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An Admiral’s Rise Reveals the Politics Driving Hegseth’s Pentagon
Adm. Daryl Caudle path to the top Navy job is a case study in how the military promotion process at the Pentagon under Hegseth has deviated from tradition, leaving it susceptible in the view of critics to politicization and favoritism.
Puzzles, Treats, and Consent? The New Frontier in Wildlife Studies
From raccoons solving puzzle boxes to dogs leaving saliva samples, scientists are experimenting with less invasive ways to study wildlife.
New study reveals additional health risks from Great Salt Lake dust
New research shows two additional routes that toxic metals in dust from the Great Salt Lake could move into soils, plants, and human bodies.
Eating oily fish may have a shocking health benefit for your muscles and grip strength
A study found positive associations between grip strength and intake of oily fish, retinol and magnesium in both sexes.
Working memory rapidly updates its priorities after distractions, study finds
When humans tackle many everyday tasks, ranging from driving to completing household chores and work assignments, they rely heavily on working memory. This is the brain's ability to temporarily store ...
Attitudes about Southeast’s business climate a bit better, but pessimism in Juneau rises in annual study
62% of regional business leaders say they’re optimistic about current conditions, but big differences in responses exist among communities and industries.
Temporal Changes in Pediatric Influenza Test Positivity Across COVID-19 Public Health Policy Phases: A Five-Year Retrospective Cohort Study
Background The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with substantial changes in respiratory virus circulation, healthcare utilization, and diagnostic testing. Although population-level influenza activ...
Planetary Health Diet lowers cardiovascular risk in older women
A 20-year study of more than 65,000 postmenopausal women found that higher adherence to the Planetary Health Diet was associated with a lower risk of overall cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke and heart failure.
I always seem to pick the longest airport line. Science finally proved there's a reason
A study may change the way you pick a line before your next flight
Scientists put the “recycling is a distraction” claim to the test
Recycling, greener diets, and other personal climate choices do not seem to distract people from supporting major environmental reforms. A four-year study of nearly 2,800 Australians found that these habits neither increased nor reduced later political engagement.
Coffee may help shield the liver from fat, scarring, and cancer
A major long-term study linked coffee consumption with lower risks of cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death from liver disease. Coffee drinkers also showed healthier liver scans and blood protein patterns, with less fat, inflammation, and scarring. Benefits appeared even at one or two cups daily and were strongest around three to four cups.
Andy Burnham and the rise of ‘aura farming’ in politics
Is “aura farming” the new political superpower? There are some days in TV news when you find yourself standing in the middle of a farm, surrounded by baby goats, trying to explain internet slang. Subscribe This was one of those days. There I was, in wellies, trying to unpack aura farming - a Gen Z term for carefully cultivating your image online so that you look effortlessly cool, authentic and charismatic. The trick, apparently, is that it can’t look like you’re trying too hard. Which, I’ll admit, felt slightly ironic as we filmed an entire report on a farm purely because the word farming is in the title. ‘Shaped by algorithms’ Whether you like it or not, politics increasingly feels like it’s being shaped by algorithms as much as manifestos. Take Andy Burnham. Since arriving at Number 10, he’s been impossible to miss online. One minute he’s out for a casual jog with Mo Farah. Next he’s announcing policy alongside TikTok high priestess Bus Aunty. His social media paints a very deliberate picture: less polished Westminster operator, more bloke from the North who just happens to be running the country. It’s not accidental. Burnham’s “King of the North”, New Order-loving persona has become part of a carefully constructed political brand. Authenticity is now something politicians work incredibly hard to make look effortless. But Burnham isn’t inventing this playbook. Like so many of us doomscrolling on an evening, he’s been influenced online. The digital strategy of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, pictured above right, has become a case study in viral political communication, and some of the people behind that campaign have recently been advising the Labour Party in Britain. Their message is simple: if you want to reach younger voters, you need to show up where they already spend their time. Embracing content creators And increasingly, that doesn’t mean traditional news interviews (awkward). It means speaking to content creators like Max from The Career Ladder, whose channels reach around 20 million followers worldwide. His interview with Burnham, pictured below, was posted almost immediately after he became Prime Minister. What struck me wasn’t just the audience size, but something Max told me afterwards: many people in the comments said they’d discovered Britain had a new Prime Minister through his interview. Think about that for a moment. Not through rolling news. Not through newspapers. Through a creator they were already following while scrolling. Share That’s a profound shift in how political information reaches people, one that’s been gathering momentum for some time. It also explains why politicians are embracing content creators and spending millions on digital marketing. Of course, this isn’t unique to one party. ‘Personality before policy’ In many ways, the right were quicker off the mark in building their aura online. Donald Trump built much of his political identity on social media. Nigel Farage remains one of Britain’s strongest political performers on TikTok. Politicians across the spectrum now understand that personality often reaches people before policy does. During a six-week UK general election campaign alone, overall digital ad spending routinely tops £11m. Share Channel 4 News Former Number 10 social media adviser Andrew Wong put it well when he told me that “vibes” can help someone get noticed, but they only work if they’re rooted in a genuine personality. Force it, and audiences spot it instantly. The bigger question is whether internet charisma can backfire on you - especially when you’re Prime Minister. Because behind Burnham’s carefully curated videos is a veteran politician with decades of Westminster experience. The spontaneity is produced. While the authenticity may be genuine, it’s managed. That’s not necessarily a criticism. It’s simply the reality of modern political communication. Aura farming alone is not enough to harvest change. But in the age of algorithms, winning attention may be the first battle. Subscribe Share Channel 4 News Leave a comment
