All Stories by Sujata Gupta
- Anthropology
The ‘midlife crisis’ is too simple a story, scientists say
Some scientists want to shift focus to the teen mental health crisis. But the course of happiness is too complex for simplistic theories, experts warn.
- Archaeology
A race to save Indigenous trails may change the face of archaeology
As construction of a pipeline nears, an effort to preserve an Indigenous trail in Canada tests whether heritage management can keep up with advances in archaeology.
- Science & Society
The U.S. empire was built on bird dung
A mid-1850s act let the United States seize islands rich in bird guano. Those strategic outposts fueled the U.S. rise to power, a researcher says.
- Science & Society
Is U.S. democracy in decline? Here’s what the science says
Political scientists disagree over how to interpret a slight dip in the health of U.S. democracy.
- Psychology
Navigation research often excludes the environment. That’s starting to change
Participants “navigating” on a lab computer have shaped navigation knowledge. Studies that add in the environment challenge those findings.
- Science & Society
There’s a new term for attempting to own the wind: ventography
Nations established territorial claims underground to access oil and gas. Now they are expanding those claims upward to snag the wind.
- Science & Society
This researcher studies how misinformation seeps into science and politics
The world is awash in information. Communications researcher Yotam Ophir digs into news articles and survey results to show how beliefs form and spread.
- Artificial Intelligence
Talking to a chatbot may weaken someone’s belief in conspiracy theories
AI might help lift conspiracy theorists out of the rabbit hole, but some researchers say proceed with caution.
- Artificial Intelligence
AI generates harsher punishments for people who use Black dialect
ChatGPT and similar AI sort those who use African American English dialect into less prestigious jobs and dole out harsher criminal punishments.
- Humans
Does social status shape height?
A controversial idea drawing on findings from the animal kingdom suggests there’s more to human stature than genetics and nutrition.
- Psychology
Online spaces may intensify teens’ uncertainty in social interactions
Little is known of how teens learn about emotions online and then use that knowledge to cope with social uncertainty during in-person encounters.
- Science & Society
Language models may miss signs of depression in Black people’s Facebook posts
Researchers hope to use social media posts to identify population-wide spikes in depression. That approach could miss Black people, a study shows.
