These 25 US universities face a talent drought: How Trump’s H-1B visa overhaul is to blame
Columbia University. (Getty Images) A growing number of top US universities are facing an immediate threat to their ability to attract international academic talent and graduate students. New changes to the H-1B visa system under President Donald Trump’s administration, including a $100,000 fee for new applicants and a shift in lottery preference, are causing concern […]
Princeton professor says universities must resist Trump’s compact on higher education: Here’s why
Sticks are bad, but sometimes corruption through carrots is worse. Princeton University professor Jan-Werner Müller, writing in The Guardian, argues that the Trump administration’s latest offer to select universities is exactly that, a veiled attempt to trade compliance for privilege.After cutting federal funding earlier this year, the administration is now extending an offer to nine […]
How Sri Lanka protects Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh from ocean fury
Focused experiments demonstrated that the Sri Lankan Land Mass (SLLM), situated in the southeastern part of the Indian peninsula, actively blocks long-period swell waves from the Southern Ocean from reaching India’s southeast coast. Photo: Google Maps Sri Lanka, located to the south of India, acts as a natural land barrier and plays a crucial role […]
A new civil rights office will fight antisemitism in California schools: How it works and why it’s controversial
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signs antisemitism law for schools. (AP Photo) California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law establishing a state-level Office of Civil Rights aimed at addressing antisemitism in public schools. The law comes amid rising concerns about antisemitic acts across the US and includes provisions for training school staff and advising […]
By reusing old genes, bats became the only mammals able to fly
Bats are the only mammals capable of true powered flight, yet their wings have evolved from the same basic five-digit limb structure found in all mammals. How, then, can they alone fly? “At first, when scientists started comparing animals, we thought big anatomical differences must come from big differences in DNA,” Christian Feregrino, a lead […]
America’s learning gap isn’t inevitable: Harvard researchers reveal 3 school strategies that actually work
3 Strategies to Close the Achievement Gap in American Education: Insights from Harvard Research (Image: Pexels) The persistent achievement gap in American education is often attributed to factors like socioeconomic status, race and innate ability. However, recent research from Harvard University suggests that the gap is not an inevitable outcome but rather a consequence of […]
Could hidden dental bacteria help explain sudden and deadly heart attacks?
A new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has found that viridans streptococci, a group of common oral bacteria, can form sticky bacterial layers called biofilms deep inside atherosclerotic plaques, remaining hidden from the immune system until the moment of rupture. The findings suggest that oral bacteria could persist in coronary […]
Why American kids are falling behind their global peers: It’s not about IQ
Why Do American Students Underperform Compared to Their International Peers? American children don’t trail because they are less capable, it is because they are held back by systems and circumstances that other countries manage better. At first glance it is tempting to treat international test gaps as a fixed measure of innate ability but the […]
Not your everyday forecast: Odd weather you won’t believe is real
The planet’s skies and seas have seen much more than any of us combined, more than the average weather forecast can predict. These rare, questionable phenomena leave not just us baffled, but also meteorologists questioning what is real and what is magic. Let us explore just what more nature is capable of showing us. […]
Columbia University braces for potential $20 million burden as new H-1B visa fee targets universities
Columbia University could face a substantial financial impact if the Trump administration’s proposed $100,000 fee on H-1B visas is implemented, as reported by the Columbia Spectator. The fee, announced in a White House proclamation on September 19, 2025, could cost the University up to $20 million annually, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship and […]