“Graphic Talk About Science: Adventures in Science Engagement”
Mount Wilson Observatory (MWO), Southern California’s esteemed home to several of the most groundbreaking astronomical discoveries in history, welcomes the public to the third Saturday Evening Talks & Telescopes of the season on Saturday, July 25, 2026. MWO is honored to present “Graphic Talk About Science: Adventures in Science Engagement,” a lecture by Clifford V. Johnson, from UCSB. This lecture explores how graphic storytelling can make cutting-edge physics more accessible, as Johnson discusses the science and creative process behind his illustrated book, “The Dialogues: Conversations About the Nature of the Universe.” Tickets are available here: www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture072526 During the six-month season, each Talks & Telescopes event runs from 5:30pm to 11:30pm with the “talk” portion of the evening beginning in the Observatory’s Auditorium. The 60+ minute presentation is followed by picnic dining—bring your own, or purchase from a food truck or caterer—and then, after the sun goes down, stargazing through Mount Wilson’s immense telescopes, the largest in the world made available to the public. Additional stargazing around the grounds will be available thanks to members of the Los Angeles Astronomical Society. Both the 60-inch telescope and the 100-inch—the latter famously used by Edwin Hubble to discover the expanding universe—will be available for viewing the night sky. Priced at $50, this event series offers the most economical stargazing event option on the mountain. Tickets and more information are available on Mount Wilson Observatory’s website here: www.mtwilson.edu/lectures. Advance purchases are highly recommended. UPCOMING SATURDAY EVENING TALKS & TELESCOPES OF THE 2026 SEASON August 22: “Towards a Functional Cosmology” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture082226 Join artist Lita Albuquerque for a lecture on her multidisciplinary practice at the intersection of art, science, and cosmology. Drawing on decades of work across painting, land art, performance, and installation, she reflects on projects created in remote, astronomy-linked environments and how they shape her exploration of time, space, and human perception. September 19: “The Brightness of Stars: Henrietta Leavitt and the Transformative Nature of Attention in Art and Science” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture091926 Visual artist and author Anna Von Mertens explores the life and legacy of Henrietta Leavitt, whose study of variable stars enabled the first reliable measurements of cosmic distances. Working among the Harvard Computers, Leavitt laid the foundation for breakthroughs at Mount Wilson, including Harlow Shapley’s mapping of the Milky Way and Edwin Hubble’s discovery of an expanding universe. Drawing from her book “Attention Is Discovery: The Life and Legacy of Astronomer Henrietta Leavitt,” Von Mertens shares archival materials alongside her own artwork inspired by Leavitt’s life, to celebrate how careful attention leads to both scientific discovery and a meaningful life. October 17: “The Duality of Genius and Struggle: G.E. Hale” www.mtwilson.edu/events/lecture101726 This talk, presented by Sam Hale, explores the extraordinary life and legacy of his grandfather, George Ellery Hale—the visionary behind some of the world’s most important astronomical institutions. Drawing on both history and personal connection, Sam Hale offers insight into a legacy that continues to shape science and culture today. VISITING MWO The gate to Mount Wilson’s campus opens at 10:00am daily and closes at 5:00pm from early April through November. Entrance to the grounds is free. Visitors can hike, gaze at the telescope domes and towers that dot the landscape, and take a look at historic Mount Wilson photos and letters in the Museum. The Cosmic Cafe (www.mtwilson.edu/cosmic-cafe), located above the main parking lot at the Observatory entrance, is open on weekends in the spring, summer, and fall. In addition to traditional menu items such as hot dogs, drinks, and snacks, the Cafe offers wraps, salads, and sweet treats from Little Flower. PARKING A U.S. Forest Service Adventure Pass is required to park at the Observatory. A $5 day pass or a $30 dollar annual pass may be purchased at the Cosmic Cafe on weekends between 10:00am and 5:00pm. During the week, passes are available at locations around Los Angeles. The most convenient location before heading up is at the Shell station in La Canada Flintridge at the bottom of the Angeles Crest Highway (https://find.shell.com/us/fuel/10007957-4530-angeles-crest-hwy/en_US). Visit the U.S. Forest Service website for more information about Passes and other locations to buy them: www.fs.usda.gov/r05/passes/adventure-pass For more information about Visiting Mount Wilson Observatory, please visit: www.mtwilson.edu/visiting NOT ADA-COMPLIANT Please be advised that access to the 100-inch dome is via an open-air, 53-step staircase inside the building. There is no ADA-compliant access.
CSU professor leads national study on extreme event attribution science, connecting climate change to devastating weather
According to the U.S.’s most influential science advisory institution, the relatively young field of extreme event attribution science has advanced immensely. Scientists can determine how much human-caused climate change influenced an individual extreme weather event, such as a specific drought or hurricane.
