Editor's note

Anorexia, while rare, is known as one of the deadliest of psychiatric disorders, in part because it is so hard to treat. A new analysis of several studies suggests that it may be even harder to treat than previously believed, argues Stuart Murray of the University of California at San Francisco. And while the news is sobering, Murray writes that “an important outcome of this study lies in giving those of us who study and treat anorexia a better idea of how we might move the needle.

In 2017, Nicole Fleetwood met Moliere Dimanche while conducting research for her forthcoming book on prison art. Dimanche had spent over eight years in Florida penitentiaries, much of it in solitary confinement. While there, Dimanche started to draw. Using pieces of folders, the back of commissary forms and old letters as canvases, he produced a series of fantastical, intricate and allegorical drawings that depict abuse, racism and profound isolation he experienced.

And as students return to school, Sanjay Goel, a cybersecurity scholar at the University at Albany, offers tips on how to keep kids – especially device-equipped teens – safe on mobile gadgets, computers, games and social media.

Lynne Anderson

Health + Medicine Editor

Top Stories

People with anorexia nervosa often see themselves as overweight when in fact they are not. This image depicts a young, thin woman who sees herself as larger than she is. Tatyana Dzemileva/Shutterstock.com

Anorexia more stubborn to treat than previously believed, analysis shows

Stuart Murray, University of California, San Francisco

Anorexia nervosa can be a deadly disease. A recent analysis of several studies showed that it may be even harder to treat than previously believed. But the news isn't all bad.

Moliere Dimanche would use anything he could scrounge up – pieces of folders, the back of commissary forms, old letters – as canvases. Moliere Dimanche

Through his art, a former prisoner diagnoses the systemic sickness of Florida’s penitentiaries

Nicole R. Fleetwood, Rutgers University

From solitary confinement, Moliere Dimanche started drawing on anything he could find. The result was a series of fantastical, allegorical images that depict abuse, racism and profound isolation.

Everyone’s using technology – but they’re not all as safe as they could be. Akhenaton Images/Shutterstock.com

What teenagers need to know about cybersecurity

Sanjay Goel, University at Albany, State University of New York

A cybersecurity expert offers tips to keep high schoolers safe on mobile devices, computers, games and social media.

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Politics + Society

Could Andrew Gillum be the next governor of Florida?

Sharon Austin, University of Florida

The mayor of Tallahassee underspent three rivals to win the state's Democratic primary. But what awaits in the general election?

Red-state politics in and out of the college classroom

Natasha Zaretsky, Southern Illinois University

A scholar raised by leftist San Francisco parents in the 1970s ends up teaching in the heartland, where her students represent a very different kind of politics. What she learns from them is profound.

Economy + Business

Qatar’s $15 billion snub of Trump over Turkey puts another key US relationship in Middle East at risk

Nader Habibi, Brandeis University

Qatar's decision to aid Turkey in the face of American sanctions against the country may finally be a snub too far for its close relationship with the US.

Elon Musk was right to drop his bungled plan to take Tesla private

Erik Gordon, University of Michigan

The history of leveraged buyouts suggest Musk was smart to heed the advice of investors and nip his plan to take Tesla private in the bud.

Health + Medicine

Glioblastoma topples an American hero, but researchers will continue the fight

Duane Mitchell, University of Florida

John McCain was known as a tough fighter and patriot, refusing to yield to his captors' torture while he was imprisoned as a POW. In the end, cancer claimed him. Researchers say progress is coming.

Chronic pain after trauma may depend on what stress gene variation you carry

Sarah Linnstaedt, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Did you know that trauma, even when there is no tissue or nerve damage, can cause chronic pain? Exactly how much pain and who is most vulnerable depends on which 'stress genes' we carry.

Ethics + Religion

This 19th-century argument over federal support for Christianity still resonates

David Mislin, Temple University

President Trump has promised to protect religious liberty. But there was a time when evangelicals believed that a religion that needed protection from government had no reason to exist at all.

Want to live longer? Consider the ethics

John K. Davis, California State University, Fullerton

Several companies are trying to develop life extension methods that could enable some people to live far longer. There are some ethical dilemmas.

Environment + Energy

Injecting wastewater underground can cause earthquakes up to 10 kilometers away

Emily Brodsky, University of California, Santa Cruz

New research shows that injecting wastewater deep underground can cause earthquakes far from the injection site. It also raises questions about which rock layers are the safest injection targets.

Here’s how forests rebounded from Yellowstone’s epic 1988 fires – and why that could be harder in the future

Monica G. Turner, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Huge fires roared through Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 1988, scorching one-third of the park. Since then the park has been a valuable lab for studying how forests recover from fires.

Education

Making college more affordable

Jill Tiefenthaler, Colorado College; Eric J. Barron, Pennsylvania State University; Reynold Verret,, Xavier University of Louisiana

As students head back to campus, the ever higher cost of a college education is once again top of mind. The presidents of Colorado College, Penn State and Xavier University weigh in on what's to be done.

1968 protests at Columbia University called attention to ‘Gym Crow’ and got worldwide attention

Stefan M. Bradley, Loyola Marymount University

The 1968 protests at Columbia University led the institution to abandon a gym project that residents considered racist and cut off its defense work – and generated worldwide attention in the process.

Arts + Culture

Should we scoff at the idea of love at first sight?

James Kuzner, Brown University

We talk excitedly about meeting someone with whom we 'click' or 'really hit it off.' So why do so many of us hesitate to call it love?

For the parents of gender-nonconforming kids, a new approach to care

Tey Meadow, Columbia University

The signs might be there. But parents and clinicians will still wonder if there's some foolproof way to determine whether their children are actually trans. There isn't one – and that's okay.

Science + Technology

Cracking the sugar code: Why the ‘glycome’ is the next big thing in health and medicine

Emanual Maverakis, University of California, Davis; Carlito Lebrilla, University of California, Davis; Jenny Wang, Yeshiva University

You've heard of the genome, and possibly the proteome – all the proteins in the human body. But have you heard about the glycome – the collection of sugars – that may hold the key to diagnosing disease?

Why you can smell rain

Tim Logan, Texas A&M University

A weather expert explains where petrichor – that pleasant, earthy scent that accompanies a storm's first raindrops – comes from.