How should we treat incarcerated brains?

Edition: US - Today's top story: Brain science should be making prisons better, not trying to prove innocence [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 2 November 2017 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note If most of what you know about brain science you learned from the movies, you may have an outsized idea of what it can or should be used for to deal with crime and criminals. Yale clinical psychologist Arielle Baskin-Sommers – who has a research lab in a Connecticut state prison – writes that while the field is mostly not ready for primetime when it comes to determining things like guilt or innocence, there’s [plenty of other solid neuroscience research]( that should change the way prisons work. President Trump is calling for an end to the green card program that the attacker in the deadliest attack on New York City since 9/11 used to enter the United States. Commonly known as the “green card lottery,” the program awards about 50,000 visas a year. [That would be a mistake](, writes economist Ethan Lewis. “We would be giving up a program that benefits American workers with very little chance of a gain in safety.” One thing that does need updating is our idea of how men like the accused attacker in New York City become radicalized. James Gelvin of UCLA [explains the latest thinking](. At the beginning of November, many Mexicans, and those of Mexican ancestry celebrate “Día de los Muertos,” or the Day of the Dead, a practice similar to other observances around the world. As western societies move away from public mourning and grief becomes more private, University of Oregon’s Daniel Wojcik and Indiana University’s Robert Dobler, [explain death rituals of other cultures]( and why they help in dealing with loss. Maggie Villiger Science + Technology Editor Top stories Neuroscience can help incarcerated brains. Donald Tong [Brain science should be making prisons better, not trying to prove innocence]( Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Yale University Hollywood pushes a fantasy version of what neuroscience can do in the courtroom. But the field does have real benefits to offer, right now: solid evidence on what would improve prisons. The Statue of Liberty casts a wary eye at the bike path that runs along the western edge of Manhattan, where the Oct. 31 attack occurred. Songquan Deng/Shutterstock.com [US shouldn't give up benefits of 'green card lottery' over low risk of terrorism]( Ethan Lewis, Dartmouth College The president is urging lawmakers to end the program in the aftermath of the deadliest attack in New York City since 9/11. Doing so would be a mistake. Police work near a damaged Home Depot truck on Nov. 1, 2017, after a motorist drove onto a bike path near the World Trade Center memorial. AP Photo/Andres Kudacki [What draws 'lone wolves' to the Islamic State?]( James L. Gelvin, University of California, Los Angeles Sayfullo Saipov, the suspect in the Manhattan bike path attack, wasn't a devout Muslim. He cursed and came late to prayers. A terrorism expert explains why such a man may want to be a martyr. Day of the dead at a Mexican cemetery. © Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons, via Wikimedia Commons [What ancient cultures teach us about grief, mourning and continuity of life]( Daniel Wojcik, University of Oregon; Robert Dobler, Indiana University Many in the Western world lack the explicit mourning rituals that help people deal with loss. On Day of the Dead, two scholars describe ancient mourning practices. Arts + Culture - [What the history of iconoclasm tells us about the Confederate statue controversy]( Henry Adams, Case Western Reserve University Over the course of human history, symbols and monuments have invoked violent impulses and destruction. Health + Medicine - [Surprise! How Obamacare is beginning to look a lot like Medicaid]( J.B. Silvers, Case Western Reserve University With open enrollment for the Obamacare exchanges under way, big changes could occur. Insurers raised their premiums, but most Obamacare consumers won't pay big increases. Taxpayers will. Politics + Society - [How the crisis in Catalonia is helping Rajoy consolidate power]( Scott L. Greer, University of Michigan Why the Spanish Prime Minister keeps choosing a strategy of confrontation. - [Venezuela's opposition is on the verge of collapse]( Marco Aponte-Moreno, St Mary's College of California After the Maduro regime won Venezuela's recent gubernatorial elections, results are contested, people are desperate and the opposition has fractured. Can the resistance survive this setback? - [After months of feuding, Ecuador's president is ousted by his party]( Soledad Stoessel, National University of La Plata Ecuador's new president, Lenin Moreno, has been disavowed by the party that brought him to power, after a harsh dispute with his predecessor. Environment + Energy - [Is daylight saving time worth the trouble? Research says no]( Laura Grant, Claremont McKenna College Advocates say daylight saving time saves energy and wins wars. But studies show that injuries and illnesses rise when the clocks change. Some states may end the practice; others could make it permanent. Economy + Business - [How donors can help make nonprofits more accountable]( Aseem Prakash, University of Washington; Nives Dolsak, University of Washington Digital innovations are making it easier to give to charity and for donors to become informed before they support nonprofits. Science + Technology - [Stop doing companies' digital busywork for free]( Jordan Kraemer, New York University Companies may benefit when customers create content, provide feedback and do busywork once done by paid employees, but what about the customers themselves – all of us? Trending on site - [What the charges against Manafort, Gates and Papadopoulos could mean for Trump]( Rachel Caufield, Drake University Former Trump associates face charges including conspiracy to launder money, failure to register as a foreign agent and lying to the FBI. A law professor explains what it means and what happens next. - [Why it's time to lay the stereotype of the 'teen brain' to rest]( Dan Romer, University of Pennsylvania In recent years, the notion of a structurally imbalanced teenage brain has been faulted for bad choices. A review of studies suggests that a deficit in brain development is not to blame. - [The science of fright: Why we love to be scared]( Arash Javanbakht, Wayne State University; Linda Saab, Wayne State University We may pretend that we do not like fear, but Halloween proves otherwise. Many of us enjoy being scared. But why? Today’s quote [The only winners here may be those low-income people who now have higher subsidies and a lower net cost of insurance. Virtually no one else comes out ahead – not insurers, not other individuals, not the government.]( [Surprise! How Obamacare is beginning to look a lot like Medicaid]( J.B. Silvers Case Western Reserve University [J.B. Silvers] [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 625 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02139 USA