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A note from...
Lynne Anderson
Senior Health + Medicine Editor
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Misinformation abounds on social media, and it’s especially pernicious when these mistruths are about medicine. So Jon-Patrick Allem, a University of Southern California health researcher, decided to look into six months of tweets about cannabis. He found rampant mistruths. One even said that marijuana slows the growth of cancer cells, despite the fact that no evidence supports such a claim. Part of the problem, writes Allem, is that bots, or automated accounts that try to promote specific ideas or products on social media, are spreading falsehoods about the benefits of cannabis.
Also today:
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Top story
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Thomas Uhle, a grow manager, tends to marijuana plants growing at GB Sciences Louisiana in Baton Rouge in August 2019.
Gerald Herbert/AP Photo
Jon-Patrick Allem, University of Southern California
Claims about the medical benefits of cannabis are greatly exaggerated on Twitter, a recent study found. Most of the mistruths came from bots. How can the medical falsehoods online be stopped?
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Environment + Energy
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John Woinarski, Charles Darwin University; Brendan Wintle, University of Melbourne; Chris Dickman, University of Sydney; David Bowman, University of Tasmania; David Keith, UNSW; Sarah Legge, Australian National University
In a matter of weeks, the fires have subverted decades of dedicated conservation efforts for many threatened species.
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Education
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Mara Casey Tieken, Bates College
Often schools close out of a belief that taking this step will save money and help students. Whether or not those benefits materalize, there are downsides for the locals.
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Denisa Gandara, Southern Methodist University
States are increasingly adopting policies in which colleges get a small portion of their funding based on how many students graduate. A scholar explains why the policy may not achieve its aims.
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Politics + Society
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Rogelio Sáenz, The University of Texas at San Antonio; Dudley L. Poston, Jr., Texas A&M University
By 2050, the majority of Americans will not be white. That future is already on its way here – just look at the demographics of kids ages 10 and under.
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Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Even when countries have broken ties with each other, they can communicate – as the US and Iran did just a few days ago.
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Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
President Trump's speech about Iran wasn't just aimed at that country or the US. He also targeted NATO allies, urging members of the alliance to step up and help US efforts in the Middle East.
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Economy + Business
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Mohja Rhoads, California State University, Dominguez Hills; Fynnwin Prager, California State University, Dominguez Hills
More workplaces are allowing employees to telecommute, but there are still barriers to more flexible arrangements.
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Ravi Kumar Kopparapu, NASA
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David J. Wasserstein, Vanderbilt University
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Libby Richards, Purdue University
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