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Supreme Court’s one-sentence order closes the door to Catholic charter school – but leaves it open for future challenges

An education law professor unpacks what the Supreme Court’s 4-4 order does and doesn’t say.

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The Conversation

Charles J. Russo

Gun trafficking from the US to Mexico: The drug connection

Some of the same people caught illegally trafficking firearms across the border to Mexico are also selling illicit drugs, including fentanyl, meth...

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The Conversation

Sean Campbell

US gun trafficking to Mexico: Independent gun shops supply the most dangerous weapons

Independent gun dealers supplied 83% of crime guns seized in Mexico and traced back to purchases in the US. Chain stores supplied the other 17%.

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The Conversation

Sean Campbell

5 years after George Floyd’s murder: How the media narrative has changed around the killing and the protests that followed

After protests over state violence, news coverage tends to focus on negative stories that can delegitimize dissent. Over time, that often yields to...

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The Conversation

Danielle K. Brown

From furry friends to fish, turning up the heat helps animals fight germs − how Mother Nature’s cure offers humans a lesson on fever

Fever isn’t necessarily a bad thing − it’s actually a useful response to infections.

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The Conversation

Phil Starks

Split Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma’s Catholic charter school − but future cases could hinge on whether charters are, at their core, public or private

The Supreme Court’s order has blocked this particular charter school, but similar issues could emerge in future cases.

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The Conversation

Preston Green Iii

Like many populist leaders, Trump accuses judges of being illegitimate obstacles to safety and democracy

Political leaders in El Salvador, the Philippines and Israel, among other places, have also positioned judges as the enemy of the people.

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The Conversation

Michael Gregory

How abortion laws focusing on fetal viability miss the mark on women’s experiences

Women’s stories of seeking abortions later in pregnancy highlight what’s missing from the current conversation about abortion policies in the US.

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The Conversation

Katrina Kimport

Can you upload a human mind into a computer? A neuroscientist ponders what’s possible

Science has done many things that seem miraculous. Why not transfer your consciousness to a machine?

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The Conversation

Dobromir Rahnev

In 2025, Tornado Alley has become almost everything east of the Rockies − and it’s been a violent year

A storm scientist explains what’s been driving deadly tornado outbreaks and how tornado season has been changing.

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The Conversation

Daniel Chavas

US solar manufacturers lag skyrocketing market demand

US manufacturers do not produce enough solar panels to meet the nation’s demand, but industry investments and federal tax incentives have been...

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The Conversation

Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti

Israelis have a skewed view on extent of Gaza’s hunger plight − driven by censorship and media that downplay humanitarian crisis

Exposure to accurate reporting over the dire plight of people in Gaza resulted in 5% bump in those in Israel who supported aid convoys.

yesterday 1

The Conversation

Jori Breslawski

FDA will approve COVID-19 vaccine only for older adults and high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

On May 20, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new stance on who should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency said it would...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Libby Richards

Young food entrepreneurs are changing the face of rural America

Visit just about any downtown on a weekend and you will likely happen upon a farmers market. Or, you might grab lunch from a food truck outside a...

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Dawn Thilmany

A decade after the release of ‘The Martian’ and a decade out from the world it envisions, a planetary scientist checks in on real-life Mars exploration

Andy Weir’s bestselling story “The Martian” predicts that by 2035 NASA will have landed humans on Mars three times, perfected return-to-Earth...

yesterday 4

The Conversation

Ari Koeppel

WHO is finalizing a new treaty that prepares for the next pandemic − but the US isn’t signing

On March 20, 2025, members of the World Health Organization adopted the world’s first pandemic agreement, following three years of “intensive...

yesterday 3

The Conversation

Nicole Hassoun

At Cannes, decency and dress codes clash with fashion’s red carpet revolution

Ahead of the Cannes Film Festival, the spotlight moved from movie stars and directors to the festival’s fashion rules. Cannes reminded guests to...

yesterday 2

The Conversation

Elizabeth Castaldo Lundén

Empathy can take a toll – but 2 philosophers explain why we should see it as a strength

In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, billionaire and Trump megadonor Elon Musk offered his thoughts about what motivates political...

yesterday 6

The Conversation

Emad H. Atiq

Lifecycle of a research grant – behind the scenes of the system that funds science

Science funding is a hot topic these days and people have questions about how grants work. Who decides whether a researcher will receive funds?...

yesterday 6

The Conversation

Kelly S. Mix

Billions of cicadas are emerging, from Cape Cod to north Georgia – here’s how and why we map them

If they’re in your area, you’ll know it from their loud droning, chirping and buzzing sounds. Cicadas from Brood XIV – one of the largest groups of...

yesterday 4

The Conversation

Chris Simon

NOAA’s 2025 hurricane forecast warns of a busy season – a storm scientist explains why and what meteorologists are watching

U.S. forecasters are expecting an above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, with 13 to 19 named storms, and 6 to 10 of those becoming...

yesterday 2

The Conversation

Colin Zarzycki

Golden Dome: An aerospace engineer explains the proposed nationwide missile defense system

President Trump has set aggressive goals for Golden Dome, but many parts of the system already exist.

yesterday 10

The Conversation

Iain Boyd

FDA limits access to COVID-19 vaccine to older adults and other high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules

On May 20, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration announced a new stance on who should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The agency said it would...

previous day 3

The Conversation

Libby Richards

Why your electricity bill is so high and what Pennsylvania is doing about it

Americans’ electricity bills tend to tick up each year in line with inflation. But upgrades to electric wires, reinforcing and protecting power...

