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Editor's Choice
Chemicals from the smoke lingered inside homes long after the wildfires were out – studies tracked the harm
Yifang Zhu, University of California, Los Angeles When wildfires began racing through the Los Angeles area on Jan. 7, 2025, the scope of the disaster caught residents by surprise. Forecasters…
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Editor's Choice
The US used to be really dirty – environmental cleanup laws have made a huge difference
James Salzman, University of California, Santa Barbara; University of California, Los Angeles Growing up in the 1970s, I took for granted the trash piles along the highway, tires washed up…
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Editor's Choice
What is autistic burnout? And what can you do about it?
Sam Arnold, Western Sydney University and Julianne Maree Higgins, UNSW Sydney Many autistic people face challenges in their daily life while navigating a world made for neurotypical people. Think about…
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Editor's Choice
Do I have to rinse out my swimsuit after the pool? A textile scientist has the answer
Carolina Quintero Rodriguez, RMIT University Summer means sunshine, beach days, and afternoons by the pool … which means wearing swimwear and looking after it. But while we enjoy those carefree…
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Editor's Choice
More floods are coming. Here’s what actually works to help people prepare
Brian Robert Cook, The University of Melbourne; Nicholas Harrigan, Macquarie University, and Peter Kamstra, The University of Melbourne Weekend storms and flooding in New South Wales led to the NSW…
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Book
An attack on left-wing, literary ‘culture police’ displays the flawed thinking it aims to critique
Dan Dixon, University of Sydney Adam Szetela’s That Book Is Dangerous! makes the case that we exist in the “Sensitivity Era”. According to Szetela, American literature – in particular…
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Editor's Choice
How hot is too hot? Here’s what to consider when exercising in the heat
Samuel Chalmers, Adelaide University and Yuri Hosokawa, Waseda University If you like to exercise outdoors, summer gives you more chance to catch the daylight. It’s often easier to get…
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Editor's Choice
Viral outbreaks are always on the horizon – here are the viruses an infectious disease expert is watching in 2026
Patrick Jackson, University of Virginia A new year might mean new viral threats. Old viruses are constantly evolving. A warming and increasingly populated planet puts humans in contact with more…
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Editor's Choice
Risks young chimps take as they swing through the trees underscore role of protective parenting in humans
Laura M. MacLatchy, University of Michigan and Lauren Sarringhaus, James Madison University Adolescents are known for risky behavior, with teenagers in the U.S. more likely than younger children to die…
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Editor's Choice
Grok produces sexualized photos of women and minors for users on X – a legal scholar explains why it’s happening and what can be done
Wayne Unger, Quinnipiac University Since the end of December, 2025, X’s artificial intelligence chatbot, Grok, has responded to many users’ requests to undress real people by turning photos of the…
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Book
Geoffrey Robertson believes international law is failing us – but the solutions are unclear
Paul Taucher, Murdoch University World of War Crimes: Eyeless in Gaza … and Beyond, the latest book by barrister and human rights advocate Geoffrey Robertson, quickly establishes that contemporary international…
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Editor's Choice
The western US is in a snow drought, and storms have been making it worse
The western US is in a snow drought, and storms have been making it worse Skiers and snowboarders walk across dry ground to reach a slope at Bear Mountain ski resort…
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Editor's Choice
Can we use bees as a model of intelligent alien life to develop interstellar communication?
Scarlett Howard, Monash University; Adrian Dyer, Monash University, and Andrew Greentree, RMIT University Humans have always been fascinated with space. We frequently question whether we are alone in the…
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Editor's Choice
We discovered microbes in bark ‘eat’ climate gases. This will change the way we think about trees
Luke Jeffrey, Southern Cross University; Chris Greening, Monash University; Damien Maher, Southern Cross University, and Pok Man Leung, Monash University We all know trees are climate heroes. They pull carbon…
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Editor's Choice
I served on the expert committee that advised the government on new dietary guidelines – most of our recommendations were ignored
Cristina Palacios, Florida International University Every five years, the U.S. government releases an updated set of recommendations on healthy eating. This document, called the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, has served…
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