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ECU vocal program offers oft-missing science to singing
ECU vocal pedagogy professors teach the science and anatomy behind singing, benefiting their students and offering a workshop for teachers.
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.
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.
New Trump administration rules on federal science funding could make American research slower, costlier and harder to share
Beyond deprioritizing scientific merit, the Trump administration’s proposal also restricts researchers’ ability to share their findings and collaborate with each other.
Can a Madison summer camp get teens interested in science careers?
After two decades of hosting a camp, researchers at UW-Madison’s Morgridge Institute are evaluating the program's long-term impact.
Whitmer makes ‘science of reading’ training mandatory for Michigan teachers
Michigan elementary school teachers will be required to take literacy training by the 2031-2032 school year, under a new law signed by Gov. Gretchen ...
AI-backed imaging workflow helps generalist radiologists perform like breast specialists
Scaling the solution across the U.S. has the potential to mitigate the current shortfall of breast radiologists, researchers contend.
Chandler dazzles, but Pirates drop pitchers’ duel to Yankees
Bubba Chandler turned in one of the best starts of his career, but the Pirates were defeated 2-0 by the Yankees.
Trump to steer billions from universities to AI and individual scientists
White House says overhaul will back AI and researchers to restore the US scientific edge as Beijing closes the innovation gap.
Atlanta Braves Reveal Michael Harris II Change Before Padres Game
The Atlanta Braves are currently taking on the San Diego Padres in a four-game series. After losing to the Padres on Tuesday, the series is now 1-1. For game three of the series, Atlanta has activated pitcher Martin Perez, and the Padres will roll with Michael King. Ahead of the Padres, the Braves revealed their […] The post Atlanta Braves Reveal Michael Harris II Change Before Padres Game appeared first on HEAVY.
Michigan law requires teachers to complete ‘Science of Reading’ training
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law July 21 requiring Michigan teachers to complete "Science of Reading" training within the next five years, as the state ranks 44th in the country in fourth grade reading levels.
Michigan Tech Atmospheric Scientists Linked to Three Research Projects Selected for DOE Genesis Mission
Michigan Technological University researchers are involved in three proposals tapped by the U.S. Department of Energy for consideration under its recently launched Genesis Mission: Transforming Science and Energy with AI. The mission’s goal is to address national science and technology challenges using artificial intelligence.
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.
Whitmer makes ‘science of reading’ training mandatory for Michigan teachers
Michigan elementary school teachers will be required to take literacy training by the 2031-2032 school year under a new law signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
Whitmer makes ‘science of reading’ training mandatory for Michigan teachers
Michigan elementary school teachers will be required to take literacy training by the 2031-2032 school year, under a new law signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Tuesday.
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.
Stony Brook University Researchers Chosen for Landmark DOE Genesis Mission AI-for-Science Awards
More than $2.4M will support collaborations with Brookhaven National Lab and other institutions to address complex science and technology challenges WASHINGTON, D.C., July 22, 2026 – Researchers at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (Stony Brook University) secured five inaugural awards through the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Genesis Mission, a national AI-for-science
Great Barrier Reef microbiome mapped as researchers discover 500 bacterial species previously unknown to science
Research identifies 808,585 viral genomes belonging to what scientists estimate to be 362,802 different viruses
Teacher Feature: IRC middle school science coach grows tech learning for Title I students
Berkeley Lab to Lead 13 New Genesis Mission AI Projects
Researchers will apply AI, supercomputing, and advanced instruments to accelerate discoveries for energy, science, and national security.
SBU Researchers Chosen for DOE Genesis Mission AI Awards
Stony Brook University researchers secured five awards through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a national AI-for-science initiative.
UA researcher leads global effort to promote reliable health information
UA's Rebecca Ivic anchors a global commission on health communication sponsored by Nature Medicine, a leading academic journal.
Fantasy Baseball Trade Tips: Paul Skenes, Mason Miller among pitchers to target with waiver wire riddled with quality hitters
Wyss Institute receives Massachusetts Life Science Center award to advance metabolomics and lipidomics research across Massachusetts ecosystem
By Benjamin Boettner (BOSTON) — The Wyss Institute at Harvard University has received an award from the Massachusetts Life Science Center (MLSC), enabling it to host a next-generation metabolomics and lipidomics analytical platform. The platform will allow its researchers to creatively pursue new approaches to biomarker and drug discovery across multiple health challenges the Institute...
