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Editor's note
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In the U.S., 24 percent of homeless people sleep outside, in vehicles or somewhere else not meant for human habitation. The problem is especially dire on the West Coast, where affordable housing is scarce. Margot Kushel, a physician at the University of California, San Francisco, describes how devastating this problem is for the homeless in her community.
Antarctica’s ice sheet, the largest on Earth, is melting at an accelerating rate. Four scientists from UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Stanford and Caltech explain the important role of the continent’s ice shelves – and how ice, ocean and atmosphere interact to drive changes around Antarctica.
And, a 160 years ago, at a time when the nation was profoundly at odds over slavery, Abraham Lincoln gave his “House Divided” speech, warning Americans about the costs of those divisions. Penn State scholar Bradford Vivian explores the lessons of Lincoln’s speech and their relevance for our time.
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Aviva Rutkin
Big Data + Applied Mathematics Editor
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Top stories
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Lantz Rowland poses in front of his tent outside Seattle, Washington.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Margot Kushel, University of California, San Francisco
A lack of affordable housing makes homelessness especially pervasive and visible on the West Coast.
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The northeast edge of the Venable Ice Shelf, near Antarctica’s Allison Peninsula.
NASA/John Sonntag
Helen Amanda Fricker, University of California San Diego; Fernando Paolo, California Institute of Technology; Matthew Siegfried, Stanford University; Susheel Adusumilli, University of California San Diego
Last summer one of Antarctica's floating ice shelves calved an iceberg the size of Delaware – but scientists say other less dramatic changes reveal more about how and why Antarctica is changing.
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The nation was bitterly divided over slavery in 1860, when this political cartoon was published.
Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Bradford Vivian, Pennsylvania State University
Lincoln's description of the Union as a house divided is well-remembered today. But many Americans fail to heed its lessons about equality and the moral foundations of popular government.
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Science + Technology
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John Rothchild, Wayne State University
Privacy rules enacted in Europe are affecting companies – and their customers and users – all around the world.
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Anthony Ryan Hatch, Wesleyan University
Digital health devices have become invaluable tools for improving human health. However, could a pill carrying an inbuilt sensor dehumanize patients, reducing them to a digital readout?
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Trending on site
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Elizabeth Sherman, American University School of Public Affairs
Sen. John McCain, facing terminal cancer, will end his career with growing repudiation by his party and the public of positions, from national defense to bipartisanship, that he has long embodied.
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Jennifer MacCormack, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Missing a meal can certainly push you toward a bad mood. But new research identifies in what kind of situations hunger is most likely to tip toward hanger.
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David E. Olson, University of California, Davis
Psychedelic drugs have inspired great songs and works of art. But they may also have potential for treating disease like depression and PTSD by helping to regrow damaged regions of the brain.
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