When blackouts occur during heat waves, Austin homes pose major risk
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-May-2026 02:15 ET (4-May-2026 06:15 GMT/UTC)
If the power goes out during a heat wave, there’s nowhere more dangerous to be than where people spend most of their time — indoors. A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin is the first to assess the indoor heat vulnerability for each single-family home in an entire city. The research used Austin as its testbed, but the approach can be applied to most cities in the U.S.
Cash transfer programs, which provide money directly to recipients, are growing in the United States, but face significant scrutiny, with questions over their value. In addition, some contend that these payments can lead to harm—recipients, they claim, will use the cash to immediately buy alcohol or drugs, leading to injury or death. However, a new 11-year study of a long-standing cash-transfer program in Alaska finds no evidence that direct cash payments increase the risk of traumatic injury or death.
A new study by the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" (University of Konstanz) and the University of Lucerne shows: labour migrants who live where they work enjoy greater acceptance by locals than cross-border commuters – although their competition with the local workforce for jobs is comparable. The decisive reason for the difference is less related to economic factors than to perceptions of participation and fairness, which are also influenced by misinformation.
The ways people interact with and view nature speak volumes as to how the Earth is treated, and the severity of environmental concerns rising makes what shapes people’s view of nature a pertinent topic. Understanding how and why people might be motivated to protect nature is no small feat. Researchers have been able to present a study on 745 Japanese participants using three types of nature’s value—intrinsic, relational, and instrumental—to categorize a method to fully appreciate what goes into the construction of a human’s relationship with nature.