The Conversation

Is hunting moral? A philosopher unpacks the question

Written by Joshua Duclos, Ph.D. Candidate, Boston University

Three generations of a Wisconsin family with a nine-point buckWisconsin Department of Natural Resources/Flickr, CC BY-ND

Every year as daylight dwindles and trees go bare, debates arise over the morality of hunting. Hunters see the act of stalking and killing deer, ducks, moose and other quarry as humane, necessary and natural, and thus as ethical....

New study: Did America's growing diversity make voters more xenophobic?

Written by Allison Skinner, Psychology Researcher, University of Washington

Most whites would say they're okay with diversity. But is there a threshold?'Map' via www.shutterstock.com

Donald Trump’s presidential victory took many by surprise, and in the weeks since the election, political analysts have attempted to understand who voted for Trump and why election forecasts were so wrong. One might wonder how a country...

Dengue virus antibodies may worsen a Zika infection

Written by Sharon Isern, Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University

Revellers at a carnival in Sao Paulo wear mosquito masks in a reference to the _Aedes aegypti_ mosquito, which can spread dengue and Zika on February 4, 2016. Paulo Whitaker/Reuters

The World Health Organization declared in November that Zika was no longer a public health emergency of international concern.

That doesn’t mean concern over Zika...

The factories of the past are turning into the data centers of the future

Written by Graham Pickren, Assistant Professor of Sustainability Studies, Roosevelt University

At one time, Bibles and Sears catalogs were printed here. Now, this building is known as the Lakeside Technology Center, one of the largest data centers in the world.Teemu008/flicker

We live in a data-driven world. From social media to smart cities to the internet of things, we now generate huge volumes of information about nearly every detail of...

How does a US president settle on his science policy?

Written by Kelly Sims Gallagher, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Director of Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

A president's science advisor is traditionally a close confidant.AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

One of the president’s most important responsibilities is fostering science, technology and innovation in the U.S. economy. The relationship between science and policy runs in two directions: Scientific knowledge can inform policy decisions, and...

How the Berlin Christmas market terror attack affects Chancellor Merkel and Europe

Written by Johanna Schuster-Craig, Assistant Professor of German and Global Studies, Michigan State University

Italian police at a press conference after Berlin attacker was killed in Italy.AP Photo/Luca Bruno

Germany is recovering from one of the most deadly terrorist attacks since the 1980 bombing at Munich’s Oktoberfest.

On Dec. 19, 12 people were killed when Anis Amri, a Tunisian citizen who had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State, killed a Pol...

Momentum grows for ocean preserves. How well do they work?

Written by Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University

A NOAA vessel explores the the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, the first in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA

What lies beneath the deep, dark expanse of the ocean is something that has fascinated sailors, fishermen, adventurers, poets and explorers for centuries. How could residents of New England, for instance, have known that...

Does a healthy diet have to come at a hefty price?

Written by Kelly L. Haws, Associate Professor of Marketing, Vanderbilt University

Eating healthfully adds up quickly.Fruits and veg via ww.shutterstock.com

Imagine you’re in the aisle of your favorite grocery store, bombarded with hundreds of the latest and greatest products on the market. After grabbing a box of your favorite pasta off the shelf, you notice a new organic version of the spaghetti sauce you usually buy....

Sexuality in the time of Trump

Written by Kevin Mintz, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Stanford University

President-elect Donald Trump during a rally at the Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, Dec. 15, 2016.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

I celebrated my first Gay Pride Day in San Francisco on June 28, 2015. Two days earlier, the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage with the Obergefell v. Hodges decision. I was a third-year doctoral student in political...

Trump's immigration policies will pick up where Obama's left off

Written by Kevin Johnson, Dean and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Davis

In 2017, the Trump administration will likely continue and expand the Obama administration’s focus on removing immigrants convicted of crimes. Whether Trump will break ground for a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico is far less certain.

Ramping up immigration enforcement by focusing on the criminal justice pipeline for removals has proven...