Editor's note
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When prosecutors charged several celebrities, coaches and others in a large-scale college admission scandal yesterday, they claimed that there is “no separate admissions system for the wealthy.” But isn’t there? Sociologist Rick Eckstein says a close look at youth sports shows that even when students are legitimately admitted to college as athletes, the system still favors parents who can pay.
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe is now offering a new report that reveals your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, which affects almost one in 10 Americans. But can the company really read our genes to predict who is predisposed to this complex disease? Are our family physicians ready to interpret this genetic data? Physician-scientist Mylynda Massart, of the University of Pittsburgh, explains the issue.
In an executive order, Donald Trump struck down a rule requiring the government to release information about the number of people killed by U.S. drones outside of active war zones. This is a serious step backward, writes Daniel R. Brunstetter, who studies the ethics of war at the University of California, Irvine. It makes the U.S. less transparent and could open the door to disproportionate use of drones.
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Jamaal Abdul-Alim
Education Editor
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Top stories
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Recruited athletes often get a leg up in the admissions process.
Catwalk Photos/www.shutterstock.com
Rick Eckstein, Villanova University
The college admission scandal that involved big bribes, coaches and Hollywood actors grew out of a system that favors rich parents and gives coaches too much leeway in admissions, a scholar argues.
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A woman uses a lancet on her finger to check her blood sugar level with a glucose meter.
Behopeful/Shutterstock.com
Mylynda Massart, University of Pittsburgh
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing company 23andMe is now offering a new 'polygenic risk score' that reveals your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Does it work? Are our family physicians ready?
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An unmanned U.S. Predator drone flies over southern Afghanistan.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Daniel R. Brunstetter, University of California, Irvine
Civilian casualty counts are a powerful tool for propaganda – and for establishing peace.
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Politics + Society
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Thomas Adam, University of Texas Arlington
Without its communist Soviet-style economy, North Korea would just be South Korea.
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Robert Muggah, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)
Citing security concerns, the US is evacuating its embassy in Caracas, where President Maduro blames the US for a calamitous power outage. Venezuela's relations with Brazil are eroding quickly, too.
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Science + Technology
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Lesley Strawderman, Mississippi State University
In many cities, convention holds that there's a lane for walking and a lane for standing on the escalator. But human systems engineers suggest this isn't the most efficient option for the system.
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Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University
Stories passed down from the ancient world tell of self-powered machines able to move on their own – robots – playing key roles in historic moments.
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Most read on site
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John Edens, Texas A&M University
Psychologists are debating whether the presence of one trait – boldness – is the key to determining if someone is a psychopath, or just a garden-variety criminal.
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Laurie Marhoefer, University of Washington
In the film, the real tensions of gay life in the 1980s – from government apathy towards the AIDS crisis, to rampant anti-gay prejudice – don't get their due.
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Steve Calandrillo, University of Washington
Washington, California and Florida are mulling a permanent switch to DST. Proponents say that doing so could improve health, save energy and prevent crime.
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