The Conversation U.S.

Measuring poverty on a spectrum instead of an arbitrary line conveys a more accurate picture of inequality An economist proposes a new method of estimating the scope of poverty in different countries.

A Wall Street investor recently argued the U.S. poverty line should be $140,000 for a family of four, up from $33,000. But an economist says the real problem isn't where we draw the line – it's that we draw lines at all.

How Instagram addictiveness lawsuit could reshape social media – platform design meets product liability A lawsuit against Meta and Google avoids the issue of liability for content and focuses on allegations that social media platforms themselves are harmful by design.

Meta's researchers flagged concerns about Instagram's effects on adolescent body image. Internal communications compared the platform's operation to pushing drugs and gambling. Now those documents are central to a product liability case that could reshape social media.

Today’s obsession with authenticity isn’t new – being true to yourself has troubled philosophers for centuries Contemporary culture seems obsessed with authenticity – but the question of how to be ‘sincere’ in modern society has troubled philosophers for centuries.

Today’s obsession with authenticity isn’t new. Being true to yourself has troubled philosophers like Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Martin Heidegger for centuries, explains a scholar in the history of political thought.

Venezuela’s fragile environment faces rising risks as US pushes for oil and critical minerals and illegal gold mining spreads The Orinoco Basin is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. It’s also rich in oil, gold and critical minerals crucial to modern technology.

Venezuela's Orinoco River Basin holds the world's largest proven oil reserve and vast mineral wealth, and illegal gold mining has already destroyed roughly 185 square miles of forest since 2018. Now the Trump administration is pushing to expand drilling and mining in the region.

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China’s muted response over war in Iran reflects Beijing’s delicate calculus as a concerned onlooker Beijing has denounced US-Israeli action in Iran, but has not rushed to come to the aid of its regional ally.

China’s muted response over war in Iran reflects Beijing’s delicate calculus as a concerned onlooker.
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Hezbollah − degraded, weakened but not yet disarmed − destabilizes Lebanon once again Hezbollah’s entry into the current war followed the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The group has long been aligned with the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s ally Hezbollah is weakened by years of Israeli strikes, but it still has the capacity to destabilize Lebanon and cause a wider conflict.

How Denver’s Northeast Park Hill community reduced youth violence by 75% A neighborhood coalition identified risk factors for youth violence and prevention strategies.

A community-led prevention effort in Denver’s Northeast Park Hill cut youth arrests by 75% in five years, researchers say — showing how data, local leadership and youth programs CAN reduce violence.

Nearly a third of Pennsylvania gamblers are at risk of problem gambling − but few seek treatment Online gambling has become easier, faster and more prevalent on social media feeds and streaming platforms – which appeals to younger adults in particular.

As the online gambling market grows, research suggests entertainment and harm may be rising together — a pattern public health experts have seen before with alcohol and cannabis.

New research from Pennsylvania offers a case study for what those national trends may look like:

Why are some stars always visible while others come and go with the seasons? From Earth spinning on its axis and orbiting the Sun to it precessing like a top, lots of factors affect which stars you can see in the sky.

“Dad, Orion’s not there!”

A simple question from a kid turns into a lesson about why some constellations disappear for months while others (like the Big Dipper) never leave the night sky 💫

How does Iran go about selecting a new supreme leader? And who is in the running? Media reports have cast the son of slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a top candidate for supreme leader. A scholar of Iranian politics explains how the succession process has never been free or fair.

The process of choosing a new leader in Iran is a religious one, but also deeply political. Mojtaba Khameini is only a mid-ranking cleric, and does not have a lock on succeeding his father.

Far from random, China’s global port network is clustering near the world’s riskiest trade routes A review of 133 countries’ ports found a correlation between investment from China and proximity to chokepoints.

China's port investments aren't scattered randomly across the globe.

Maritime researchers found they cluster near maritime chokepoints and piracy hotspots, raising questions about whether these are purely commercial ventures or part of a broader strategy. theconversation.com/far-from-ran...

With Artemis II facing delays, NASA announces big structural changes to the lunar program Artemis II has been plagued by similar issues to those faced by its predecessor, leading NASA to shake up its plan to return humans to the Moon.

Artemis II has been plagued by similar issues to those faced by Artemis I, leading NASA to shake up its plan to return humans to the Moon. An aerospace expert explains:

A Plan B for space? On the risks of concentrating national space power in private hands What does it mean for national security if access to Earth’s orbit depends largely on one company?

What would NASA do if Elon Musk decides to withhold access to his rockets?

That partnership between SpaceX and NASA has cut costs and boosted innovation, but depending on a single company means vulnerability.

Iran’s targeting of airport, ports and hotels in reaction to US strikes has forced Gulf nations onto front lines of a war they want no part in Qatar, the UAE and other Gulf nations have spent years cultivating an image of being an oasis of stability in the Mideast. The current war risks undoing all that work.

The closure of airspace over Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain and Kuwait has created the biggest disruption to global travel since the COVID-19 pandemic, with tens of thousands of passengers stranded and critical cargo operations halted.

GLP-1 drugs may fight addiction across every major substance, according to a study of 600,000 people GLP-1 drugs are the first medication to show promise for treating addiction to a wide range of substances.

Patients taking GLP-1 drugs for diabetes or weight loss kept reporting the same thing:

They lost interest in cigarettes, alcohol and other substances.

Now a new study of 600,000 people gives evidence the drugs may curb addiction across multiple substances.

