The Conversation

After Hurricane Helene, survivors have been in a race against time to protect family heirlooms, photographs and keepsakes

Written by Nick Lehr, Arts + Culture Editor

Damage and residual flooding from Mill Creek in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene on Sept. 29, 2024, in Old Fort, N.C.Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

The total damage from Hurricane Helene to North Carolina – be it physical, psychological or economic – is difficult to quantify. But the numbers reported by the Office of State Budget and...

In Disney’s ‘Moana,’ the characters navigate using the stars, just like real Polynesian explorers − an astronomer explains how these methods work

Written by Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor, Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

Wayfarers around the world have used the stars to navigate the sea. Wirestock/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you have visited an island like one of the Hawaiian Islands, Tahiti or Easter Island, also known as Rapa Nui, you may have noticed how small these land masses appear against the vast Pacific Ocean. If you’re on Hawaii, the nearest...

Climate change is making plants less nutritious − that could already be hurting animals that are grazers

Written by Ellen Welti, Research Ecologist, Great Plains Science Program, Smithsonian Institution

The giant panda's diet is almost 100% bamboo.Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

More than one-third of all animals on Earth, from beetles to cows to elephants, depend on plant-based diets. Plants are a low-calorie food source, so it can be challenging for animals to consume enough energy to meet their needs. Now climate change is reducing the...

The ‘choking game’ and other challenges amplified by social media can come with deadly consequences

Written by Steven Wolterning, Associate Professor of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University

Video clips of teens playing dangerous games are easily accessible on many social media sites.Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The “choking game” has potentially deadly consequences, as players are challenged to temporarily strangle themselves by restricting oxygen to the brain. It sounds terrifying, but rough estimates...

Language AIs in 2024: Size, guardrails and steps toward AI agents

Written by John Licato, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Director of AMHR Lab, University of South Florida

2024 saw smaller models and new guardrails for language AIs.pagadesign/E+ via Getty Images

I research the intersection of artificial intelligence, natural language processing and human reasoning as the director of the Advancing Human and Machine Reasoning lab at the University of South Florida. I am also commercializing this research in an AI...

2 populations of dark comets in the solar system could tell researchers where the Earth got its oceans

Written by Darryl Z. Seligman, Postdoctoral Fellow in Physics and Astronomy, Michigan State University

Dark comets accelerate through space but don't have a dusty tail like most comets. Adina Feinstein and NASA’s Earth Observatory

The water that makes up the oceans acted as a key ingredient for the development of life on Earth. However, scientists still do not know where the water here on Earth came from in the first place.

One leading idea is...

Detroit’s reparations task force now has until 2025 to make its report, but going slow with this challenging work may not be a bad thing

Written by Kamri Hudgins, Doctoral Candidate in Political Science, University of Michigan

Members of the task force listen at a public meeting.Screenshot/Channel 10

The work of crafting reparations at the municipal level is fierce.

Detroiters know. In November 2021, residents voted to create a reparations committee that would make recommendations for housing and economic development programs to address historical discrimination against...

Climate of fear is driving local officials to quit – new study from California finds threats, abuse rampant

Written by Rachel Locke, Director, Violence, Inequality and Power Lab, Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, University of San Diego

Threats and harassment are pushing some politicians out of office, scaring off some would-be candidates and even compelling some elected officials to change their vote.

Those are some of the conclusions of a new study I led on political violence in Southern California.

Rising threats against public officials is a national problem.

Between 2013 and...

What does the US attorney general actually do? A law professor explains

Written by Jennifer Selin, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland during a news conference announcing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple on March 21, 2024. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Shortly after former Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration to serve as U.S. attorney general, President-elect Donald Trump announced he would nominate Pam Bondi for the...

3D-printed guns, like the one allegedly used to kill a health care CEO, are a growing threat in the US and around the world

Written by Nir Kshetri, Professor of Management, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

A federal firearms official displays several guns that are either entirely or partially 3D-printed.Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Police investigating the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson on Dec. 4, 2024, have announced that the suspected assailant had used a 3D-printed gun. Several high-profile crimes in recent years have involved...