It is conventional wisdom that Americans cherish democracy — but a new study by Yale political scientists reports that only a small fraction of U.S. voters are willing to sacrifice their partisan and policy interests to defend democratic principles. Source:… Read More ›

A new study from Oregon State University found that 77% of low- to moderate-income American households fall below the asset poverty threshold, meaning that if their income were cut off they would not have the financial assets to maintain at… Read More ›

A new national survey commissioned by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center finds more Americans are adjusting how they use social media platforms. Many participants cited stress from COVID-19 and divisive political issues as reasons for taking a social… Read More ›

Recent events have shown how vulnerable the meat processing industry is to COVID-19. Professor Robert Henry says reducing risk of spreading infection in a future pandemic will require automation. But is the public ready for robots slaughtering and eviscerating animals… Read More ›

Using an internet survey distributed in the last week of March that sampled 10,368 adults from across the country, researchers found increased levels of depression, anxiety, suicidal tendencies and psychological trauma among American adults. Source: Pandemic leads to higher depression,… Read More ›

The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50% between March and May 2020. Source: COVID-19 lockdown caused 50% global reduction in human-linked Earth vibrations

Researchers combined avalanche physics with ecosystem data to create a computational method for predicting extreme ecological events. The method may also have applications in economics and politics. Source: Researchers develop a method for predicting unprecedented events

The ongoing disruptive changes from efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are having a substantial negative impact on the physical and mental well-being of parents and their children across the country, according to a new national survey published today… Read More ›

New RAND report says US should prepare for a triumphant or ascending People’s Republic of China — scenarios that not only align with current PRC national development trends but also represent the most challenging future scenarios for the US military…. Read More ›

The lack of human activity during lockdown caused human-linked vibrations in the Earth to drop by an average of 50% between March and May 2020. Source: COVID-19 lockdown caused 50% global reduction in human-linked Earth vibrations

The fear that people developed at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak has given way to anger over the course of the pandemic, a study of global sentiments led by NTU Singapore has found. Xenophobia, a common theme among anger-related… Read More ›

As data accumulates on COVID-19 cases and deaths, researchers have observed patterns of peaks and valleys that repeat on a near-weekly basis. A study published this week in mSystems reports that those oscillations arise from variations in testing practices and… Read More ›

Health systems worldwide are massively struggling and services for mothers, newborns, young children and adolescents are crumbling, warns the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Every Woman, Every Child, Every Adolescent reviewing the impact of COVID-19. Especially worrisome: declines in… Read More ›

Previous research points to the effect of social stressors on developing upper respiratory infections, holding clues to COVID-19 risk. Source: Self-isolation may increase susceptibility to COVID-19

A new article published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science explores how lifestyle, social, and psychological factors may increase the risk of contracting COVID-19. Source: Contracting COVID-19, lifestyle and social connections may play a role

Based on one new and three recent studies, the authors of this commentary in Pediatrics conclude that children rarely transmit Covid-19, either among themselves or to adults. Based on the evidence, the authors recommend that schools reopen in the fall,… Read More ›

Archaeologists from Cardiff University and the University of Sheffield have combined the latest scientific methods to offer new insights into life during the Norman Conquest of England. Until now, the story of the Conquest has primarily been told from evidence… Read More ›

Since COVID-19’s spread to the United States earlier this year, death rates in the U.S. have risen significantly. But deaths attributed to COVID-19 only account for about two-thirds of the increase in March and April, according to a study published… Read More ›

There has been a surge in domestic child abuse during the coronavirus pandemic, suggests the experience of one specialist UK children’s hospital, reported in Archives of Disease in Childhood. Source: Surge in domestic child abuse during pandemic, reports specialist UK… Read More ›

The findings of a nationwide survey assessing the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotional wellbeing of U.S. adults show 90 percent of survey respondents reported experiencing emotional distress related to the pandemic. Source: National survey on COVID-19 pandemic… Read More ›

Facebook is a more fertile breeding ground for fake news than Twitter, and ideological extremists are most likely to spread it, according to a new study of 783 social media users. Source: Ideologically extreme Facebook users spread the most fake… Read More ›

New study shows that jellyfish are an important food source for many animals. As jellyfish blooms become more frequent and more massive, this could affect marine ecosystems. Source: Jellyfish contain no calories, so why do they still attract predators?