Poop has been an easy target for microbiome research, but voyages into the small intestine shed new light on ways to improve gut health

Christopher Damman, University of Washington

Your upper intestine is host to a distinct population of microbes that play a role in digestion, metabolism and immunity.

Quantum computers are like kaleidoscopes − why unusual metaphors help illustrate science and technology

Sorin Adam Matei, Purdue University

Novel metaphors can make it easier to understand complex concepts such as quantum computing.

Americans used to unite over tragic events − and now are divided by them

Thomas D. Beamish, University of California, Davis

Public tragedies are heartrending events that gain widespread public attention. But where once prominent tragedies often brought Americans together, such tragedies no longer unify the country.

School interventions offer best shot at reducing youth violence

Laura Voith, Case Western Reserve University

Kids most likely to wind up in the ER due to violence often have common early childhood experiences. Can schools use this information to prevent future injuries?

Supreme Court sides with Starbucks in labor case that could hinder government’s ability to intervene in some unionization disputes

Michael Z. Green, Texas A&M University

It’s not certain that the ruling will make it harder for fired union organizers to get their jobs back, a labor law professor explains.

Central banks face threats to their independence − and that isn’t good news for sound economic stewardship (or battling inflation)

Cristina Bodea, Michigan State University; Ana Carolina Garriga, University of Essex

Monetary policy can be wielded as a tool to boost an economy around election time, which explains why politicians want to have a say on it.

How reciting the Pledge of Allegiance became a sacred, patriotic ritual

Thomas S. Bremer, Rhodes College

On Flag Day, a historian of religions in America explains how Pledge of Allegiance, which honors the American flag, is part of American civil religion.

From glowing corals to vomiting shrimp, animals have used bioluminescence to communicate for millions of years – here’s what scientists still don’t know about it

Danielle DeLeo, Florida International University; Andrea Quattrini, Smithsonian Institution

Dozens of animals, some on land but many in the ocean, can produce light within their bodies through chemical reactions. Scientists are still trying to understand when and why this trait developed.

Calls to US poison centers spiked after ‘magic mushrooms’ were decriminalized

Christopher P. Holstege, University of Virginia; Rita Farah, University of Virginia

Researchers found a sharp rise in calls to US poison centers about magic mushrooms coincided with their decriminalization in several US cities and states.

An homage to the dad joke, one of the great traditions of fatherhood

Ian Brodie, Cape Breton University; Moira Marsh, Indiana University

Cringe, corny and awkward − what’s not to love?

How do you build tunnels and bridges underwater? A geotechnical engineer explains the construction tricks

African elephants address one another with name-like calls − similar to humans

Records of Pompeii’s survivors have been found – and archaeologists are starting to understand how they rebuilt their lives

Here’s the first question of this week’s edition:

June 24 will be the second anniversary of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and ended 50 years of national abortion rights. What was the name of that case?

1. A. Dobbs v. Jackson
2. B. Plessy v. Ferguson
3. C. State of Texas v. McMurtry
4. D. Roe v. Wade 2: The Empire Strikes Back

Test your knowledge