I study why zebrafish larva prefer to circle left or right, to understand how and why human brains encode right- and left-handedness Being left- or right-handed – and the paw, eye, fin and wing equivalents – is a product of genes, development and the environment.

Biologists studying zebrafish larva are uncovering why behavioral asymmetry—what we call handedness—is so common across animal species, from primates to whales.

Welcome to the ‘gray zone’ − home to nefarious international acts that fall short of outright conflict Nations are becoming adept at provocations that fall in the area between routine peacetime actions and open warfare.

Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election is just one example of "gray zone" tactics – hostile acts designed to avoid clear attribution and escape the threshold that would trigger military retaliation.

When unpaid cooking, cleaning and child care get a dollar value, income inequality in the US shrinks – but the gap has grown since 1965 Women’s unpaid work at home has declined much more than men’s contributions have increased.

Economists typically measure inequality by looking at income. But what happens when you factor in the dollar value of unpaid housework?

A new study suggests that accounting reduces the amount of inequality in America – but still shows inequality growing.
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Trauma patients recover faster when medical teams know each other well, new study finds A new study from a Pittsburgh hospital finds that trauma patients recover faster when emergency medical teams have shared experience working together.

Trauma teams aren't assembled ahead of time – they're formed on the fly in the E.R.

A new study shows that when team members have worked together before and know who has what skills, patients recover faster and spend fewer days in the hospital.
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Trauma patients recover faster when medical teams know each other well, new study finds A new study from a Pittsburgh hospital finds that trauma patients recover faster when emergency medical teams have shared experience working together.

On “The Pitt”, you see teamwork in action – with the doctors pulling in specialists and nurses as needed (as well as students).

When unpaid cooking, cleaning and child care get a dollar value, income inequality in the US shrinks – but the gap has grown since 1965 Women’s unpaid work at home has declined much more than men’s contributions have increased.

Economists typically measure inequality by looking at income. But what happens when you factor in the dollar value of unpaid housework and child care?

A new study suggests that accounting reduces the amount of inequality in America – but still shows inequality growing.

AI and 3D printing help researchers create heat- and pressure-resistant materials for aerospace and defense applications AI models are designing new metal alloys that have been 3D-printed and tested in the lab. The results are then fed back into the AI to accelerate alloy discovery.

Materials scientists are using AI and 3D printing to make new heat-resistant metal alloys, replacing metals that were high-tech decades ago.

The challenge: those metals crack when 3D-printed, but AI can explore thousands of chemical combinations to find ones that work.

Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress engaged in a breathtaking act of legislative assertion, affirming that lawmakers’ held the power to declare war – not the president.

Permanent supportive housing reduces homelessness and improves health outcomes.

A Department of Housing and Urban Development policy shift toward transitional housing could undermine years of progress in the fight against homelessness in Detroit and elsewhere.
theconversation.com/housing-firs...

Congress once fought to limit a president’s war powers − more than 50 years later, its successors are less willing to assert their authority At the tail end of the Vietnam War, Congress engaged in a breathtaking act of legislative assertion, affirming that lawmakers’ held the power to declare war – not the president.

The 1973 War Powers Resolution emerged from a bipartisan coalition in Congress that was dismayed at President Nixon’s secret bombing of Cambodia and waging war without Congressional authorization.
theconversation.com/congress-onc...

Front lines of humor: Dark humor voices Ukrainians’ hopes for victory Humor has served many functions since Russia’s full-scale invasion, from providing Ukrainians with a sense of escape and hope to spreading news.

Ukrainians have created the biggest virtual humor archive in the history of warfare from their memes. From mocking Russian soldiers as incompetent to joking about celebrating victory with wine or defeat with orgies, gallows humor transforms fear into solidarity
theconversation.com/front-lines-...

Brazilian jiu-jitsu is having its #MeToo moment With legend Andre Galvao accused of sexual misconduct, gyms and athletes have been forced to confront a culture of silence, hierarchy and gender blindness in the sport.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Andre Galvao was removed from leadership after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct. The swift backlash signals the sport may finally be reckoning with a culture that has long enabled abuse, explains a professor of women and gender studies.

GLP-1 drugs may fight addiction across every major substance, according to a study of 600,000 people GLP-1 drugs are the first medication to show promise for treating addiction to a wide range of substances.

🚨 Brand new research 🚨

GLP-1 drugs may also fight addiction.

In a study of 600,000 patients, people taking the medications had:
- 50% fewer substance-related deaths
- 39% fewer drug overdoses
- Lower risk of developing alcohol, opioid and nicotine addiction.

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#healthsky

Quick analysis from the road 🚗

Former U.S. Ambassador Donald Heflin jumped on a quick call with us to explain what’s happening with Americans stranded in the #MiddleEast.

Evacuations could take days and the U.S. didn’t give the typical advance warnings to Americans to leave before airstrikes began

U.S.-Iran war forces Gulf nations into unwanted conflict Military facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all been hit.

Iran's escalation in the Gulf is unlike anything the region has seen before. In just two days, Tehran fired 390 ballistic missiles and 830 drones at six Gulf states, targeting airports and hotels alongside military sites.

In the Columbia Missourian:

Formerly incarcerated Black men say they’re ‘doing OK’ while trying to cope with depression and PTSD A nurse scientist interviewed 29 formerly incarcerated Black men in Philadelphia to understand how they address their mental health needs.

Many formerly incarcerated Black men suppress emotions after release, sometimes connecting bottled-up feelings to the behaviors that led to prison. Community walk-in clinics and peer support offer pathways toward healthier coping.