Dali hit Key Bridge with the force of 66 heavy trucks at highway speed

A civil engineer lays out the physics behind Dali’s crash into the Francis Scott Key Bridge pier.

Amanda Bao, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Technology, Environmental Management and Safety, Rochester Institute of Technology • conversation
April 8, 2024 ~5 min

America's farmers are getting older, and young people aren't rushing to join them

It’s part of a decadeslong trend.

Mary Nelson Robertson, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science, Mississippi State University • conversation
Oct. 10, 2023 ~7 min


96.4% of Americans had COVID-19 antibodies in their blood by fall 2022

There’s pretty much no one left in the US who hasn’t been exposed to the coronavirus, whether by vaccination, infection or both.

Derek Cummings, Professor of Biology, the Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida • conversation
June 15, 2023 ~5 min

Night skies are getting 9.6% brighter every year as light pollution erases stars for everyone

With the help of thousands of citizen scientists, a new study measured exactly how much brighter night skies are getting every year.

Connie Walker, Scientist, National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory • conversation
Feb. 23, 2023 ~6 min

Medicaid enrollment soared by 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic – but a big decline could happen soon

Pandemic-related policies made it easier for states to afford to cover more people and made that coverage more stable for millions of Americans who rely on the program for health care.

Eric T. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences • conversation
Sept. 20, 2022 ~7 min

Mars is littered with 15,694 pounds of human trash from 50 years of robotic exploration

Discarded pieces of landing gear, crashed spacecraft and wear and tear have produced a lot of debris that is now scattered around the Martian surface.

Cagri Kilic, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Robotics, West Virginia University • conversation
Sept. 20, 2022 ~6 min

500K American men get vasectomies every year – a specialist explains the easy and reversible procedure

As more younger, single men ask for one following the Supreme Court abortion decision, a urologist explains what to expect with a vasectomy.

Ranjith Ramasamy, Associate Professor of Urology, University of Miami • conversation
Aug. 5, 2022 ~6 min

A shrinking fraction of the world's major crops goes to feed the hungry, with more used for nonfood purposes

A new study finds that by 2030, less than one-third of the world’s major crop harvests will go directly to feed people.

Deepak Ray, Senior Scientist, University of Minnesota • conversation
May 13, 2022 ~6 min


1 in 10 Americans say they don't eat meat – a growing share of the population

Plentiful meat substitutes might be making plant-based diets more popular.

Courtney Bir, Assistant Professor of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University • conversation
March 1, 2022 ~4 min

1 in 4 Americans are covered by Medicaid or CHIP – a program that insures low-income kids

Most states have taken advantage of the opportunity to expand access to Medicaid since 2014 through the Affordable Care Act. That’s helping reduce the number of uninsured people.

Ellen Barnidge, Associate Professor of Behavioral Science and Health Education; Interim Dean of the College for Public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University • conversation
Feb. 18, 2022 ~6 min

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