A note from...
Kalpana Jain
Senior Religion + Ethics Editor
For decades, the United States has spent billions on aid for countries in need. Under the Trump administration, though, questions have been raised about the necessity of continuing with programs aimed at helping strangers in other countries.
Tufts University’s Heather D. Curtis explains how, back in the late 19th century, a widely read Christian newspaper, the Christian Herald, influenced American charity abroad. By using first-hand accounts and “photographs of calamities” from missionaries across the globe, the newspaper moved Americans into donating millions toward international aid efforts.
For International Day of Charity on Sept. 5, a history of how the Christian Herald mobilized Americans in the late 19th century to give millions for the relief of global suffering.
A new study of nearly 500,000 individuals finds that many genes affect same-sex behavior, including newly identified candidates that may regulate smell and sex hormones.
Quentin Wheeler, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Antonio G. Valdecasas, CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Cristina Cánovas, CSIC - Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas
If you go by editorial cartoons and T-shirts, you might have the impression that evolution proceeds as an orderly march toward a preordained finish line. But that's not right at all.
Qi Bing, University of California, Irvine; Maura C. Allaire, University of California, Irvine
Newark is the latest US city to struggle with high lead levels in drinking water. Ending this public health crisis will require more money and enforcement, plus stricter water testing standards.
Low-dose CT scans can detect lung cancer in smokers and former smokers at an early and sometimes treatable stage. Why are so few smokers and former smokers getting them?
Jill Johnstone, University of Saskatchewan; Carissa Brown, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Xanthe Walker, Northern Arizona University
The boreal forest is being reshaped by wildfire. As climate change intensifies wildfire activity, the boreal forest will likely become a carbon source.
