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In wake of Cambridge Analytica revelations, new momentum behind Klobuchar’s Honest Ads Act

Last year, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia introduced a bill, called the Honest Ads Act, to regulate online political ads the same way that political ads are regulated on print, TV, and radio — with clear disclosure requirements and a public record of ads.

Travis Ridout
Travis Ridout

Travis Ridout, a Washington State University professor who studies political advertising for the Wesleyan Media Project, says the political moment right now is strongly in favor of fuller disclosure of political advertising. “What the companies are saying is, hey, we’re open to regulation,” he says. “I’m not sure they really want regulation.”

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MinnPost

Connecting graduate education, underserved populations aim of NEH grant

A new National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant catalyzes a year of discussion and planning at Washington State University aimed at creating a national model for connecting graduate education in the humanities to rural and underserved populations.

Todd ButlerFunded by the NEH’s NextGen Ph.D. program, the grant will bring together more than 20 faculty, staff, graduate students, and recent graduate alumni from across WSU to consider how graduate education in the humanities can better support the university’s land-grant mission of improving access, inclusivity, and democratic engagement, said Todd Butler, chair of the English department and principal investigator for the grant.

The interdisciplinary initiative, titled Reimagining the 21st-Century Land Grant Ph.D., is supported by traditional stakeholders in graduate education along with new partners who will help extend the university’s reach and commitment to the humanities.

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WSU Insider

As Scientists Speak Out About Science, Women and Young Scholars Lead the Way

Loud noises are emanating from the laboratory these days, but they’re declamations, not explosions. This month scientists and other advocates for science assembled in cities around the country for the second annual March for Science. The organizers called on people to march for “a future where science is fully embraced in public life and policy.”

Allison Coffin
Allison Coffin

Such outreach is multiplying outside the classroom. too. In March, Science Talk, a new science-communication organization co-founded by Allison Coffin, associate professor of integrative physiology and neuroscience at Washington State University Vancouver, held its second annual conference in Portland, Ore.

She had taught science-communication workshops, and “wanted to create a forum for science communicators to come together, share ideas, and network,” Coffin said.

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Chronicle of Higher Education

One puff is enough! A single drag of cannabis can alleviate depression, 2 can ease anxiety and 10 can slash stress (but long-term use could WORSEN symptoms)

Taking just one drag of a cannabis joint can ease symptoms of depression, a study suggests. Scientists also discovered that inhaling two puffs of weed can alleviate anxiety, while 10 can help to combat stress.

Carrie Cuttler
Carrie Cuttler

However, the Washington State University researchers warned long-term use of cannabis could worsen symptoms of depression. Led by Dr. Carrie Cuttler, they found symptoms of depression were halved as a result of the medical cannabis use.

Symptoms of anxiety and stress were reduced by 58 per cent, according to the study in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

The researchers wrote: “Acute cannabis intoxication temporarily alleviates perceived states of depression, anxiety, and stress.”

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The Daily Mail
Other sources:

Observer – click to view
Forbes – click to view
IB Times– click to view
Hemp Gazette – click to view
Inquisitr – click to view
Brinkwire – click to view
Metro – click to view
Medical Daily
Benzinga

 

Coho salmon die, chum salmon survive in stormwater runoff

WSU scientists have discovered that different species of salmon have varying reactions to polluted stormwater runoff.

In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Pollution, scientists say that coho salmon became sick and nearly died, within just a few hours of exposure to polluted stormwater, but chum salmon showed no signs of ill-effects after prolonged exposure to the same water.

Jennifer McIntyre

“It really surprised us,” said Jen McIntyre, an assistant professor in WSU’s School of the Environment. “Not that the coho were affected so quickly, but how resistant the chum were. We saw no impact at all in the chum’s post-exposure bloodwork.”

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WSU Insider
Yuba Net