The financial dilemma that wound up helping US churches thrive
American churches could not rely on the state for financial support. Private philanthropy helped them survive – and shaped the country’s religious diversity today.
Recent coverage
What the panic over Gen Z’s reading habits gets wrong
Despite dire warnings of a ‘postliterate’ generation, data suggests Gen Z is still reading – just in ways many traditional studies fail to capture.
Producing spider silk is a biological feat – scientists are using it to develop materials for drug delivery and wound care
If Spider-Man were real, he could help scientists revolutionize healthcare. Since he’s not, researchers develop creative ways to produce spider silk to study.
How to do your own online health research like a scientist – a biostatistician’s step-by-step guide
Here’s how to sift through complicated studies without getting overwhelmed.
Oil shortages escalate from wars in Iran and Ukraine, with few signs of relief
Cooking gas and diesel fuel are among the oil products whose supply levels have been affected already. Here’s why to expect long-term shortages.
Better call mom: Schools still see mothers as the default parent to contact
When both parents appeared equally available, schools were 40% more likely to call students’ moms, rather than their dads.
Before Trump, some states had already ended affirmative action for contractors – here’s what happened
Contractors affected by affirmative action bans at the state level saw a drop in employee head count but were no less likely to go out of business.
Why targeting guerrilla groups and cartels doesn’t stop violence in Latin America – but focusing on geography might
Study suggests long-practiced strategy of taking out the heads of drug cartels may be missing underlying predictors of crime.
Why the Spokane wildfires became so catastrophic
Extreme fire conditions converged in suburban neighborhoods built into the forests, shrubland and grasslands and quickly spread.
Trump administration moves to block public from enforcing environmental protection laws
For decades, regular citizens and advocacy groups have filed suits that forced companies and the federal government to clean up the environment. Trump officials have moved to limit that power.
HOAs are often barriers to sustainable landscaping and solar energy – here’s how they could be bridges instead
Climate change, biodiversity loss and water conservation are often framed as problems in need of national policies. However, there is an often more important level of governance: the neighborhood.
In memory care deserts, senior centers can help close the gap in brain-related healthcare
Specialized health care for brain-related issues can be lacking in rural areas, but collaborative, community-based approaches can help address these inequities.
Trump administration is withholding more than $1B in Medicaid funds from California and Minnesota, in latest example of weaponizing real and imagined fraud
For six decades, politicians have blurred the distinction between protecting Medicaid from abuse and using abuse to discredit Medicaid itself.
When expressive humanoid robots are awkward, people become wary – new brain study
People who interact with expressive robots that make mistakes react with suspicion rather than seeing the bots as malfunctioning machines.
Spaceflight could change how astronauts swallow, eat and drink in subtle ways
A speech-language pathologist on how complex swallowing is – and how small changes from gravity can complicate the process.
Can we remove or decrease spaces between atoms or molecules?
Turns out, changing the way atoms and molecules are arranged in a substance can give it new and fascinating properties.
Detroit has a shortage of national retailers. What can officials do to attract more chains to the city?
The city of Detroit has hired a senior director of retail attraction to bring national and regional chains into the city.
A new Houthi front and expanded Iranian attacks risk sinking Gulf nations’ choke-point workaround and widening shipping risks
The ongoing war in Iran has created an expanding zone of risk for shipping, including for Saudi Arabia’s strategy of redirecting oil exports away from Hormuz.
Why Arbaeen – the Shiite Muslim pilgrimage of mourning – has a deep significance that brings millions to Iraq each year
Each year, millions of Shiite Muslims walk to Karbala to honor Husayn, the prophet’s grandson, whose death continues to shape their faith.
The Catholic principle guiding popes through tech upheavals, from the Industrial Revolution to AI
Pope Leo is one of many popes to respond to technological change by drawing on a Catholic principle called ‘subsidiarity.’
What a western Pennsylvania ’90s-style Pizza Hut reveals about nostalgia
A Carnegie Mellon University marketing researcher explains why the love of a retro Pizza Hut has more to do with the relationships attached to it than pizza.
Leaving vehicle engines idling is unhealthy, expensive – and often illegal
Idling vehicles are easy targets for enforcement – they’re often left running for no good reason.
58 years of attacks on the media by powerful leaders trying to deflect criticism, from Nixon to Trump
American faith in news is at an all-time low, aided by a president hostile to the press. But presidents have long attacked journalists as biased. What does objectivity really mean?
How an 1876 massacre of Black men in South Carolina turned racial terror into political power
The men responsible for the bloodshed 150 years ago were never prosecuted; instead, they rose to South Carolina’s highest offices.
Foldable synthetic molecules could infiltrate and bust apart the toxic protein clumps causing Parkinson’s
Researchers are finding ways to target the toxic proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s that were once considered ‘undruggable.’
