust-based philanthropy’ by giving money without lots of obligations

Emily Finchum-Mason, University of Washington

This growing trend aims to shift some of the power funders typically wield to the groups getting their money.

Rural superintendents lament: ‘We went from being heroes to villains’

Gerald K. LeTendre, Penn State; Peggy Schooling, Penn State

A study of rural schools in Pennsylvania found that schools ended up in a clash between local residents and state and federal agencies.

What makes religious relics – like pieces of the ‘true cross’ and hair of saints – sacred to Christians

Joanne M. Pierce, College of the Holy Cross

Relics often provided a way to bring more pilgrims into a church – and therefore, more offerings.

Satellites over the Amazon capture the choking of the ‘house of God’ by the Belo Monte Dam – they can help find solutions, too

Blasting out Earth’s location with the hope of reaching aliens is a controversial idea – two teams of scientists are doing it anyway

The photographer who fought the Sicilian Mafia for five decades