Patient Quality of Life versus Quantitative Health Measures in Chronic ITP
A prospective mezagitamab study conducted by David Kuter, MD, DPhil, and colleagues emphasized the value of QoL reporting.
The government killed this nature study. Scientists finished it anyway. » Yale Climate Connections
When the National Nature Assessment was shut down, the scientists who worked on it kept going. In this Q&A, one author shares what the research reveals about nature’s powerful, underused role in supporting health.
Is SC a good state to own a business in 2026? See where it ranks in latest CNBC study
How does SC treat business owners compared to other states? See where the Palmetto State ranked in CNBC’s latest study.
Can This New Enzyme Turn Back the Clock in Bodily Tissues?
In a recent study, scientists devised a way of reversing the buildup of compounds that lead to some age-related diseases.
Should Scientists Have Research "Reserves" on the Moon?
The worlds of the Solar System offer up exciting and (so far) mostly pristine places for planetary scientists to study. As space missions continue to travel to Mars, Europa, asteroids, and other worlds, questions keep coming up about keeping them safe for continued exploration and observations.
Outdoor dining and entertainment proposed for The Links at Valley Fields
The Links at Valley Fields golf course could soon get an upgraded restaurant with outdoor dining and music, modified lighting, and improved netting to prevent golf balls from rolling off the course if the Planning Board approves a final site plan for the changes along with with an acoustic study that measures decibels for the music.
Secrets of birdsongs' 'spectacular diversity' revealed
A scientific study has revealed the acoustic secret that connects all birdsong - and it is surprisingly simple
AU School of Public Health researcher awarded $1.3 million for IDD study
The project aims to improve how individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities (IDD), including autism, are included in research.
Microplastics detected in most heart attack patients' blood in startling new study
Nearly 84% of severe heart attack patients had detectable microplastics in their coronary artery blood, with polyethylene found in 97% of cases.
The unlicensed therapist 8 million kids are seeing, per 1 behavioral health chief
Nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults in the U.S. — an estimated 8.2 million people — used an AI chatbot for mental health advice in 2025, according to a study published June 1 in JAMA Pediatrics. The findings are stark: 91.7% rated the guidance as somewhat or very helpful, and 42.8% came back […]
Florida-Based Science and Technology Company Crescel Announces Landmark Peer-Reviewed Medical Publication
Crescel LLC, a Florida-based innovative science and technology company, today announced publication of its landmark PubMed-indexed, peer-reviewed clinical study showing that its biobotanical technology produced statistically significant improvements over the leading prescription standard of care for rosacea in a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial. Published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, the study represents a major scientific milestone for the company's pioneering prop
When It Comes to Fusion, Materials Matter
Fusion at high temperatures powers the sun and, if harnessed, could provide a potential source of energy here on Earth. But controlling fusion reactions has other benefits. The process also generates subatomic particles called neutrons that are used in a range of applications spanning medicine, research, and national security. Now, scientists at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have found that the materials surrounding a fusion reaction can dramatically increase how often it occurs, particularly at low energies where fusion is rare. The study was published July 18 in Nature Communications. Their approach sets up a way to study and engineer nuclear reactions within solid materials, opening a new field of “materials-driven fusion.” Instead of designing materials just to survive the harsh conditions of fusion, researchers might be able to design materials that boost the reaction in specific conditions, similar to the way catalysts speed up chemical processes. “It gives you a new knob to turn that you didn’t have before,” said Arun Persaud, head of the Fusion Science & Ion Beam Technology group in Berkeley Lab’s Accelerator Technology & Applied Physics (ATAP) Division. “If we understand this effect better, it opens the door to engineering new materials that would affect the fusion rate under certain conditions. Someday future progress might enable more compact and efficient neutron generators, which have all kinds of applications, like cargo screening, planetary science, and medical therapy and imaging.” In the experiment, researchers used two different methods to pack deuterium, a heavy form of hydrogen atoms that is often used in fusion, into thin foils of palladium and titanium. They then fired a beam of deuterium ions at the foils at different energies and measured how often fusion happened. Then they compared the rates from the different materials and methods with the “bare” fusion reaction (not in a material). The team found that fusion rates depended on how the deuterium was loaded into the metal foils. The biggest effect was at the lowest energies, below 2.5 kiloelectronvolts (keV), where theory predicts fusion rates drop off sharply. Instead, researchers found a surprising plateau: Some samples showed elevated fusion rates roughly a quintillion times higher than bare fusion reactions. (A quintillion is a 1 followed by 18 zeroes.) Researchers are not exactly sure why that’s happening, though they have some ideas and ways to test them. The electrons and defects within the material might partially shield repulsive electrostatic forces between deuterium nuclei, making it easier for them to get close together and fuse. Tuning the electronic structure, defects, and composition of materials could help make nuclear reactions happen more readily. “It comes down to better understanding the mechanism so that we can try to enhance it,” said corresponding author Jeremy Munday, a professor at UC Davis. “We’ve seen that we can increase fusion rates, but what is the limit? Can we bring it to lower temperatures or energies? There’s obviously a lot of interest and excitement about fusion, so if there’s something we can learn about the physics at these lower energy scales, maybe there’s something we can translate to other areas of nuclear science.” The team plans to explore a wider range of materials and continue probing the unexpected fusion plateau at lower energies. Their work establishes a reproducible experimental platform to study how solid materials influence nuclear reactions, creating a new area of research that links fusion science with materials science and chemistry. “The work shows conclusively that the material environment where fusion occurs at low temperatures is an active participant rather than a passive container,” said Cameron Geddes, director of ATAP. “That adds a new dimension to fusion research.” This work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). ### Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is committed to groundbreaking research focused on discovery science and solutions for abundant and reliable energy supplies. The lab’s expertise spans materials, chemistry, physics, biology, earth and environmental science, mathematics, and computing. Researchers from around the world rely on the lab’s world-class scientific facilities for their own pioneering research. Founded in 1931 on the belief that the biggest problems are best addressed by teams, Berkeley Lab and its scientists have been recognized with 17 Nobel Prizes. Berkeley Lab is a multiprogram national laboratory managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. DOE’s Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov/science.
