Human Behavior, features and articles | Educational Science

Jan 21, 2017

Evolution, Climate and Vaccines: Why Americans Deny Science

The U.S. has a science problem. Around half of the country's citizens reject the facts of evolution; fewer than a third agree there is a scientific consensus on human-caused climate change, and the number who accept the importance of vaccines is ticking downward. Those numbers, all gleaned from recent Pew...

Jan 24, 2017

Trump Signs Orders Advancing Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines

President Donald Trump signed executive orders today (Jan. 24) to expedite completion of the stalled Keystone XL (KXL) and Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) construction projects. Trump said that forthcoming work on DAPL would be subject to terms and conditions negotiated by us and that we are going to renegotiate some...

Feb 2, 2017

Scientists Plan Washington March in Response to Trump

This story was updated Feb. 2 at 11:01 a.m. EST. What began as a political conversation on Reddit is turning into a national movement: Scientists are planning to march on Washington to express their support for rigorous scientific research. The idea for this activism began after President Donald Trump's administration...

Feb 16, 2017

Should Psychiatrists' Weigh in on Trump's Mental Health?

In recent months a growing number of mental health experts and members of the media have offered opinions on Pres. Donald Trump's psychiatric fitness. On Tuesday 35 U.S. psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers signed a letter to the editor of The New York Times warning about Trump's mental health. Its...

Feb 19, 2017

What Does the Vice President Do?

Addressing the Munich Security Conference on Saturday (Feb. 18), Vice President Mike Pence said that the United States would hold Russia accountable for their actions, such as the violence in Ukraine, and would stick by NATO, the military alliance that President Donald Trump had once said was obsolete, according to...

Feb 23, 2017

Conflicts of Interest: Are Humans Inherently Selfish?

President Donald Trump has been dogged by questions about conflicts of interest. He has declined to divest himself of his assets or put them in a blind trust, as is customary for presidents, news reports say. He has tweeted in defense of his daughter's clothing line. And taxpayer money may...

Feb 28, 2017

Red vs. Blue: Why Necktie Colors Matter

In high-stakes politics and business, there are only two colors of ties: red and blue. Oh, sure, you might spot purple or yellow now and then, but those are clear statements of aloofness, be they calculated or careless. Few world leaders or CEOs want to be seen as aloof. But...

Mar 4, 2017

100 Years of Women in Politics: How They've Served

One hundred years ago today, on March 4, 1917, Rep. Jeannette Rankin, R-Mont., became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Congress. Rankin's election was extraordinary, as it happened about three years before U.S. women had the right to vote. But although she herself couldn't vote at the time,...

Mar 8, 2017

The Weird Ways Your Politics Affects Your Morals

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. When news breaks about wrongdoings of our favorite politician, the other side inevitably argues that we have a scandal on our hands. We like to think that our superior...

Mar 10, 2017

Trump's Eavesdropping Allegations: How Do Wiretaps Work?

President Donald Trump recently accused his predecessor, Barack Obama, of wiretapping the current president's phones during the U.S. election. Though the claims are unsubstantiated, they have raised questions about how such technology really works. Some people may think wiretapping involves breaking into someone's house or office, clipping wires to a...

Mar 10, 2017

Trump Executive Order May Foul US Drinking Water Supply

Pres. Donald Trump insists he wants clean water. In a speech to Congress last week, he vowed to promote clean air and clean water. And in an interview with The New York Times last November, he said, Clean water, crystal clean water is vitally important. Ironically, though, the president just...

Mar 28, 2017

Trump Ditches Clean Power Plan: What It Means for Science & Health

President Donald Trump signed an executive order today (March 28) that dismantles the Clean Power Plan, an Obama-era regulation that would have set limits on emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants from power plants. The executive order is aimed, in part, at reviving the coal industry, according to Trump....

Apr 28, 2017

The History of the 'First 100 Days': How Did Most Presidents Fare?

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. The federal government is currently being funded by a continuing resolution that expires on April 28, 2017 – which also happens to be the 99th day of Donald Trump's...

May 2, 2017

Trump Fuzzy on Andrew Jackson, Civil War History

President Donald Trump delivered pronouncements yesterday (May 1) about President Andrew Jackson and the Civil War that left many people scratching their heads over the current president's interpretation of American history. In an audio interview clip shared on Twitter by the political news radio channel SiriusXM Politics, Trump told Washington...

May 31, 2017

Trump's Proposed Science Cuts Go Far Beyond Climate Programs

The Trump administration is proposing sweeping cuts to US science agencies in its $4.1 trillion budget for 2018, asking Congress to kill a variety of medical, energy, and basic research programs, while boosting funding for defense and homeland security. With a president who came into office calling climate change a...