Why US election certification can't be blocked

Trump’s die-hard support may be explained by one of his most misunderstood character traits – ‘charisma’

Michael Scott Bryant, Bryant University

Throughout modern history, charismatic leaders have shown their extraordinary ability to elicit devotion to themselves and their causes.

India’s new mega-dam will roil lives downstream with wild swings in water flow every day

Parag Jyoti Saikia, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The hydropower dam is part of a huge effort to boost India’s homegrown energy. But it will radically disrupt the lives and livelihoods of indigenous communities in the flood plains downstream.

Humans infecting animals infecting humans − from COVID-19 to bird flu, preventing pandemics requires protecting all species

Anna Fagre, Colorado State University; Sadie Jane Ryan, University of Florida

Infectious diseases can spill over from animals to humans as well as spill back. Each cross-species transmission gives pathogens a chance to evolve and spread even further.

Preparing for a pandemic that never came ended up setting off another − how an accidental virus release triggered 1977’s ‘Russian flu’

Donald S. Burke, University of Pittsburgh

An epidemiologist makes the case that a rush of research to stop a swine flu outbreak led to an accidental lab release of an extinct virus. Preparing for one pandemic triggered a different one.

New NFL helmet accessory reduces concussions − but players and fans may not be ready to embrace safety over swag

Noah Cohan, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

For the first time, players will be permitted to wear Guardian Caps over their helmets during regular season games.

How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language

Anthony Petro, Boston University

The nascent LGBTQ+ rights movement and the Christian right each strongly shaped the early years of HIV/AIDS, a historian explains.

‘Social profit orientation’ can help companies and nonprofits alike do more good in the world

Leonard L. Berry, Texas A&M University; Lerzan Aksoy, Fordham University; Tracey Danaher, Monash University

Generating financial returns, noble and important as that goal is, is no longer enough, 3 scholars of marketing argue.

Mobile phones are not linked to brain cancer, according to a major review of 28 years of research

Sarah Loughran, University of Wollongong; Ken Karipidis, Monash University

We now have the strongest evidence to date that radio waves from mobile phones are not a hazard to human health.

Domesticating horses had a huge impact on human society − new science rewrites where and when it first happened

What is space made of? An astrophysics expert explains all the components – from radiation to dark matter – found in the vacuum of space

5 lessons from ancient civilizations for keeping homes cool in hot, dry climates