The Conversation

Break out of your echo chamber: Technology arranges lunch with someone new

Written by Mohammad Ghassemi, Ph.D. Candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Eating lunch together is increasingly a thing of the past – but it doesn't have to be.Luke Chesser

On average, Americans spend 50 minutes a day on Facebook. That’s a lot of online socializing. It’s also about the same amount of time workers take for their lunch break. Yet there’s not nearly as much socializing then: 65...

Why OPEC's gambit to raise oil prices might not work

Written by Gürcan Gülen, Research Scientist, University of Texas at Austin

After months of speculation by oil market watchers, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) recently announced a six-month production cut of 1.2 million barrels per day (b/d) with the aim of driving up the price. It’s set to take effect on Jan. 1.

Saudi Arabia will be responsible for a little less than half of the total,...

How learning a new language improves tolerance

Written by Amy Thompson, Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of South Florida

Why learn a new language?Timothy Vollmer, CC BY

There are many benefits to knowing more than one language. For example, it has been shown that aging adults who speak more than one language have less likelihood of developing dementia.

Additionally, the bilingual brain becomes better at filtering out distractions, and learning multiple languages...

Celebrity voices are powerful, but does the First Amendment let them say anything they want?

Written by Shontavia Johnson, Professor of Intellectual Property Law, Drake University

Taking a knee during the national anthem isn't risk-free in the NFL.AP Photo/Stephen Brashear, File

When NFL player Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for the national anthem, or the cast of the Broadway musical “Hamilton” confronts the vice president-elect, or the Dixie Chicks speak out against war, talk quickly turns to freedom of...

Trump, carbon neutrality and the next phase of business sustainability

Written by Andrew J. Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor at the Ross School of Business and Education Director at the Graham Sustainability Institute, University of Michigan

Google last week announced that it is on target to power its operations 100 percent by renewable energy, an example of businesses trying to change the energy system.Pixabay

The Trump administration appears to be moving in one direction on the issue of climate change with the appointment of climate skeptic Scott Pruitt to head up the Environmental...

When nausea from pregnancy is life-threatening

Written by Marlena Schoenberg Fejzo, Associate Researcher in Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles

Woman with IV image via www.shutterstock.com.

Most women experience some type of morning sickness during pregnancy, but some women develop a far more serious condition.

Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG), which causes severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, affects as many as 3 percent of pregnancies, leading to over 167,000 emergency department visits...

The Victorian origins of the Mannequin Challenge

Written by Ellen J. Stockstill, Assistant Professor of English, Pennsylvania State University

Even without iPhones, people in the 19th century liked to see how long they could strike a pose and stay frozen.Wikimedia Commons

If you’ve been on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram over the past month, you’ve probably come across a Mannequin Challenge video, in which people strike a frozen pose as Rae Sremmurd’s “Black...

The MDMA being used to treat trauma is different from the street drug Ecstasy

Written by Joseph Palamar, Assistant Professor of Population Health, New York University Langone Medical Center

MDMA is being trialled as a treatment for PSTD.Woman image via www.shutterstock.com.

On Nov. 30 the FDA approved a Phase III clinical trial to confirm the effectiveness of treating post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) with MDMA, also known as Ecstasy.

This news appeared in headlines throughout the world, as it represents an important – yet...

The potential costs of Tom Price as HHS secretary

Written by Miranda Yaver, Lecturer in Political Science, Yale University

Rep. Tom Price as he arrives at Trump Tower on Nov. 16, 2016., in New York. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to “repeal and replace Obamacare.” A logical question is: With what? The announcement of Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga) as Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services provides...

In Puerto Rico, environmental injustice and racism inflame protests over coal ash

Written by Hilda Lloréns, Faculty in Anthropology, University of Rhode Island

For scholars like me who study environmental justice, it has been encouraging to see residents in Flint, Michigan and the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota organize against threats to their homes and health. But elsewhere in our country, other struggles are happening out of the spotlight – and often dragging on for years.

In Puerto...