Explainers
Penn scientists dig up evidence to settle questions about H.H. Holmes — first American serial killer
The museum of the University of Pennsylvania has been investigating the remains of America’s first serial killer. In May, anthropol
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7 years ago
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Pennsylvania is already known among water companies and their shareholders as being a good state for doing business.
And now, it
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7 years ago
Study: Breakthroughs can boost public’s trust of science but only temporarily
Columnist Tom Friedman notes in his opinion piece in Wednesday’s
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7 years ago
Listen 8:04
Sleep paralysis: How a deep-sleep glitch can conjure the boogeyman
There’s an unnerving, specific kind of dream — a nightmare, really — that can happe
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7 years ago
Listen 7:00
Fuel, oxygen, and ignition: the science of fireworks
A childhood pyromaniac grows up, becomes a chemist and makes sparks fly in the lab.
Matt Cline, 43, is a chemical engineering lab
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7 years ago
Listen 4:47
Synchronized defense: How animals move as one to avoid predators
When watching these birds move, it looks like they're one giant organism with a centralized brain. But an ornithologist explains it's not one brain so much as one thought.
8 years ago
Listen 5:49
Why don’t young doctors want to work in primary care?
Half the money and none of the respect, a first-year resident says no wonder new doctors aren’t choosing to be generalists.
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8 years ago
Listen 16:24
Explainer: How New Jersey’s welfare program works
This year marks two decades since a Democratic president signed a Republican-sponsored bill that revamped the nation’s welfare syst
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9 years ago
Why do some patients cry after anesthesia?
This story is from The Pulse, a weekly health and scie
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9 years ago
Listen 5:45
What is Act 1 and how did it impact property taxes and school funding?
Act 1 is a property tax relief bill passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in 2006 and amended in 2011.
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9 years ago
When it comes to education funding, what’s the deal with Philly schools?
The district’s budget for the 2014-15 school year is roughly $2.6 billion. The SRC and Superintendent William Hite h
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9 years ago
What is the purpose of the Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Commission?
The day before the deadline in mid-June, the commission said they needed more time to come up with recommendations for a new formula to d
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9 years ago
Too often we hear school officials, experts, advocates, and yes, even journalists throw around terms like “block grants” and
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9 years ago
Pa. cyber charters not happy with Gov. Wolf’s proposed steep cuts
For years, many public education advocates have been howling about the way Pennsylvania funds cyber charter schools.
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9 years ago
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What is a millage rate and how does it affect school funding?
Millage is a relatively obscure term that represents the tax rate levied on real estate or other property. A mill is one thous
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9 years ago