New Haven, Conn. — Immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, a group of 10 Yale students from a variety of backgrounds convened on campus to discuss the unthinkable.

Brought together by the university’s Civic Thought Initiative (CTI), which encourages open dialogue on difficult issues in small, seminar-style settings, the group included Jewish students with diverging views on Israel, students who were active advocates for Palestinians in Gaza, and a former childhood war refugee.

“Understandably, it was an emotionally charged and difficult conversation,” recalled Enza Jonas-Giugni, a recent Yale College graduate who at the time was a student fellow with the program. “And yet, instead of talking past one another, remaining entrenched in previously formed views about the conflict, or descending into hostility, we grieved, asked questions about parts of the conflict’s history that we remained ignorant of or uncertain about, and confronted the tough questions head on.”

In 2019, Yale political scientist Bryan Garsten created CTI in response to what he saw as a hunger among students to engage in intellectual discussions on important issues, but in an environment that encouraged them to try out ideas and hear from people with a range of political and philosophical perspectives. Now, six years later, Yale is building on that small initiative with the launch of a new nonpartisan Center for Civic Thought.

In an era defined by polarized views on everything from public health to politics, a new Tulane University study offers insight into why people may struggle to change their minds—especially when they turn to the internet for answers.

MIT researchers have a new hypothesis for how brain cells called astrocytes might contribute to memory storage in the brain. Their model, known as dense associative memory, would help explain the brain’s massive storage capacity.

The U.S. is facing a maternal health crisis with higher rates of maternal mortality than any other high-income country. Social and economic factors, including income, are recognized determinants of maternal morbidity and mortality. In addition, more than half of pregnancy-related deaths (deaths occurring during pregnancy or within one year after delivery) occur in the postpartum year.

In what is believed to be the first review to summarize evidence on the effect of unconditional cash transfers (UCTs) on postpartum health outcomes in the U.S., researchers have found strong evidence that UCTs increase breastfeeding rates and result in little to no difference in postpartum mood.