Independent voters are 'highly prized and highly elusive'

Biden and Trump may forget names or personal details, but here is what really matters in assessing whether they’re cognitively up for the job

Leo Gugerty, Clemson University

Decision-making abilities are critical to a president’s performance.

Summertime can be germy: A microbiologist explains how to avoid getting sick at the barbecue, in the pool or on the trail

Bill Sullivan, Indiana University

Common summer activities can expose you to a host of infectious diseases. But there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from pathogens ranging from E. coli to T. gondii.

PFAS are toxic ‘forever chemicals’ that linger in our air, water, soil and bodies – here’s how to keep them out of your drinking water

Jessica Ray, University of Washington

Tap water is just one of the ways people are exposed to PFAS.

Are older adults more vulnerable to scams? What psychologists have learned about who’s most susceptible, and when

Natalie C. Ebner, University of Florida; Didem Pehlivanoglu, University of Florida

Many factors shape an individual’s risk for falling prey to deception, including where and how they are targeted.

Losing winter ice is changing the Great Lakes food web – here’s how light is shaping life underwater

Steven Wilhelm, University of Tennessee; Brittany Zepernick, University of Tennessee; Robert Michael McKay, University of Windsor

In winter 2023-24, the Great Lakes’ ice cover was near record lows, peaking at just 16%. Researchers explain how diminishing ice could have consequences for fisheries, and how species are evolving.

Coral reef recovery could get a boost from an unlikely source: Sea cucumbers, the janitors of the seafloor

Mark Hay, Georgia Institute of Technology

Sea cucumbers have been overharvested for centuries. At the same time, coral reefs have declined as well. Research suggests that saving the former may help restore the latter.

Complaints are different when customers think a company cares

Vivek Astvansh, McGill University; Anshu Suri, University College Dublin; Hoorsana Damavandi, University of Tennessee

Warmth matters more than competence in some areas of business, new marketing research shows.

Community broadband provides a local solution for a global problem

Michael Lithgow, Athabasca University; Esther Jang, University of Washington; Katherine Gillieson, Emily Carr University

The internet is increasingly necessary to participate in everyday life. Empowering communities to build and maintain their own broadband networks can provide much-needed access.

Does magic really exist? The Conversation’s Curious Kids podcast

Eloise Stevens, The Conversation

Phenomena like the Northern Lights and rainbows can seem magical – even to physicists like Partha Chowdhury who study them.

Eye exercises to improve sight – is there any science behind them? An ophthalmologist explains why you shouldn’t buy the hype

American slavery wasn’t just a white man’s business − new research shows how white women profited, too

Records of Pompeii’s survivors have been found – and archaeologists are starting to understand how they rebuilt their lives