The Conversation

Making English the official US language can’t erase the fact that the US has millions of Spanish speakers and a long multilingual history

Written by Daniel J. Olson, Professor of Linguistics and Spanish, Purdue University

English should be the official language of the United States, says a new executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 1, 2025. The move follows the Trump administration’s termination of the Spanish-language version of the White House website and its Spanish-language account on X, formerly Twitter.

Both were abruptly shut down...

As flu cases break records this year, vaccine rates are declining, particularly for children and 65+ adults

Written by Annette Regan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles

It's not too late to get a flu shot.Fat Camera/E+ via Getty Images

In February 2025, flu rates spiked to the highest levels seen in at least 15 years, with flu outpacing COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has classified this flu...

Texas records first US measles death in 10 years – a medical epidemiologist explains how to protect yourself and your community from this deadly, preventable disease

Written by Daniel Pastula, Professor of Neurology, Medicine (Infectious Diseases), and Epidemiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Young children are especially vulnerable to measles. Bilanol via Getty Images

On Feb. 26, 2025, Texas health officials announced the death of a child in a measles outbreak – the first measles death in the United States since 2015. The outbreak was first identified in early February in Gaines County, Texas, where just 82% of kindergartners are...

Coastal economies rely on NOAA, from Maine to Florida, Texas and Alaska – even if they don’t realize it

Written by Christine Keiner, Chair, Department of Science, Technology, and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology

U.S. fishing industries, both commercial and recreational, rely on healthy coastal areas.Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Healthy coastal ecosystems play crucial roles in the U.S. economy, from supporting multibillion-dollar fisheries and tourism industries to protecting coastlines from storms.

They’re also difficult to manage,...

Just having a pet doesn’t help mental health – but pet-owners with secure relationships with their pets are less depressed

Written by Brian N. Chin, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Trinity College

How emotionally close you are to your pet is not necessarily a good measure of how your relationship affects your well-being.Nattalia Nuñez/Unsplash, CC BY-ND

For many people, pets provide unconditional love, companionship and a sense of security. But not all human-pet relationships are beneficial, and some may contribute to stress and...

What are conflicts of interest and what can be done about them?

Written by Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School

The phrase is often lobbed around, but what does it really mean?Frank Brennan/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Americans’ trust in government and politicians is at record lows. In a 2022 Pew Research survey, about two-thirds of respondents said that all or most people who run for office want to serve their own personal interests rather than the...

What’s a constitutional crisis? Here’s how Trump’s recent moves are challenging the Constitution’s separation of powers

Written by Jeffrey Schmitt, Professor of Law, University of Dayton

President Donald Trump's various actions that appear to overstep the power of the executive office are creating what many legal scholars call a constitutional crisis. VladSt/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

In a short few weeks, President Donald Trump has upended many core parts and functions of the U.S. government. He dismantled the U.S....

As the Kremlin eyes a thaw with the White House, Russia’s pro-war hawks aren’t too happy

Written by Adam Lenton, Assistant Professor of Politics & International Affairs, Wake Forest University

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Moscow on Feb. 23, 2025.Sergei Bobylyov/AFP via Getty Images

At face value, the Kremlin has plenty to celebrate after U.S. and Russian officials held high-level bilateral talks on the war in Ukraine for the first time since the full-scale...

The science behind airplane deicing – a mechanical engineer explains how chemistry and physics make flying a more uplifting experience

Written by Andrew Sommers, Professor of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Miami University

A worker deices an airplane at the airport in Brussels. AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

If you are a frequent flyer, you’ve probably been at the airport waiting to jet somewhere on a winter trip when the voice of an airline employee announces over the intercom that there will be a slight delay while the plane gets deiced. But how does this process...

Maple seeds’ unique spinning motion allows them to travel far even in the rain, a new study shows

Written by Andrew Dickerson, Associate Professor of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering, University of Tennessee

Winged seeds called samaras grow on maple trees. These are seeds from the Japanese maple, _Acer palmatum_.AlessandroZocc/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When wind or other disturbances detach winged maple seeds called samaras from their parent tree, they spin through the air – and can even spin when it’s raining. Impacts by high-speed...