Could increasing omega-3 intake boost recovery and long-term health in elite athletes?
As the Commonwealth Games approach, athletes chasing every extra edge on the track, court or in the pool might not find it in training, but on their dinner plates. In a study published in Sports Medicine—Open, ...
Landmark Aging Study by UT Health Sciences Researcher Published in Nature
A University of Tennessee Health Sciences researcher has published findings that could reshape how medicine approaches aging, longevity and late-life health, including the prospect of personalized interventions that keep people healthier longer.
This AI tool promises a 'second pair of eyes' to clinicians. Did patients benefit?
Medical workers in a Nairobi clinic used an AI tool to check their work. A new study evaluates the result.
This AI tool promises a 'second sight of eyes' to clinicians. Did patients benefit?
Medical workers in a Nairobi clinic used an AI tool to check their work. A new study evaluates the result.
Filing of bipartisan Senate bill boosts momentum for office of men’s health
Mirroring the bipartisan bill introduced in the House, the measure would require a study from the GAO on the state of men’s health in the U.S. to be presented within a year of the law’s enactment.
Tongue Pacemaker Might Improve Sleep Apnea Patients' Health
By Dennis Thompson HealthDay ReporterTHURSDAY, July 23, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Do you have sleep apnea, but find CPAP machines too uncomfortable or noisy? A pacemaker for the tongue might help improve your sleep and overall health, a new study says. People who received a hypoglossal nerve ...
Health Watch: Teens feel less connected to their parents when they're on their phones, study finds
Data analysis shows no increase in mental health prescriptions after abortion
While more women globally are using medication to have abortions, a University of Maryland-led study published today in JAMA Psychiatry found no evidence that a first medication or procedural abortion ...
LA businesses near ICE raid sites lose over $3M during 2-week period in June 2025, a study says
The UCLA report measured the financial impact of immigration enforcement activity when it initially began in Los Angeles back in June 2025.
Failure to rescue after TAVR: New study tracks outcomes at high- and low-volume hospitals
High-volume hospitals are often associated with better TAVR outcomes. The team behind this new study wanted to see if a similar trend was seen with FTR rates as well.
Immigration sweeps in L.A. cost businesses millions in revenue, UCLA study finds
Researchers found there were 46,000 fewer customer visits among formal businesses within half a mile of nine documented enforcement sites and an estimated $3.16 million in accumulated revenue losses during the two weeks after enforcement activity.
Reducing muscle protein activity strengthens bone health, study suggests
Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or "brittle bone disorder," is a connective tissue disorder that affects collagen, a protein that makes up much of the body's structure. There are more than 10 different ...
Parents Benefit from NICU Mental Health Support
A Cincinnati Children’s-led study finds that NICU-based mental health support can reduce anxiety, stress and depression among parents, suggesting these services should become part of standard neonatal care.
Mice on 'godforsaken' frozen volcanoes eat toxic plants to survive conditions 'not remotely compatible with long-term human survival'
Researchers risked their lives to study Andean leaf-eared mice on the inhospitable peaks of the Puna de Atacama volcanoes in Chile.
Prolonged exposure to wildfire smoke increases cardiovascular health risks
Repeated and cumulative exposure to wildfire smoke is linked to a higher risk of being hospitalized for cardiovascular disease in older adults in the U.S., a new Yale study finds.
Sacrificed Inca children died very differently than we thought, study finds
A new look at three children who died in the Inca human sacrifice ceremony known as Capacocha reveals their last few months and moments.
Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future Announces 2026 Graduate Summer Fellows
The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future welcomed eight Boston University graduate students as the 2026 cohort of its Graduate Summer Fellows Program. Running from May 26 through July 31, the 10-week fellowship provides master’s and doctoral students with the opportunity to conduct independent, future-oriented, policy-relevant research while participating in…
'Rare' contagious cancer found in fish from Quebec and U.S. lakes
It's rare that cancerous tumours can spread from one individual to another. But a genetic study suggests that's what's happening with melanoma skin cancer tumours among catfish in Quebec and the northeastern U.S.