previous day 1

The Conversation

Hannah Wiseman

Windows are the No. 1 human threat to birds – an ecologist shares some simple steps to reduce collisions

When wood thrushes arrive in northern Mississippi on their spring migration and begin to serenade my neighborhood with their ethereal, harmonized...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Jason Hoeksema

Israel has promised ‘basic amount’ of food into Gaza − but its policies have already created catastrophic starvation risk for millions

After 18 months of punishing airstrikes, raids and an increasingly restrictive siege in Gaza, the United Nations on May 20, 2025, issued one of its...

previous day 1

The Conversation

Yara M. Asi

19th-century Catholic teachings, 21st-century tech: How concerns about AI guided Pope Leo’s choice of name

When Robert Francis Prevost chose the papal name Leo XIV, it could have meant many things. There were 13 Leos before him: The first, Leo the Great,...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Nathan Schneider

Too much sitting increases risk of future health problems in chest pain patients – new research

For patients hospitalized with chest pain, the amount of time they spend sedentary afterward is linked to a greater risk for more heart problems...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Keith Diaz

Trump treats laws as obstacles, not limits − and the only real check on his rule-breaking can come from political pressure

Lately, the headlines have been clear: President Donald Trump is headed for a showdown with the courts. If he ignores their rulings, the courts...

previous day 3

The Conversation

Andrew Reeves

Russia’s invasion united different parts of Ukraine against a common enemy – 3 years on, that unanimity still holds

When Russia invaded Ukraine in the spring of 2022, President Vladimir Putin incorrectly assumed it would be a swift takeover. In fact, three years...

previous day 1

The Conversation

Ben Horne

Rethinking engineering education: Why focusing on learning preferences matters for diversity

For decades, colleges, government agencies and foundations have experimented with recruitment and retention efforts designed to increase diversity...

previous day 3

The Conversation

Sharon Tettegah

Aristotle would scoff at Mark Zuckerberg’s suggestion that AI can solve the loneliness epidemic

Mark Zuckerberg recently suggested that AI chatbots could combat social isolation by serving as “friends” for people experiencing loneliness. He...

previous day 1

The Conversation

Gregg D. Caruso

Making eye contact and small talk with strangers is more than just being polite − the social benefits of psychological generosity

How much do you engage with others when you’re out in public? Lots of people don’t actually engage with others much at all. Think of commuters on...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Linda R. Tropp

What does it mean for Biden’s prostate cancer to be ‘aggressive’? A urologic surgeon explains

Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones. But what does it mean for...

previous day 2

The Conversation

Jason P. Joseph

Biden is getting prostate cancer treatment, but that’s not the best choice for all men − a cancer researcher describes how she helped her father decide

“Me encontraron càncer en la pròstata,” my father told me. “They found cancer in my prostate.” As a cancer researcher who knows very well about the...

tuesday 2

The Conversation

Luisel Ricks-Santi

An 18th-century rebellion for liberty, equality and freedom − not in France or the United States, but Ireland

Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast. It was the...

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The Conversation

Joseph Patrick Kelly

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse

If you are sneezing this spring, you are not alone. Every year, plants release billions of pollen grains into the air, specks of male reproductive...

tuesday 6

The Conversation

Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe

Independence Hall, Gettysburg and – Epcot? How Reagan helped elevate Disney to America’s roster of honored patriotic sites

A presidential or political visit is one of the ways in which the United States marks places as uniquely important. A space meriting the pomp and...

tuesday 3

The Conversation

Bethanee Bemis

Do photons wear out? An astrophysicist explains light’s ability to travel vast cosmic distances without losing energy

My telescope, set up for astrophotography in my light-polluted San Diego backyard, was pointed at a galaxy unfathomably far from Earth. My wife,...

tuesday 4

The Conversation

Jarred Roberts

Nonprofit news media leaders are struggling to stop leaning on the foundations that say they should branch out more

You’ve probably heard the adage about not putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s an especially meaningful one for newspapers. For decades, they...

tuesday 4

The Conversation

Katherine Fink

How 3D printing is personalizing health care

Three-dimensional printing is transforming medical care, letting the health care field shift from mass-produced solutions to customized treatments...

tuesday 4

The Conversation

Anne Schmitz

Teens of any age who drink alcohol with their parents’ permission drink more as young adults, new research shows

Children and teenagers of any age who sip or taste alcohol with their parents’ permission are more likely to engage in risky drinking in young...

tuesday 1

The Conversation

Bernard Pereda

The one-size -fits-all diversity training model is broken – here’s a better alternative

Diversity training is more effective when it’s personalized, according to my new research in the peer-reviewed journal Applied Psychology. As a...

tuesday 1

The Conversation

Radostina Purvanova

Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how

Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans...

19.05.2025 4

The Conversation

Colleen Tolan

Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis

In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing...

19.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Eran Ben-Joseph

Tomato trade dispute between the US and Mexico is boiling over again – with 21% tariffs due in July

Although technically they’re a fruit, tomatoes are one of the most-consumed vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Among the...

19.05.2025 4

The Conversation

Andrew Muhammad

Trump’s lifting of Syria sanctions is a win for Turkey, too – pointing to outsized role middle powers can play in regional affairs

President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025, that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria. The turnaround was a...

19.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Hyeran Jo

Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests − Nigeria shows the human costs

A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation...

19.05.2025 4

The Conversation

Kathryn Rhine

In what order did the planets in our solar system form?

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to...

19.05.2025 2

The Conversation

Christopher Palma

Space tourism’s growth blurs the line between scientific and symbolic achievement – a tourism scholar explains how

On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six women – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez – on a...

19.05.2025 3

The Conversation

Betsy Pudliner