Being near a gun blast can kill brain cells

What’s next for $25B supermarket supermerger after FTC sues to block it, saying it could raise prices

Christine P. Bartholomew, University at Buffalo

Turning two big supermarket companies into one even larger one could harm consumers and workers, the government says.

How educator Gloria Jean Merriex used dance, drills and devotion to turn around a failing elementary school in a year

Boaz Dvir, Penn State

A new documentary highlights teaching techniques of an educator who went the extra mile for her students.

The true cost of food is far higher than what you spend at the checkout counter

Kathleen Merrigan, Arizona State University

A new UN report finds that the true global cost of producing food is $12.7 trillion more than consumers pay at the checkout counter. We pay those uncounted costs in other ways.

Where does lightning strike? New maps pinpoint 36.8 million yearly ground strike points in unprecedented detail

Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

A new study shows how often lightning strikes and how it behaves, often hitting the ground with multiple strikes from the same flash.

Mental fatigue has psychological triggers − new research suggests challenging goals can head it off

Matthew Robison, University of Texas at Arlington

Setting specific, hard-to-reach goals seems to help people maintain motivation, while preventing them from feeling as drained by mental tasks.

Anyone can play Tetris, but architects, engineers and animators alike use the math concepts underlying the game

Leah McCoy, Wake Forest University

People young and old love the classic video game Tetris. A working knowledge of the spatial reasoning concepts underlying Tetris can set students up for success in mathematics.

Nigeria’s security problems deepen as Anglophone insurgency in Cameroon spills across border

Augustine Aboh, University of Massachusetts

Nigeria is beset with security threats. Confronting them will take regional and international cooperation.

Taiwan election 2024: how presidential candidates left women voters unimpressed

Shan-Jan Sarah Liu, The University of Edinburgh; Li-Yin Liu, University of Dayton

Taiwan’s presidential candidates failed to address women’s interests and resonate with women voters.

More than 100K Michigan voters pick ‘uncommitted’ over Biden − does that matter for November?

Michael Traugott, University of Michigan

Organizers of the protest had set a goal of 11,000 uncommitted votes to show dissatisfaction with Biden’s support of Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.

US barrels toward another government shutdown showdown: 4 essential reads

Bryan Keogh, The Conversation

Congress is again on the brink of a government shutdown only 3½ months after the last close call.

GOP primary elections use flawed math to pick nominees

Ismar Volić, Wellesley College

There are many ways bad mathematics interferes with our democracy. Assigning delegates is just one example.

How media coverage of presidential primaries fails voters and has helped Trump

Karyn Amira, College of Charleston

In a general election, most people will vote for their party’s candidate. But in a primary, voters rely on media coverage to help them choose among candidates. And that gives the media influence.

What the ancient Indian text Bhagavad Gita can teach about not putting too much of our identity and emotions into work

Diagnosing ‘warming winter syndrome’ as summerlike heat sweeps into central and eastern US

Hundreds of thousands of US infants every year pay the consequences of prenatal exposure to drugs, a growing crisis particularly in rural America