Many kids don’t eat enough veggies. Amid a parasite outbreak in the US, what’s a parent to do?
An outbreak of cyclospora has some people eating less produce, but a global study found kids eat too few fruits and vegetables. Here’s what parents should know.
From Paper to Action: How Systematic Monitoring Can Help Health Benefits Packages Deliver on Their Promise
Health Benefits Packages (HBPs) can be a strategic tool to advance Universal Health Coverage. But their impact depends not only on the services included, but also on whether people effectively receive those services with adequate quality and financial protection. It also depends on the factors behind implementation gaps. While there is no shortage of guidance for using evidence-informed priority-setting approaches, less attention has been paid to monitoring whether, how, and why HBPs deliver (or not) in the real world. This gap matters, particularly in the context of stagnating progress towards Universal Health Coverage, because it leaves policymakers in the dark: Are HBPs delivering on the promise made to the population? If not, why, and what corrective action can be taken?
Ultimate Limit of The Human Lifespan May Be Identified, Study Suggests
Nothing lasts forever?
Murray State Athletics Selects Development Partner Campbell Coyle for capitalization plan of Racer Entertainment Village
Murray State Athletics, through an extensive request for proposal (RFP) process, has selected Campbell Coyle to manage the feasibility study and implementati...
Americans far more likely to view politics as greatest threat to safety, study finds
New survey reveals one in 10 Americans identify politics as biggest risk they face in life – 10 times the global average
Devonian’s Phase II/III Thykamine paediatric study secures Health Canada approval
Devonian Health Group has received authorisation from Health Canada for its CTA to begin a Phase II/III study of Thykamine cream to treat mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis in paediatric patients.
As Maui recovers from devastating fires, a study offers vision for new rural health model
A study of the long-term health impact of the Lahaina wildfires is inspiring a new model for disaster recovery and support.
UMass Chan leading national study on school-based health centers
Michelle Trivedi, MD’09, MPH, received a $3.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study school-based health centers.
Canine Science Is Biased Toward the Western World
A new study addresses how studies on domestic dogs tend to focus on a Westernized subset.
A 30-year follow-up: Yale researchers reconnect with child participants in metabolic health study
For more than three decades, Yale researchers have partnered with young people across the state to better understand the biological factors underlying metabolic health.
Is that food really made with 100% avocado oil? Likely not
A new study finds that consumers who are paying a premium for foods advertised as made with avocado oil are probably not getting what they think they're buying.
One in three new science papers now reads as AI-written, study finds
A new study of 12,750 arXiv papers finds about a third of recent submissions read as AI-written, raising questions about transparency in academic publishing.
A Massive Flow of Rock and Mud Tumbled Down Mount Rainier Centuries Ago. Scientists Pinpointed Its Date to Better Understand the Volcano's Complex Threats
In a recent study, researchers dated a historic lahar called the Electron Mudflow to the summer of 1507, establishing a way to determine when past geologic events around the Puget Sound occurred
Regular Coffee Consumption Linked to Health Benefits, AHA Says
A new report from the American Heart Association says that it's safe for most adults to drink up to five cups of coffee per day. New research also suggests regular coffee consumption may be linked to lower risk of stroke, diabetes, and heart failure for some individuals. Health benefits apply to paper filtered or instant coffee.
Financial incentives, flexibility and safe living needed to retain remote health care workers
Appropriate housing and safety, adequate time off and financial incentives are among the key factors supporting primary health care workers in remote jobs across Australia, according to a new study by ...
Biggs Institute at UT Health San Antonio to lead $2.5 million national, multi-site study on dementia with Lewy bodies
Teaming with UF, UCSF and VCU to improve detection, bring hope Contacts: UT Health San Antonio, Steven Lee, (210) 450-3823, lees22@uthscsa.edu University of Florida, Jill Pease, (352) 273-5816, jpease@PHHP.UFL.EDU University of California San Francisco, Suzanne Leigh, (415) 476-2993, suzanne.leigh@ucsf.edu Virginia Commonwealth University, Leigh Farmer, (804) 828-7028, forresterlg@vcu.edu SAN ANTONIO, July 21, 2026 – The Glenn […]
Gatorade's First "Body of Science" Study Reveals Disparities in Women's Hydration & Nutrition Patterns
The Science of Her Sweat: Gatorade Sports Science Institute's (GSSI) new research shows women need more tailored hydration and nutrition guidance Key...
Behind the Science: Can IL-6 Improve Cardiovascular Risk Assessment? Findings From the CCC Study
Discover the socio-demographic impacts on cardiovascular mortality in our JACC webinar. Join experts as they share insights and strategies for better heart health.
Can I eat lettuce now? What to know about the cyclosporiasis outbreak.
As investigators continue to study the outbreak and its possible sources, many people have questions about what's safe to eat. Here's the latest advice.
UF Health researchers uncover biological clues behind childhood scoliosis
A study identifies gene activity differences in spinal tissue, offering insight into a condition whose causes remain largely unknown.
Emergency nurses know what it’s like to suffer pangs of moral distress
Like the emergency physicians they work alongside, ER nurses experience moral distress in substantial numbers and multifaceted ways, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing.