Pitcher Shane Drohan talks Brewers in midst of longest homestand
Our Dennis Krause sat down one on one with Drohan.
Margaret Thatcher’s legacy: is Andy Burnham stuck in the past?
PM says Iron Lady caused Britain’s problems but is his ‘neoliberalism’ critique just ‘1980s karaoke’?
Goodman Goes Deep as Rockies Sink Nationals
What else can Hunter Goodman not do? The Colorado Rockies' all-world catcher slammed a solo home run in helping his team defeat the Washington Nationals.
Garrett Crochet makes tough admission amid Red Sox turnaround
The Boston Red Sox have been without star pitcher Garrett Crochet since April 25th due to a lingering injury issue.
How a Former Teacher Built a 50,000-Member Women's Business Community
Amanda Smith started Dallas Girl Gang as a simple Facebook group. Now, the platform is helping aspiring entrepreneurs launch businesses.
Less invasive anesthesia strategies during TAVR linked to a key benefit
Long-term TAVR outcomes were comparable. When tracking 30-day data, however, researchers found that hospital readmission was much less common for patients treated with regional anesthesia or moderate sedation.
Former Bruin Signs Undrafted Free Agent Deal With Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed a local relief pitcher as an undrafted free agent following the 2026 MLB Draft. UCLA relief pitcher Ian May will begin his professional career with the Dodgers’ organization. May is the 11th former Bruin to join an MLB organization this year. UCLA baseball had 10 total players drafted earlier […] The post Former Bruin Signs Undrafted Free Agent Deal With Dodgers appeared first on LA Sports Report.
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.
Whitmer makes ‘science of reading’ training mandatory for Michigan teachers
As Michigan struggles with low literacy test scores, leaders are putting in a new training requirement for elementary teachers.
AI Companies Are Stripping Colleges of Their Best Researchers
The new career path for professors: Join Anthropic.
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
Researchers gather at Cornell Tech to explore AI for molecular science
Researchers from around the world gathered at Cornell Tech for a workshop exploring how physics-aware artificial intelligence can accelerate the discovery of molecules and materials while improving the reliability of machine learning models.
The secret to successful sports organizations? Employees who feel safe enough to speak up
With major sporting events like Wimbledon and the FIFA World Cup drawing global attention this summer, new findings from a University of Florida researcher highlight an often-overlooked factor behind their success: the well-being of the employees working behind the scenes.
Randi Weingarten launches into wild political rant at teachers union convention
Kayleigh McEnany and 'Fox & Friends Weekend' hosts criticize the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention for its political focus.
Agentic AI in biomedical research: What is it and can it expedite science?
Researchers are venturing into a new area of collaboration that relies on agentic AI, co-scientists that can act independently and help humans ideate, hypothesize and speed up scientific exploration.
Kyle Klein Named Associate Commissioner for Sports Administration and Championships
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr. Jon A. Steinbrecher has named Kyle Klein Associate Commissioner for Sports Administration and Championships, effective July 1, 2026.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past Reveal Date Confirmed
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Songs of the Past will be revealed at gamescom 2026 during Opening Night Live, CD Projekt has announced.
The Witcher 3's Big New Expansion Makes Its Debut at Gamescom Opening Night Live
Songs of the Past shows itself
A Device Hidden in Cars Across the US Leaves Them Vulnerable to Hacking and Paralysis. Patch It Now
Dealerships installed alarms in millions of vehicles—and left them in even if the buyer didn’t want them. Now researchers warn they can be hacked to unlock, track, and disable cars.
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.
WHO marks 25 years of Research4Life, advancing access to scientific knowledge in more than 120 countries
The World Health Organization (WHO) today marks the 25th anniversary of Research4Life, a public-private partnership that provides researchers, educators, health professionals and policy-makers in low- and middle-income countries with affordable or free access to scientific knowledge.
Phillies actively looking to trade for back-end starting pitcher
The Phillies are looking to trade for a starting pitcher. If they can’t make a deal before Saturday, they could bring up Brian Keller from Triple A.
