Drug price reform could be boon for Medicare recipients

Space junk in Earth orbit and on the Moon will increase with future missions − but nobody’s in charge of cleaning it up

Chris Impey, University of Arizona

Treaties meant to ensure sustainability in space don’t currently regulate private companies, and not every country has signed on to an agreement for sustainable space exploration.

Trans students benefit from gender-inclusive classrooms, research shows – and so do the other students and science itself

Sarah Eddy, Florida International University

‘Don’t Say Gay’ bills claim to use science to justify a binary definition of sex based on certain traits. But the biology of sex and gender is not so simple.

Michael Oher, Mike Tyson and the question of whether you own your life story

Jorge L. Contreras, University of Utah; Dave Fagundes, University of Houston Law Center

Publishers and studios routinely pay large sums to acquire ‘life story rights.’ Two law scholars explain why the phrase is misleading.

Peruvian writers tell of a future rooted in the past and contemporary societal issues

Rocio Quispe Agnoli, Michigan State University

In the Global South, a group of writers are rejecting the norms of science fiction and commenting on the future in a way that embraces Indigenous culture.

How to get federal disaster aid: FEMA is running out of money, but these strategies can help survivors of Hurricane Idalia and the Maui fires get aid faster

Latisha Nixon-Jones, Jacksonville University

An expert in disaster law explains the steps for securing aid, what to do if everything is lost and the deadlines to watch.

RICO is often used to target the mob and cartels − but Trump and his associates aren’t the first outside those worlds to face charges

Gabriel J. Chin, University of California, Davis

Federal and state RICO charges, which target racketeering, have been applied to a wide range of crimes committed by politicians and business people over the past few decades.

Special counsels, like the one leading the Justice Department’s investigation of Hunter Biden, are intended to be independent − but they aren’t entirely

Joshua Holzer, Westminster College

Special counsels can help presidential administrations avoid the perception of bias, but they are not as independent as the independent counsels of the past.

A divided Australia will soon vote on the most significant referendum on Indigenous rights in 50 years

Sana Nakata, James Cook University

The last time the country voted in a referendum on Indigenous affairs was in 1967. Advocates for the ‘Voice to Parliament’ say it is the best way to remedy a long legacy of failed policies.

Many people think cannabis smoke is harmless − a physician explains how that belief can put people at risk

The federal government turns to local communities to help refugees settle into the US, but community-based programs bring both possibilities and challenges

Generative AI is a minefield for copyright law