Editor's note
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Experts warn we’re not prepared for the next global virus pandemic – whether of flu or Ebola or something we haven’t even seen yet. Vaccinating can help our immune systems fend off infection, but getting an effective vaccine to everyone who needs it is complicated. The University of Washington’s Ian Haydon describes new research that relies on computer modeling to design antiviral proteins that can shut down deadly viruses – without relying on our immune system at all.
Studies show that gay teens are at greater risk for poor mental health and substance use. Or do they? Some researchers worry that pranksters are mucking up survey data with goofy fake answers. A new study from the University of Texas at Austin suggests that’s not true – and underscores the need for programs that support at-risk youth.
The Trump administration still has hundreds of jobs to fill throughout the executive branch. Two that have received little attention are the president’s yet-to-be-named nominees to the National Labor Relations Board. Employers hoping to prevent workers from forming unions, however, are well aware that once the nominees are in place Republicans will control the board for the first time since 2007. That could be the death knell for unions, writes Nicole Hallett, a labor expert at the University at Buffalo (SUNY).
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Maggie Villiger
Senior Editor, Science + Technology
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Top story
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Computers may play an important role in preparing us for the next viral outbreak – whether flu or Ebola.
UW Institute for Protein Design
Ian Haydon, University of Washington
This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
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Politics + Society
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Mabel Berezin, Cornell University
France's new En Marche! party is on track to win 400 legislative seats, another victory for the country's young president.
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David Mednicoff, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The rule of law can take on different meanings depending whom you ask and where you are – but in the US it pretty much means one thing.
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Education
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Daphna Oyserman, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Neil Lewis Jr., University of Michigan
While most Americans do aspire to higher education, college is not a reality for many. But why is the gap between hopes and reality larger for some? And how can we strive for equity?
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From our International Editions
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Tony Rao, King's College London
Baby boomers preferred drugs and alcohol, but the younger generation are ruining their health with social media.
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Jonathan Clarke, UNSW
One of the best ways to find out the challenges of living on Mars is to simulate living on another planet here on Earth. So what's it like to spend several months living the Martian life?
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Philippe Grandcolas, Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (MNHN) – Sorbonne Universités
The theory that New Caledonia was a piece of land that separated from the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana was a seductive one. But then a cockroach rose up to challenge it.
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