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On March 11, 2011, an earthquake and tsunami struck northeast Japan. The disaster caused a devastating meltdown and radiation release at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that contaminated several hundred miles and displaced some 165,000 people.
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, emeritus professor of medicine at Tokyo University, and Najmedin Meshkati, professor of engineering at the University of Southern California, look back at the tragedy and warn that “the nuclear industry has yet to fully to address safety concerns that Fukushima exposed,” in Japan and beyond. Their top concerns: lax government oversight and utilities that fail to give safety the priority it requires.
Also today:
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Jennifer Weeks
Senior Environment + Energy Editor
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An International Atomic Energy Agency investigator examines Reactor Unit 3 at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant, May 27, 2011.
Greg Webb, IAEA/Flickr
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, University of Tokyo; Najmedin Meshkati, University of Southern California
On the 10th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, two experts explain why human choices are more important to nuclear safety than technology, and why the job is far from finished.
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Economy + Business
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Robert H. Scott III, Monmouth University; Kenneth Mitchell, Monmouth University
The $1.9 trillion package gets a lot of stuff right, but the direct payments are not among them, argue two economists.
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Politics + Society
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Mona Tajali, Agnes Scott College; Homa Hoodfar, Concordia University
Afghan women interviewed about current talks between the government and the Taliban say, 'There is no going back.' Taliban fundamentalist rule in the 1990s forced women into poverty and subservience.
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Health
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Murray J. Côté, Texas A&M University; Tiffany A. Radcliff, Texas A&M University; Walter Thomas Casey II, Texas A&M University-Texarkana
The COVID-19 case spike in the summer of 2020 and earlier attempts to rely on personal responsibility, like wearing seat belts, showed that mandates make a difference.
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Matthew Woodruff, Emory University
Researchers are closely watching the coronavirus mutants to make sure vaccines can be adjusted if necessary. But scientists don't know whether vaccines will be effective in those already vaccinated.
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Athena Aktipis, Arizona State University; Joe Alcock, University of New Mexico
SARS-CoV-2 is much like a zombie virus. It interferes with normal sickness behavior and blocks pain, turning its victims into unsick spreaders of the virus.
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Science + Technology
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Tiffany A. Radcliff, Texas A&M University; Angela Clendenin, Texas A&M University
Shoring up surveillance and response systems and learning lessons from how the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded will help the world be ready the next time around.
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John Velez, Indiana University
Research shows multiple social and cognitive benefits of playing video games.
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Environment + Energy
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Richard Schmalensee, MIT Sloan School of Management; David Schoenbrod, New York Law School
An economist and an environmental law expert explain why a tax is more palatable to the industry and better for the public than regulation.
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Education
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Michael Worth, George Washington University; Sanjay K. Pandey, George Washington University; Sheela Pandey, Penn State
In some cases, big donors are supporting higher education to support a philanthropic strategy that includes racial and economic justice.
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Arts + Culture
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Janette Greenwood, Clark University
The camera has long been used to defy a media landscape steeped in negative portrayals of Black families.
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Trending on Site
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Janet Bednarek, University of Dayton
Some do so of their own accord, using airport amenities to meet their basic needs. Others, however, would rather be anywhere else – and find themselves at the mercy of bureaucratic wrangling.
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Laken Brooks, University of Florida
Much of the iconography we associate with witches, from the pointy hat to the cauldron, originated from women working as master brewers.
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Tinglong Dai, Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing; Christopher S. Tang, University of California, Los Angeles; Ho-Yin Mak, University of Oxford
Religious opposition over a link to abortions performed decades ago and misunderstandings about effectiveness could lead to a nightmare of angry patients and wasted vaccine.
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