14 Amazing Xbox 360 Games Are On Sale For Dirt Cheap
The Witcher 2 and more are discounted to just a few bucks digitally
Tickets on sale for Hancher’s Infinite Dream Festival
Infinite Dream returns to Iowa City Sept. 24-26. Tickets are on sale now for the multidisciplinary arts festival exploring the shape, depth and complexity of the American story, produced by
‘Mercenary’ Cowboys Defender Called Logical Fit for Multiple Contenders
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox called Cowboys edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney a logical fit for Patriots and Seahawks in free agency. The post ‘Mercenary’ Cowboys Defender Called Logical Fit for Multiple Contenders appeared first on HEAVY.
Mets rumors: Freddy Peralta trade potential gets concerning update
The New York Mets' pursuit of a trade partner for pitcher Freddy Peralta is encountering a significant roadblock.
Hackers are exploiting recently patched WordPress bugs, putting millions of websites at risk
Two critical security flaws in WordPress’ software have given hackers the chance to remotely take over tens of millions of websites, according to an estimate by a cybersecurity researcher.
Holland ranked first in powerlifting bracket
Cherokee Nation citizen Gracelyn Holland has brought home various first place awards during this year’s powerlifting season, and she is currently ranked first in her bracket.
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
AI Researcher Receives $745K Bits to Bytes Award from Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to Create the World’s Largest Annotated Spleen Ultrasound Dataset
Principal Investigator (PI) Daniel Haehn, PhD, director of UMass Boston’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research Core Facility and an associate professor of computer science, will lead SPLEEN-US: Open Annotated Spleen Ultrasound Dataset for Precision Neuromodulation.
How mental health, environment shape pregnancy sleep
Nearly half of pregnant women in the United States report poor sleep quality, which has been associated with gestational diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy. A new study led by researchers ...
I went back to work to afford my husband's caregiving costs
Brenda Eicher-Beard quit working once her husband had a stroke, but had to go back a few years later to afford private caregiving of about $5,000.
An asteroid shattered near Jupiter’s gravitational gateway 800 million years ago; scientists say the debris may have bombarded Earth for 150 million years
A massive asteroid that broke apart around 800 million years ago may have sent a huge number of rocky fragments towards Earth, the Moon and Mars, according to a new study led by researchers at the Southwest Research Institute.
Researcher receives NSF CAREER Award to advance insect biology and strengthen South Texas agriculture
The UT San Antonio research project will also support the training of undergraduate students and expand K-12 science education.
Colorado Commission prioritizes feelings over science
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted Thursday and prioritized feelings over science-based management. Meanwhile, Rancher X is the beneficiary of those feelings-driven decisions. Well played, Governor. The newest appointees to the CPW Commission are just the parting gift you had in mind for rural Colorado. The Commission voted Thursday 6-5 to reject CPW staff […]
Colorado Commission prioritizes feelings over science
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission voted Thursday and prioritized feelings over science-based management. Meanwhile, Rancher X is the beneficiary of those feelings-driven decisions. Well played, Governor. The newest appointees to the CPW Commission are just the parting gift you had in mind for rural Colorado. The Commission voted Thursday 6-5 to reject CPW staff […]
Op-Ed: School employees' health costs are everyone's problem
As premiums soar by more than a third, lawmakers have an opportunity to change how we bargain for coverage
Even scientists need a doctor sometimes. Colorado physician makes house call to Greenland.
The CU doctor was there for checkups on researchers working at the cold and icy Summit Station.
Wall of Entertainment taps Chronicle for YouTube
The collaboration will see Chronicle's AI platform identify and expand organic audiences for Substitute Teacher and House Rules, two series produced by the UK-based digital entertainment studio as it expands its presence in the United States.
What Can Senior and Early-Career Researchers Learn From Each Other?
For an early-career researcher, having a more senior mentor or co-author can teach valuable skills. But senior scientists can also learn lessons from early-career “disruptors,” who introduce new techniques and perspectives.