The Self-Driving Company Is AI’s Next Business Model.
To understand future AI-native firms, businesses must study companies already operating themselves, just as military strategists learn from Ukraine's drone warfare.
In Sickness and in Health: Retirement Responses to Spousal Health Shocks
Abstract Health shocks are a major driver of retirement. However, the existing literature on this topic tends not to consider the marital context in which retirements occur. Using the 1992-2022 Health and Retirement Study and...
Shaky political "science": breakdown of the peer review process
[This article is the latest in our “Shaky Political Science” series. In our 38 page report, “Shaky political ‘science’ misses mark on ranked choice voting,” released in December 2025, we examined over 40 studies focused on ranked choice voting (RCV). Many of these studies suffered from puzzling research methodologies, poorly constructed surveys, unrealistic simulated elections, cherry picked data and faulty analyses that often were contradicted by results from real-world elections (a link to our full paper is here). Here are links to the first four articles in our series: the first one summarizing the overall results of our report; the second one analyzed a study co-authored by University of Minnesota academic Larry Jacobs, which was one of the most error-prone of all the research we reviewed in our report; a third article showing an admirable example of two political scientists holding two other political scientists accountable for their flawed, sloppy research; and a fourth article that analyzed seven studies sponsored by New America’s political reform program that deployed flawed methodology based on “simulated” elections instead of real-world elections, which when combined with some basic misunderstandings of RCV, produced odd and misleading results]. In this fifth article in our “Shaky Political Science” series, we examine two flawed studies on the impact of RCV on voter turnout authored by San Francisco State University professor Jason McDaniel. McDaniel’s research in these two papers stands out for its puzzling methodology, inadequate and cherry-picked data, and faulty analyses that not only misunderstands ranked choice voting but reflects a basic misunderstanding of politics in general. The first of the McDaniel studies actually passed through a peer review process and then was subsequently published by the Journal of Urban Affairs, despite its obvious errors. It is perplexing that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the errors and send it back to McDaniel for a rewrite or outright rejection. This calls into question the credibility of the peer review process itself. The peer review process is supposed to represent the intellectual pinnacle of the profession – a way for academics to certify the quality of each other’s work, and to act as a check against sloppy research. In the case of the McDaniel study, the peer review process failed. Yet his flawed study has been cited dozens of times by other political scientists in their own flawed works — an unvirtuous circle of academic research. Here is the first Jason McDaniel study that we analyzed: “Writing the Rules to Rank the Candidates: Examining the Impact of Instant-Runoff Voting on Racial Group Turnout in San Francisco Mayoral Elections,” by Jason McDaniel, 2016, Journal of Urban Affairs. This study covered San Francisco’s use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in mayoral elections, purporting to show that RCV reduces voter turnout overall, increases voter errors, and has a negative impact on “marginal populations,” i.e. racial minorities, mainly as the result of the alleged complexity of RCV asking voters to rank candidates and having to be familiar with multiple candidates and related dynamics. McDaniel reached these conclusions by examining five San Francisco mayoral elections taking place in odd years (i.e. where there are no federal or state races on the ballot) from 1995 to 2011, comparing three earlier non-RCV races (in 1995, 1999 and 2003) with the later two RCV races (in 2007 and 2011). Only two RCV races were studied, and as McDaniel acknowledged, only the contest in 2011 was “competitive” (that contest in 2007 was the first mayoral election using RCV, and incumbent mayor Gavin Newsom won easily in the first round of counting, earning 74% of first choices and far ahead of the second place candidate who had just 6.3% of first choices). Yet even the allegedly competitive contest in 2011was won by an incumbent with a landslide margin of nearly 20 points. No other elections were studied by McDaniel, even though San Francisco elects 17 other offices besides mayor with RCV, including the 11 seats on the Board of Supervisors (the name for the city council) in even years, and six other citywide offices in odd years. Previous academic research has found that competitive elections can stimulate greater voter involvement and higher turnout. For unexplained reasons, this study ignored at least 34 other RCV races between the years 2004 to 2011, many of which were very competitive and had high voter turnout. Instead, McDaniel’s analysis based its conclusions on data from only a single, marginally-competitive mayor’s race using RCV. These 2007 and 2011 mayoral elections were the only two RCV elections that McDaniel used as the sole basis for his small data set to determine the impact of RCV on voter turnout. Despite having no meaningful data to inform his study, McDaniel nonetheless concluded that RCV lowered turnout when compared to the previous three mayoral non-RCV elections using two-round runoffs. Then, using the same inadequate database of San Francisco elections, McDaniel also found that “Instant-runoff voting is associated with a significant decline in Black voter turnout and White voter turnout…On average, Black voter turnout decreases by 18 points and White voter turnout decreases by 16 points …” But how could he credibly arrive at that conclusion when his study was based on voter turnout in two RCV contests that were not even remotely competitive? Beyond that, McDaniel tacitly admits that the key determining factor driving Black voter turnout was not RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable Black candidate. McDaniel wrote, “Black voter turnout was about 17 percentage points higher for the two elections that featured an African American candidate compared to the three elections that did not” — but one of those three elections