Editor's note
|
|
A study to examine the alleged health benefits of alcohol was recently halted when questions were raised about the researchers being under the influence of the alcohol industry. Could everything we think we know about the healthfulness of moderate drinking be equally dubious? Christina Mair of the University of Pittsburgh explains why she thinks “alcohol’s dangers may be underplayed and its benefits exaggerated.”
You might want a drink tonight – to either celebrate or mourn – President Trump’s announcement of his second nominee to the Supreme Court. Political scientist Kevin J. McMahon writes that something unusual has happened to the court in recent history. The senators who confirmed three of the current justices didn’t represent a majority of voters. With a fourth “minority justice” expected the join the high court soon, McMahon asks: Is the court falling out of step with America?
One hundred years ago, the number of people on Earth numbered somewhere under 2 billion. More than 7 billion people are alive today. Just how many people can the Earth conceivably support? College of the Holy Cross mathematics professor Andrew Hwang crunched the numbers.
|
Lynne Anderson
Health + Medicine Editor
|
|
|
Top stories
|
Alcohol is part of American life, but its health risks may be underplayed.
graphic.mooi/shutterstock.com
Christina F. Mair, University of Pittsburgh
A recent study to assess the health benefits of alcohol was halted after investigators were found to have ties to the alcohol industry. Are health benefits overstated and risks underplayed?
|
The U.S. Supreme Court.
Shutterstock
Kevin J. McMahon, Trinity College
Democrats won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, but Republican presidents have appointed a majority of the sitting justices. Is the court out of step with America?
|
Slums in Caracas, Venezuela.
Wikimedia
Andrew D. Hwang, College of the Holy Cross
The global population is climbing faster and faster. What will this mean for future generations?
|
|
|
Economy + Business
|
-
Jason Dedrick, Syracuse University; Greg Linden, University of California, Berkeley; Kenneth L. Kraemer, University of California, Irvine
The president launched a trade war largely on the premise of a massive trade deficit with China. A closer look at the iPhone shows why he's wrong.
-
Brian Mittendorf, The Ohio State University
When organizations dedicated to doing good make money their top priority, they get into trouble.
|
|
Politics + Society
|
-
Brian Porter-Szücs, University of Michigan
With its attempt to purge the country's courts of 40 percent of its judges, Poland's right-wing ruling party passed another milestone on the path towards establishment of a one-party state.
-
Rockford Weitz, Tufts University
Iran has threatened to shut down this narrow seaway. Here's why that could be a big deal.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