An ordinary laptop solved a problem thought to require a quantum computer
A quantum problem once described as impossible for classical computers has now been solved using relatively modest hardware. Researchers used tensor networks to compress the overwhelming wave function created by hundreds of entangled qubits, allowing some calculations to run on a laptop. Their results matched both theoretical predictions and simulations performed with a quantum computer. The method could open new paths for exploring quantum dynamics and materials.
Cowboys Called ‘Logical Landing Spot’ for $118 Million Free Agent
Bleacher Report's Kristopher Knox called the Dallas Cowboys a logical landing spot for free-agent inside linebacker Bobby Wagner. The post Cowboys Called ‘Logical Landing Spot’ for $118 Million Free Agent appeared first on HEAVY.
Orioles Announce Reason for Samuel Basallo's Departure During Astros Game
The Baltimore Orioles removed catcher Samuel Basallo from Sunday's game against the Houston Astros.
Tom Cruise, IShowSpeed, and More to Headline World Cup Closing Ceremony
Tom Cruise, IShowSpeed, Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini, Nicole Scherzinger, and Jennifer Hudson will headline FIFA's star-studded closing ceremony before the 2026 World Cup final at New York New Jerse...
Thunder trade Lu Dort to Hawks; former No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher heads to Mavericks in 3-team deal
AI advice made people three times less accurate but twice as confident, researchers found
A study found that access to AI advice collapsed people's willingness to say "I don't know" from 44% to 3%, while accuracy dropped from 27% to 9%.
Dodgers Swap Starting Pitchers for Yankees Doubleheader
Yoshinobu Yamamoto anchors a high-stakes twin bill as the Los Angeles Dodgers face New York Yankees' All-Star Cam Schlittler in a potential World Series preview.
Eagles Urged to Sign Former Super Bowl MVP Before Season
The Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowlwith Josh Sweat, Nolan Smith and game-wrecking edge play that had Patrick Mahomes running for his life. Von Miller, the MVP of Super Bowl 50 who spent last year with the Washington Commanders, could make an interesting fit for the Eagles to upgrade their pass rush, according to Bleacher Report.
NH's Business: Could the life science industry drive NH economy?
Fred Kocher sits down with Lucy Lange with the NH Department of Business & Economic affairs and Andrea Hechavarria with NH Life Sciences about how the life science industry has impacting the state's economy.
NH's Business: Could the life science industry drive NH economy?
Fred Kocher sits down with Lucy Lange with the NH Department of Business & Economic affairs and Andrea Hechavarria with NH Life Sciences about how the life science industry has impacting the state's economy.
The mysterious hum heard around the world may finally have an explanation
The mysterious sound known as The Hum has been reported worldwide for decades, yet its source often remains impossible to find. Researchers tested whether people who hear it have exceptional low-frequency hearing or measurable sounds produced inside their ears, but neither explanation fit most participants. The strongest possibility is that many cases involve low-frequency tinnitus, even though the sound seems completely external.
New AI blood test predicts heart disease 15 years early
A new AI-powered blood test could give people a remarkably early warning of serious heart and circulation problems. Developed by researchers at the University of Hong Kong, CardiOmicScore analyzes thousands of proteins and metabolites to estimate the risk of six major cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Unlike genetic risk scores, which remain fixed throughout life, the system captures biological changes linked to a person’s current health, lifestyle, and environment.
A tiny universe in a bottle reveals clues to the origins of life
Researchers have created cosmic dust from scratch by recreating space-like conditions inside glass tubes. The dust contains complex carbon-rich molecules built from elements essential to life and produces infrared signals similar to real material found in space. By studying these laboratory samples, scientists can explore how organic chemistry unfolds around stars and how comets, asteroids and meteorites may have carried those ingredients to Earth.
Science & Medicine: Small daily choices can have a big impact on your dementia risk
A UT San Antonio researcher warns that dementia cases could triple by 2050 and that no health system on earth is ready for it. But Dr. Claudia Suemoto says the outlook isn't hopeless: everyday choices around exercise, diet, and community can meaningfully lower your risk, especially if you start by around age 35.
The science of Alaska’s bees: What researchers are learning
Volunteers across Alaska are collecting thousands of bee specimens to document the state's native pollinators as warming threatens their survival.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba high on Bleacher Report’s franchise player ranking
Seahawks star Jaxon Smith-Niigba was ranked by Bleacher Report as being the 11th-best franchise player in the NFL ahead of the 2026 season.
