The U.S. is in the throes of a harsh flu season – and Hurricane Maria is making things more complicated. Nearly half of all saline is normally produced in Puerto Rico. But now some hospitals are running low, forcing them to turn to less desirable alternatives. The situation exposes a serious flaw in our medical system. With so many supplies produced overseas, Texas A&M’s Morten Wendelbo and Christine Crudo Blackburn explain, the U.S. is always just one pandemic or natural disaster away from a public health crisis.

When you think of cultural pursuits, probably some combination of art, music, theater, film and even religion comes to mind. University of Southern California Dornsife physicist Clifford Johnson got sick of seeing science “portrayed as opposite to art, intuition and mystery.” So he taught himself the basics of graphic narratives. His new illustrated book aims to restore science to its rightful place as part of our general culture.

Most know that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American to break baseball’s color barrier. But what about the first black NHL player? Boston University’s Tom Whalen tells the story of Boston Bruins forward Willie O’Ree, who broke hockey’s color barrier 60 years ago today.