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Background: What is Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)? From the Merck Manual (Professional version). The midbrain in humans controls “functions such as hearing and temperature regulation.” But, because of its location–in the middle of the brain–this area is “likely to sustain damage” when a person suffers a hit to their head. A 2019 study that tracked football players (American football) at the University of Rochester in…
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The Strategian: Science Magazine is an open educational resource (OER) made available under a Creative Commons license. For original posts, look for the “Republish this story” graphic at the bottom of the article. Click that button to learn how to republish Strategian stories on your own online site or in print form. HTML and plain text versions of the posts are provided. Teachers (at all…
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Whipping up fear or creating a distraction is a common tactic in politics. Providing stark, seemingly life or death choices, us versus them, scapegoating, creating a false bogeyman to distract from real problems, using lies and disinformation … fear and distraction is used because it often works. The invoked fear is often based on racism and bias. It’s those “other people”–with a different skin color,…
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by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson, Yale Climate ConnectionsAugust 10, 2026 Those who deny or dismiss U.S. climate change have hit a Waterloo moment of sorts. The nation just experienced its hottest month in more than 130 years of analysis, which breaks a record that had stood since the infamous Dust Bowl of the 1930s. For the 48 contiguous states, the July 2026 average of…
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Background: “I always come back to this idea that we deserve a better class of technology and a better class of technologist. Technologies are so important and they can do so much good in the world. But technology as a kind of singular thing does not necessarily improve our lives or create a better society. It only does so when it actually serves the needs…
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Background: “Ghostwriting occurs when someone makes substantial contributions to a manuscript without attribution or disclosure. It is considered bad publication practice in the … sciences, and some argue it is scientific misconduct. At its extreme, … ghostwriting involves … companies hiring professional writers to produce papers promoting their products but hiding those contributions and instead naming academic physicians or scientists as the authors.” From: Gøtzsche,…
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Background: Right now, artificial intelligence is a complete mess–economically, socially, politically, culturally, environmentally, etc., and especially in the United States. Is this just a sign of an immature technology that has been labelled and presented in a very confusing way? Presented as a monolith, when it is not that at all? Maybe. Is this a sign of an immature technology foisted upon society by huge…
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Theodore J. Kury, University of Florida (from The Conversation) Many major tech companies have pledged to pay their fair share of the costs associated with generating and transmitting more electricity to serve large data centers. But ratepayers across the United States are worried about the potential costs they might have to bear. That’s because it’s not immediately clear how the cost of data centers’ energy…
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Background: “Studies suggest that relying on willpower is hopeless. Instead, we must find strategies that don’t require us to be strong. In the modern era, habits have become a significant area of scientific inquiry. Psychologists have explored the genesis of habitual behavior and its impact on health and happiness. William James, echoing Aristotle, wrote, ‘All our life, so far as it has definite form, is…
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Background: “Pollution— ie, unwanted waste of human origin released to air, land, water, and the ocean without regard for cost or consequence—is an existential threat to human health and planetary health, and jeopardises the sustainability of modern societies. Pollution includes contamination of air by fine particulate matter (PM2·5); ozone; oxides of sulphur and nitrogen; freshwater pollution; contamination of the ocean by mercury, nitrogen, phosphorus, plastic,…
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