Getting outside despite your 9-to-5 job can improve your mental health – here’s how to spend time in nature during and around working hours
Sometimes the best escape isn’t a weekend away. It’s the park just down the road.
Revolving door at 10 Downing St. is weakening the special relationship between UK and US
The days of long-established relationships between the UK prime minister and the US president are long gone.
Students are anxious – and it’s no surprise, since we are teaching them to be that way
Whether students feel pressure to get good grades or keep up with classmates, the anxiety this effort produces can have long-term effects on their brains.
Fauci’s COVID-origins hearing shows how conspiracy theories became political weapons
Conspiracy theories don’t just explain events – they identify villains, and Fauci is among the most popular.
Americans feel the sting of high prices every day, so why does the Fed need so many ways to measure inflation?
Fresh off a divided Fed vote to hold rates, policymakers confront a deeper question: Which of conflicting inflation gauges should guide them?
Florida’s proposed property tax amendment will require trade-offs – and some residents could end up with higher costs
Amendment 3 would mean most homeowners pay less in property taxes – but that may not end up significantly lowering their costs.
Preeclampsia rates in minority communities shed light on the social roots of maternal health disparities
Disproportionate rates of preeclampsia – a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication – in immigrant populations reflect the physical toll of social and economic insecurities.
Should you drink Philly’s tap water?
Philadelphia’s tap water meets federal drinking water standards but falls far short of public health goals when it comes to cancer-causing chemicals.
The enduring legacy of Kashmir’s poet-saints who built bridges between faiths
Kashmir’s history as a center of learning and the arts for Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims offers another way of understanding the region – one shaped by centuries of religious coexistence.
Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop
Rather than considering how much time students spend on screens, the more useful question is whether they are asking questions and solving problems with the help of technology.
What is a side-channel attack? A cybersecurity researcher explains how computers can leak secrets without being hacked
Hackers have easier ways of getting information out of a computer, but side-channel vulnerabilities show that technology developers need to take a broad view of security.
What video review controversies in sports reveal about AI and human decision-making
The World Cup’s VAR controversies reveal a broader challenge for AI-assisted decision-making: deciding what AI should handle, what it should support and what should be left to human judgment.
Not all Coloradans want to share their cities with Canada geese and their poop – a wildlife manager shares the control methods that work
Although Canada geese were not purposely reintroduced in urban areas, many have made cities their permanent homes.
‘The Odyssey’ is a striking portrait of the psychological wounds that can emerge when people violate their deepest values
Christopher Nolan turns Homer’s legendary warrior into a case study of moral injury, a condition that often appears in war veterans who struggle to forgive themselves.
Wildfires can generate tornadoes, lightning and other extreme weather, sometimes miles from the flames
Wildfire smoke can even affect the weather downwind.
A government fund of AI stocks to benefit all Americans is a good idea, but hard to pull off
If the US were to create a fund to harness AI and buffer the economy and workers from long-term harms AI could cause, it would not be the first country to do so.
Flawed studies linking hormone therapy to breast cancer made doctors reluctant to prescribe it for menopause relief – especially for breast cancer survivors
Menopausal hormone therapy no longer has the highest-level warning label about the risk of breast cancer, opening a gray area on who would benefit most from treatment.
Should you wash your prewashed lettuce? An infectious disease expert explains how to eat your greens safely during the cyclospora outbreak
Rather than avoiding fresh produce, adopting a few sensible food safety practices can help cut your risk of infection. ➕ Includes video 🎥
AI in healthcare is an evolving landscape of new technologies, productivity benefits and legal uncertainties
A standardized framework for regulating the safety and efficacy of AI in healthcare has yet to be established.
Better guacamole? How avocado import rules helped cut Mexico’s water pollution – it holds lessons for future US trade deals
Pressure from trade agreements can clean up sources of environmental harm, leading to cleaner rivers in the case of Mexico’s much-loved avocados.
Got money questions? How to get chatbots to give you accurate answers
The gap between AI and a human adviser is narrowest for commonsense guidance.
As AI reshapes newsrooms, leading media outlets are charting different paths for its use
From the BBC’s implementation of AI guardrails to Reuters’ embrace of AI tools to disseminate breaking financial news, newsrooms’ missions and values are shaping their technological futures.
Nearly 100 years ago, Philadelphia’s Inez Patterson integrated pools and encouraged other Black girls to swim too
When Patterson was at Temple University, she insisted on swimming when her white teammates swam and not being limited to the hour when the pool was available to Black swimmers.
Cholera still kills thousands each year – in places without clean water, it’s far from history
While cholera launched modern epidemiology and has nearly disappeared in many countries, the disease never went away. It has instead retreated to the places least equipped to fight it.
What I found when I scanned the brains of kids creating tunes on the piano
Playing improv music activates the reward system of the brain.