New Hospital Reflects Commitment to Cherokee Health
Guest Opinion The new W.W. Hastings Hospital did not rise from the ground overnight. It grew from decades of planning, staff dedication, and a belief from everyone involved that Cherokee families deserve state-of-the-art care in the heart of the Cherokee Nation Reservation. That belief is now standing six stories tall in Tahlequah. This $470 million […]
Anthony Rizzo gets home run ball in Wrigley Field bleachers as Cubs commemorate 2016 World Series champs
OPINION: Health investments reverberate through our Nation
At the heart of the Cherokee story is an innate commitment to community. It’s the background rhythm that connects every Cherokee Nation citizen. Gadugi, our word for working together for
Fantasy Baseball Week 18 Preview: Two-start pitcher rankings feature Parker Messick, Freddy Peralta
Two-start pitchers for Week 18 including top fantasy baseball streaming options.
Earth’s biggest volcanic event transformed an entire oceanic plate
Seismic waves have revealed that the oceanic plate beneath the Ontong Java Plateau was dramatically transformed by the colossal volcanic activity that created it more than 100 million years ago. Researchers found a complex structure of horizontal layers cut through by vast swarms of vertical magma channels, along with unusually slow seismic waves suggesting that deep-rising magma chemically altered the plate itself.
Spidery Drone Goes Near-invisible By Spinning Really, Really Fast
Researchers demonstrate that something interesting happens when a small drone with a spindly airframe spins at a high speed: it very nearly turns invisible. The spidery device is shown mounted in i…
Titans' new playmaker named a fantasy football sleeper
Bleacher Report identified a new Titans playmaker as a fantasy football sleeper, pointing to breakout potential entering the 2026 season.
Colorado health officials are tracking toxic algae blooms with warnings of health impacts
Not all blooms produce toxins, but with warm temperatures and shallow reservoirs, conditions are primed for algae to grow explosively.
Trump, Messi, Thatcher — and the Most Lucrative World Cup Ever
The quadrennial football competition reaches its climax on Sunday with a whole range of geopolitical subplots.
Roki Sasaki Makes Dodgers History After Incredible Start vs. Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Roki Sasaki pitched an amazing game on Friday, July 17th, showcasing the best stuff of his short MLB career.
Dodgers Reveal Shohei Ohtani’s Next Start Before Yankees Series
Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told the media when two-way star Shohei Ohtani will make his next start as a pitcher. The post Dodgers Reveal Shohei Ohtani’s Next Start Before Yankees Series appeared first on HEAVY.
Outrage after ICE agents tackle man at Las Vegas airport
Las Vegas police identified the pair as ICE agents and found no warrants for the man.
Applications are open for the 2026 National Forensic Science Teacher of the Year Award
Applications and nominations are being sought for the 2026 National Forensic Science Teacher of the Year Award. This award recognizes exceptional educators who inspire student interest and excellence in forensic science. As part of National Forensic Science Week (Sept. 20–26, 2026), the Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations will honor one outstanding high school teacher
UT San Antonio academic health center ranked among nation’s best for entrepreneurial readiness
UT Health San Antonio, The University of Texas at San Antonio’s academic health center, has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 10 institutions for entrepreneurial readiness, ranking No. 7 in the inaugural Cure Innovation Index for how effectively it helps researchers translate scientific discovery into real-world impact through biomedical innovation and commercialization. […]
The Future of Sports Prep Is Here: Nebraska Robot Prepares National Archery Stage
A robot made by a Nebraska company is helping prepare the stage for some of the country’s top young archers.The Lincoln Sports Foundation is using a GPS-guided
Fast food, fries, and science: Inside U-M’s lab studying cravings
Inside a tucked-away laboratory in East Hall at the University of Michigan, researchers recreated a fast-food restaurant—not to serve lunch, but to answer a question millions of people wrestle with every day: Why do people make different food choices in tempting environments than they intended?
Earth's largest particle accelerator opens new window into the early universe just after the Big Bang: 'A culmination of a decades-long quest'
According to one researcher, this observation "promises new insights into the evolution of the early universe."