When the Trump administration gave Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to a massive database of information about Medicaid recipients[1] in June 2025, privacy[2] and medical justice[3] advocates sounded the alarm. They warned that the move could trigger all kinds of public health and human rights harms.
But most people likely shrugged and...
The earliest form of the signature[1] came from ancient Iraq in the form of cylinder seals.
Mesopotamians, the ancient inhabitants of the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, are credited for many firsts[2] in human history, including writing, urbanism and the state. Among these inventions, cylinder seals[3] are perhaps the most...
U.S. science always suffers during government shutdowns. Funding lapses send government scientists home without pay[1]. Federal agencies suspend[2] new grant opportunities, place expert review panels on hold, and stop collecting and analyzing critical public datasets[3] that tell us about the economy[4], the environment[5] and public health[6].
In...
When I asked Manisha to describe her gender identity, she gave a simple answer: “Meh.”
“I don’t have a gender identity,” Manisha explained. “I get that other people look at me and see a woman but, for myself, there’s a blank space where my gender ‘should’ be. My gender is ‘none.’”
Manisha’s response didn’t shock me....