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New research from Northwestern University is the first to provide a more nuanced and global view of the experience of water insecurity. In a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health, scientists estimate that 436 million of the 3 billion adults represented by the survey sample were water insecure in 2021. The researchers also were able to pinpoint which groups experience the highest rates of water insecurity. The study, led by Northwestern anthropologist Sera Young, uses data drawn from a nationally representative sample of nearly half the world’s population and a scale designed to measure water insecurity more holistically.

With influenza hospitalizations running six weeks ahead of what is normally expected this time of year and flu vaccinations in adults and children down from previous years, December and January could see rising deaths from the flu in the U.S. And the drop in children receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccination means the U.S. no longer has population immunity for this highly contagious
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Northwestern University Opera Theater at the Bienen School of Music will present the regional premiere of composer Christopher Cerrone and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann’s opera “In a Grove,” Nov. 17 to 20.

In the runup to the 2022 midterm elections next week, political misinformation and disinformation have become an urgent crisis in the U.S. Northwestern University experts are available to discuss how and why misinformation spreads, how to educate voters about its risks and the threats that it poses to the American political system.

Simulations show that fish look down when they swim because the stable riverbed provides more reliable information about swimming directions and speed.

A groundbreaking study published today (Oct. 31) in Nature Human Behavior, tests several depolarization interventions and finds that, while they depolarize, they do not affect anti-democratic attitudes. “Interventions that reduce the extent to which partisans do not like each other do not seem to alter or reduce the extent to which they hold anti-democratic attitudes,” said political scientist James Druckman, one of the study’s researchers. “We need to think about ways to help people see the value of democracy unto itself regardless of party.”

George R.R. Martin, author of the acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones” series, is sharing his love of storytelling through two gifts totaling $5 million to Northwestern.

Researchers from Northwestern University have made a significant advance in the way they produce exotic open-framework superlattices made of hollow metal nanoparticles.

The Dittmar Gallery presents “The Story of Ka Makana o’ ka,” an exhibit of works by Chicago-based artist Trotter Alexander Oct. 27 to Dec. 7 at the Norris University Center. An artist, muralist and brand owner, Alexander is the lead creative director for The Ghetto Flower (TGF), a digital marketing and creative content community. As an artist, he has collaborated on projects with Lurie Children’s Hospital, Ambi Skincare and Family Matters Chicago.

In a first-of-its-kind study, a researchers found that ancient bacteria could survive close to the surface on Mars much longer than previously assumed. If bacteria evolved on Mars when water last flowed billions of years ago, they might still be living in Mars' subsurface.