Witching Hour, a hard tech startup and member of Cohort 2025 of Innovation Crossroads, is wielding the support of the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop technology that reduces wildfire risk by retrofitting powerlines with insulation in fire-prone areas. ORNL is the site of the Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing Facility, one of the only facilities in the country where companies can try out new transmission line technologies for long time periods in a real-world environment.

A new study in the Journal of Consumer Psychology reveals a hidden tension in ethical consumerism: While consumers morally support companies that hire individuals experiencing homelessness, deep-seated “contagion concerns” often reduce their likelihood of buying the products. The research identifies "social proof" marketing — showing that others already use and like the product — as a key tool to neutralize this emotional bias and align buying behavior with moral support.

New research uncovers how medically complex conditions that begin in childhood affect care in adult hospitals. 

Interlocking directorates — the practice of the same director sitting on the boards of competing companies — have long been identified with backroom deals and corporate collusion. 

Starting in 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission staged renewed crackdowns, leading to at least 21 board resignations.

But new research from Texas McCombs suggests efforts to reduce collusion and protect consumers may come with unintended consequences: worse corporate governance through loss of industry experience.

New research from Bayes Business School (City St George’s, University of London) has revealed that self-employment significantly increases work-related stress, even when a business owner possesses a high barrier to strain through genes and upbringing.

The research, led by Vangelis Souitaris, Professor of Entrepreneurship at Bayes, with academics from Warwick Business School and the University of Notre Dame (United States), collected data from more than 2,000 sets of identical twins. Across two studies, academics compared both perceived and chemical changes in stress between employed and self-employed individuals.

Claiming a business page on an online review platform such as Yelp may result in a sharp decline in ratings and an increase in lengthy, negative customer feedback, according to a study from Florida International University. 

About The Study: The findings of this cohort study suggest that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was associated with lower overall mortality among women ages 40 to 64 with breast cancer. Benefits were uneven, underscoring persistent racial and ethnic and socioeconomic disparities and the need for targeted interventions.

Misty Heggeness, an economics and population data expert at the University of Kansas, has written "Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy." The book examines the entertainment behemoth that is Taylor Swift and how her massive success illustrates the many ways that women survive and thrive in the American workforce, whether it is through billion-dollar headlining tours or work that is unpaid and often overlooked. The book aims to illuminate the contributions of women, share stories of succes and bring more women to the field, with rigid research, personal anecdotes, humor and examples of women doing great work every day.