did not use RCV. The same dynamic was present for White voter turnout, in which higher turnout was not correlated with RCV vs non-RCV elections, but the presence of a viable White candidate. Beyond that, McDaniel’s voter turnout results, whether correlated with the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections, showed no clear patterns. In his Figure 1, he shows low Asian voter turnout in the non-RCV elections in 1999 and 2003 when there was no viable Asian candidate running, but in the 2007 mayoral election using RCV, there is still no viable Asian candidate, yet Asian turnout increases dramatically. For Latinos, voter turnout is virtually the same in 1999 (no viable Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2003 (leading Latino candidate, non-RCV elections), 2007 (no viable Latino candidate, RCV elections) and 2011 (leading Latino candidate, RCV elections). Meanwhile White voter turnout increased dramatically from a low in the 2007 mayoral election, in which the leading candidate was a white incumbent, to the 2011 election in which there were no leading white candidates that finished any higher than sixth place with 5.6% of the vote. Clearly other factors were determining voter turnout than either the race of the candidates or RCV vs non-RCV elections. Despite these inconsistent findings, McDaniel boldly marches forth to render conclusions about the impact of RCV on different groups of racial voters, even though his conclusions are not remotely supported by his data. This looks like the worst kind of “data cherry picking” to cover up a puzzling conclusion based on a poor data set involving only two RCV elections, neither of which were remotely competitive. McDaniel’s cherry picking didn’t stop there. In calculating voter turnout for the three non-RCV mayoral elections in 1995, 1999 and 2003, he failed to mention that in each of these years there was a two-round runoff election, with a first round election in November in which no candidate garnered a winning majority of the vote, followed by the decisive runoff in December. So there were two non-RCV elections in each election year. But McDaniel only decided to include one of the two elections in his data set, apparently the December runoff in each year (which had higher turnout in two out of the three mayor’s races, and lower turnout in the third). So he ignored the November 1995 election, the November 1999 election when turnout was only 45 percent, and the November 2003 election when turnout was only 45.7 percent. This is flawed methodology based on blatant cherry picking, since McDaniel simply omitted three elections worth of data that did not fit within his frame. His study should never have made it through a peer review process, and it is an embarrassment to political science that not only was it approved for publication, but it has been uncritically cited by dozens of other political scientists. Share A “study” without wider context or credible data Lacking a data set that included even a single competitive RCV mayoral race, McDaniel declared that RCV lowered voter turnout in 2011, when turnout was 42.5 percent. But he also ignored -- or did not realize -- that voter turnout in mayoral elections during 2011 had sharply declined in all big cities, including far more steeply in nearby Los Angeles and other cities. In fact, San Francisco’s election in 2011 had the second highest turnout of any mayoral election in the nation’s 22 largest cities from 2008-2011. Was 2011 just a particularly low turnout year all across the country, perhaps because the country was still reeling from the aftermath of the housing market collapse in 2008-2010? McDaniel ignored this factor and did not search for alternative explanations beyond his flawed thesis. Furthermore, while McDaniel suggested that RCV leads to more “overvotes” – which is an invalidated ballot in which a voter, in either a non-RCV or RCV race, makes a mistake and selects two candidates for a single choice – he failed to address that in the June 2012 US Senate primary contest, which used the typical “one-choice” plurality method and did not use RCV, there was more than five times as many overvotes in San Francisco and Oakland than in the RCV mayoral elections in those cities. Additionally, turnout had been significantly higher and more representative in RCV elections for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors races -- that McDaniel didn’t even bother to study -- as compared to previous “delayed two-round runoffs” for those offices, often higher by as much as 40% in the RCV races. Perhaps the most surprising irony was that an earlier study co-authored by McDaniel (Overvoting and the Equality of Voice under Instant-Runoff Voting in San Francisco by Francis Neely and Jason McDaniel, 2015, California Journal of Politics and Policy) found that overvotes are often more common in lower-income precincts, but that the pattern of overvoting is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. Wrote Neely and McDaniel: “[Overvote] errors appear to be a function of complexity in general and not IRV per se…. the pattern of overvoting is similar in both IRV and non-IRV contests…Even among votes cast in a top-of-the-ticket race like U.S. Senate, overvoting occurs in an uneven fashion” (IRV, or ‘instant runoff voting,’ is another name for ranked choice voting in single-winner contests). So McDaniel not only contradicted his own conclusion in his earlier study with Neely, but the earlier study had been an important corrective for one of the most frequently made mistakes made by anti-RCV political scientists – a continual failure to provide crucial context by pairing a comparative analysis of real world RCV elections with an analysis of real world plurality or other electoral methods. Unfortunately McDaniel’s earlier study does not get cited much by other researchers, and McDaniel did not even cite it in his own flawed study analyzed above. Incredibly, McDaniel cherrypicked McDaniel, even as his flawed study has been cited dozens of times. Despite being a textbook example of poor political “science,” featuring both inadequate as well as cherrypicked data, the shelf life of McDaniel’s study has been extended endlessly by other political scientists and media outlets who have cited it uncritically. Equally troubling, the Journal of Urban Affairs put this paper through its peer review process and published it despite its numerous flaws. McDaniel gets it wrong, Part II Not content with producing