In a recent article in Nature Communications, CSDE Affiliate Jade d’Alpoim Guedes (Anthropology) assessed how warm temperatures have constrained rice’s distribution and the adaptive strategies used to sustain its production. d’Alpoim Guedes and co-authors drew on contemporary records of rice cultivation, archaeological data spanning rice’s long-term history of cultivation, and temperature projections for the past and future. The thermal limits of rice cultivation have remained consistent throughout rice’s domestication history despite its genetic diversification and geographic expansion.

CBS News quoted CSDE Affiliate Donald Chi (Oral Health Services) on an article exploring the increase in children entering ERs for preventable tooth problems. ER visits for tooth problems unrelated to physical injuries rose almost 60% nationally for children under 15 years old from 2019 to 2022. Chi expressed worries that growing anti-fluoride stances will further erode trust in fluoride treatment and result in higher cavity rates. Since the start of 2026,

CSDE Affiliate Patrick Trent Greiner (Sociology) and co-authors open a new book, Environmental Sociology Now, with a chapter titled “What’s So Environmental About Environmental Sociology?”. Greiner and co-author argue that disagreement over what is or is not “environmental”—if embraced—can be a strength for the field. They encourage scholars to cultivate multiple ways of knowing and pursue a philosophically pluralist approach.

CSDE Affiliate Jelani Ince (Sociology) was selected as a Russell Sage Foundation Fellow for 2026–2027. The fellowship provides an opportunity for scholars in the social, economic, political and behavioral sciences to pursue their data analysis and writing while in residence at the foundation’s headquarters in New York City. Ince will use evidence from a two-year (2018-2020) ethnography of Risen Church, an interracial church in St. Louis, Missouri, to examine why DEI initiatives fail despite explicit commitments to their successful implementation.

IPUMS announces the release of the latest ACS 5-year summary file data from IPUMS NHGIS, a new tool to help researchers understand linking counts between the ATUS and CPS, and even more geography variables from IPUMS USA.

IPUMS USA has added geography variables, including a new consistent PUMA variable, CPUMA1020, which creates consistent geographic boundaries across 2010 and 2020 PUMA definitions, spanning the 2012–2024 samples. Users can also find new Migration and Place-of-Work variables based on 2023 metropolitan statistical area (MSA) definitions.

The Financial Times interviewed CSDE Affiliate Bo Zhao (Geography) on how AI is accelerating information warfare—particularly through AI- manipulated satellite imagery. For instance, satellite imagery suspected to be generated or modified with AI circulated widely on social media following recent Iranian drone strikes. Zhao noted that AI can be used to add color to satellite images–which subtly changes how people view the scene, introducing perceived differences that might not actually be there.

Using a period life-expectancy framework, CSDE Affiliate Marcia Weaver (Health Metrics) tracked health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) and lifetime spending in the United States for all ages, producing the first estimates calculated at birth, the most comprehensive measure. Weaver and co-authors used population-level results on mortality and years lived with disability from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study and simulated effects of changes in healthcare for 132 causes.

Did you know CSDE can help you with demographic data for your projects? For example, CSDE’s Research Scientist June Yang (Computational Demographer) recently provided the background data for the Latino Center for Health that contributed to a newly published infographic. The project is part of an initiative launched by CSDE Affiliate Leo Morales (General Internal Medicine) seeking to understand better the health needs of Washington’s Latino heritage residents.

CSDE Affiliates Jody O. Early (Nursing and Health Studies) and Carmen Gonzalez (Communications) in partnership with colleagues Janessa Graves (School of Medicine) and Julia Simoes (Communication) recently published a research brief, “Advancing Community-Based Mental Health Promotion: An Evaluation of a Bilingual Lay Mental Health Navigator Program“, in the peer reviewed journal, Health Promotion Practice. Early, Gonzalez, and co-authors presents evaluation results of Mental Health Matters of Washington’s Peer Mental Health Navigator (PMHN) program,

CSDE External Affiliate Maria Y. Rodriguez (University at Buffalo) served as co-editor for a special issue of Research on Social Work Practice on “Social Work Science and Advanced Computational Methods.” Rodriguez and co-editor, Jo Ann Lee, argue that advanced computational methods can help us work toward solving complex social issues. The included manuscripts leverage cutting edge methods like agent-based modeling, network science, and LLMs, all within specific practice-contexts,