#Housing instability undermines public health response to COVID-19 pandemic

“#Housing instability undermines public health response to COVID-19 pandemic” Credit: CC0 Public Domain A long-brewing crisis of housing instability in the U.S. threatens to mar the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic by undermining strategies such as social distancing, says a new working paper co-written by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at the University…

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#Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is

“#Life on welfare isn’t what most people think it is” When Americans talk about people receiving public assistance—food stamps, disability, unemployment payments and other government help—they often have stereotypes and inaccurate perceptions of who those people are and what their lives are like. Statistics can help clarify the picture by challenging false stereotypes of undeserving…

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#Opposition to sexual- and gender-minority rights linked to support for Christian dominance

“#Opposition to sexual- and gender-minority rights linked to support for Christian dominance” A new study finds that political and Christian conservatives and others who support Christian dominance in the U.S. also tend to endorse restricting the rights of sexual and gender minorities. Credit: Michael B. Vincent ,Many Christian and political conservatives in the U.S. support…

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#Could the answer to groundwater resources come from high in the sky?

“#Could the answer to groundwater resources come from high in the sky?” A new technique developed by Berkeley Lab researchers pairs high-resolution images derived by satellite with advanced computer modeling to estimate aquifer volume change from observed ground deformation. The method could be particularly helpful to managing groundwater resources in drought-prone agricultural regions such as…

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#Matrix imaging: an innovation for improving ultrasound resolution

“#Matrix imaging: an innovation for improving ultrasound resolution” Conventional and matrix ultrasound images of a volunteer’s calf. Matrix correction of aberrations reveals structures that were previously invisible or had poor resolution in a conventional ultrasound (especially in the areas inside the white lines). Credit: Walter et al./PNAS In conventional ultrasounds, variations in soft tissue structure…

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#City compost programs turn garbage into ‘black gold’ that boosts food security and social justice

“#City compost programs turn garbage into ‘black gold’ that boosts food security and social justice” Good-quality soil (right) looks, feels and smells different from degraded soil (left). Credit: Sue Ishaq, CC BY-ND Almost overnight, the COVID-19 pandemic has transformed many Americans’ relationships with food. To relieve some of the stress associated with shopping safely for…

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#Paying for coronavirus will have to be like war debt – spread over generations

“#Paying for coronavirus will have to be like war debt – spread over generations” The macroeconomic shock to the world economy from the COVID-19 pandemic is arguably unprecedented in modern times. The financial response by governments of the major economies has been substantial. The Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the G20 had deployed…

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#First space tourists will face big risks, as private companies gear up for paid suborbital flights

“#First space tourists will face big risks, as private companies gear up for paid suborbital flights” On May 30, 2020, millions of Americans watched the inaugural SpaceX Crew Dragon launch NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. This mission marked two significant events: First, the return of launch to orbit capability for human spaceflight from…

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