one shoddy, confused paper, McDaniel produced another one a few years later, here is the link: Electoral Rules and Voter Turnout in Mayoral Elections: An Analysis of Ranked-Choice Voting by Jason McDaniel. San Francisco State Univ. (McDaniel, 2019). In this paper, McDaniel extended his previous flawed research focused on San Francisco, about voter turnout and voter impact, to multiple RCV cities through the 2018 elections. In his data set he included San Francisco, Minneapolis, St Paul, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro and Santa Fe. He then compared their turnout in mayoral elections to non-RCV cities, and to mayoral elections in those cities held before first RCV usage, and concluded “a significant decrease in voter turnout of approximately 3–5 percentage points in RCV cities after the implementation of RCV.” But he replicated many of the same mistakes as his first study presented above. While in this study McDaniel attempted to distinguish between various factors, such as odd year vs. even year elections, competitive races vs. noncompetitive, contests with open seats and other factors, the analysis is superficial and inadequate. He attempts to incorporate so many often-conflicting variables that his conclusions are once again unsupported by the actual data, and ultimately unconvincing (this second study never underwent a peer review process). For example, McDaniel declared that for RCV cities “in elections that are more competitive than average (margin of victory less than 20%), there is no significant RCV effect on voter turnout.” Yet McDaniel is a professor in a city, San Francisco, in which the 2018 special election using RCV to fill a mayoral vacancy was exceedingly close, decided by a margin of only one percentage point, and resulted in the second highest turnout in San Francisco history for a mayoral election. Illustrating the complexity involved in assessing the critical factors in turnout, that special election was held on the same election day as federal and state offices, which tends to boost turnout. Yet more voters participated in that RCV mayoral election than voted on the same day in the non-RCV primary for governor in which former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom was running. Even more puzzling, in this study McDaniel inaccurately cited his own previous study from 2015 with Neely. McDaniel wrote, “Neely and McDaniel (2015) examine individual ballot image files within a natural experiment, and find higher rates of ballot errors in RCV elections compared to non-RCV elections” (emphasis added). However, we quoted from that 2015 study several paragraphs above, and in actual fact Neely and McDaniel actually concluded the opposite -- that the pattern of overvoting – which is the most common form of ballot error – is similar in both RCV and non-RCV contests. McDaniel also ignored the fact that in Bay Area RCV elections held in even years – at the same time as federal and state elections, when turnout is highest -- the “undervote” (that is, the dropoff in ballots cast for governor or mayor) has declined, which contradicts his thesis that the act of ranking ballots in RCV elections is too complex and presents a barrier for certain demographics of voters. To his credit, McDaniel actually acknowledged another contradiction in his own paper, which found a negative RCV turnout effect in some odd-year elections but not others, admitting that “may present a challenge to the theory that increased complexity [from RCV] will have a marginal negative effect on voter turnout.” But he tried to wallpaper over that contradiction by blaming it on an unlikely source -- bad election administration. McDaniels wrote, “This would suggest that the negative impact of RCV on voter participation may be alleviated by high quality election administration,” without presenting any data or even anecdotes to support such an unfounded theory. While competent election administration of any election, whether RCV or non-RCV, is crucially important, there is no credible research that supports the far-fetched notion that the quality of election administration has much of an impact on voter turnout in US elections, whether using RCV or otherwise. Upgrade to a $5 subscription The unvirtuous circle of academic research It is puzzling how McDaniel’s first study could have survived the peer review process for the Journal of Urban Affairs. The mistakes in McDaniel’s first study above should have been obvious to anyone with a basic understanding of ranked choice voting as well as elections in general, and elections in San Francisco specifically. It undermines faith in the credibility of the peer review process to think that a jury of peer political scientists did not catch the egregious errors and reject McDaniel’s sloppy research and paper. And it remains a black mark on political science that this thoroughly discredited study has been cited dozens of times by other researchers. Indeed, in our research paper it became apparent that many political scientists cite each other’s flawed research to pad their list of citations and to legitimize their own flawed research, creating an unvirtuous circle of political science. More broadly, McDaniel’s voter turnout studies, like other studies evaluating RCV’s impact on turnout, lacked a recognition that no credible opinion or research can claim that RCV increases voter turnout merely because so many voters are excited to vote for their favorite candidates instead of “lesser evil” candidates without worrying about spoilers. Instead, with respect to turnout, the advantage of RCV has always been that, in most places where it has been used, it has eliminated a pre-November primary or post-November runoff, which usually saw about half the turnout of the November general election. This is especially true during even years when there are state and federal elections on the ballot which substantially drive turnout more than local contests. Any study that does not adequately account for this non-November primary/runoff vs November general election dynamic, or odd year vs even year election factors, is simply not credible. Both of McDaniel’s studies largely failed on those grounds. Steven Hill and Paul Haughey Share Upgrade to a $5 subscription Thanks for reading DemocracySOS…your digital portal for the pro-democracy movement. Subscribe for only $5 per month to receive full benefits and to support our work. Subscribe
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