Worried about games? Think of chess, dice and pinball

+ No-helmet football + Mongolian reindeer herders [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 12 October 2019 [The Conversation]( Academic rigor, journalistic flair [Jeff Inglis] A note from... Jeff Inglis Politics + Society Editor Worries about video game addiction are modern versions of concerns that date back thousands of years, to when the Buddha himself warned against too much game-playing. Even into the 20th century, social and religious leaders were banning pinball machines and other pastimes. But game developer and researcher Lindsay Grace explains that more recent study has highlighted the [benefits of play, rather than its detriments](. Some of our other favorite stories this week were about [reindeer herders in Mongolia](, why only [3% of science Nobel laureates have been women]( and f[ootball practice, without the helmets](. Top story Did ancient Egyptian parents worry their kids might get addicted to this game, called senet? Keith Schengili-Roberts/Wikimedia Commons [Games blamed for moral decline and addiction throughout history]( Lindsay Grace, University of Miami Somewhere between the early Buddhist times and today, worries about game addiction have given way to scientific understanding of the benefits of play, rather than its detriments. Rules put into place to protect endangered species have harmed people who depend on nature. Nancy Langston [Conservation policies threaten indigenous reindeer herders in Mongolia]( Nancy Langston, Michigan Technological University; Kate Christen, Smithsonian Institution Two scholars report on how conservation policies designed to protect reindeer are harming the nomadic Tsaatan people who rely on them. After 117 years, a third woman won a physics Nobel. Alexander Mahmoud, © Nobel Media AB 2018 [Why don’t more women win science Nobels?]( Mary K. Feeney, Arizona State University Progress has been made toward gender parity in science fields. But explicit and implicit barriers still hold women back from advancing in the same numbers as men to the upper reaches of STEM academia. - [Why Barack Obama was particularly unsuited to live up to the ideals of the Nobel Peace Prize]( Nick Lehr, The Conversation A critic of Obama's two terms explains how the 44th president's personality and his politics of 'least resistance' prevented him from rising to the moment. - [6 ways to establish a productive homework routine]( Janine L. Nieroda-Madden, Syracuse University When it comes to completing homework, getting organized and celebrating small victories along the way is key, an expert on learning strategies says. - [Could helmetless tackling training reduce football head injuries?]( Erik Swartz, University of Massachusetts Lowell Football participation among high schoolers continues to decline, as concern about brain injury increases. Could training without helmets make a difference? - [US will send migrants to El Salvador, a country that can’t protect its own people]( - [Curious Kids: How deep is the ocean?]( - [How the US could afford ‘Medicare for all’]( - [Trump’s America shines bright for Europe’s radical New Right]( - [For Russia, talk of Trump impeachment is the gift that keeps on giving]( - [Discovery of how cells sense oxygen levels earns Nobel Prize]( - [Hurricane Michael recovery efforts point to the power of local generosity after overlooked disasters]( Video of the day - [Enable images to see the chart]( [Forward this email to your friends]( Ask them to sign up at [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. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111