The Conversation

More than 140,000 Americans die from COPD each year – here’s why survival depends on more than avoiding smoking

Written by Olamide Asifat, Physician and Doctoral Researcher in Public Health, Georgia Southern University

COPD puts people at risk for many other adverse health conditions.AndreyPopov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The Conversation, CC BY-ND

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, caused 141,733 deaths in the United States in 2023 – the latest data that has been reported. That number reflects not just the effects of smoking, but a broader...

Wearable glucose monitors offer real-time data, but for healthy people no guidelines exist to interpret the numbers

Written by Liao Yue, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, University of Texas at Arlington

Continuous glucose monitors once required a prescription but can now be purchased over the counter. Jesus Rodriguez/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Keeping tabs on blood sugar throughout the day used to be the exclusive domain of people with diabetes. But in 2026, anyone can buy a user-friendly wearable device that provides minute-by-minute readouts...

How the concept of ‘medical freedom’ is reshaping the military’s decades-long stance on the flu vaccine mandate − and endangering troops’ readiness

Written by Katrine L. Wallace, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois Chicago

Vaccine mandates in the U.S. military are nearly as old as the country itself.jacoblund/iStock via Getty Images Plus

For the first time in almost 80 years, U.S. service members will no longer be mandated to receive the annual influenza vaccine.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the change on April 22, 2026. Citing medical autonomy and...

Reading gains in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are often touted, but don’t show full picture of literacy

Written by Brittany Adams, Assistant Professor of Literacy Education, University of Alabama

A fourth grade teacher leads a small group of students in a reading exercise in March 2023 at Tuskegee Public School in Tuskegee, Ala.Julie Bennett/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Despite decades of legislation meant to boost children’s reading levels, literacy scores have remained relatively stagnant across the U.S. over the past 30...

Tapping your genome with AI and quantum computing could deliver on the promise of personalized medicine – but practical and ethical hurdles remain

Written by Gary Skuse, Professor of Bioinformatics, Rochester Institute of Technology

While quantum computing has a long way to go, it can open tantalizing new doors for the field of genomics.herstockart/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Decades after researches first sequenced the human genome, scientists throughout the world are still working to understand it. Despite diligent global efforts to link uncommon variations in DNA sequences...

Your local storm forecast is likely based on weather miles away – we’re trying to bring it closer to home

Written by Chris Vagasky, Meteorologist and Research Program Manager, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Weather apps might see that a storm is coming, but mesonets capture what's happening as it arrives with local real-time data.Patrick Emerson/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Whether you’re planning a weekend hike, deciding what to wear to work or preparing your home for severe storms, the weather forecast is essential. You might instinctively grab your...

Why is water wet?

Written by Yunyao Li, Assistant Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas at Arlington

Evaporating water is essential to helping your body cool down.Imgorthand/E+ via Getty Images

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 CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why is water wet? – Philip S., age 12, Northville, Michigan

Spring is often a rainy season. If...

Potential signs of life on distant planets sound exciting – but confirmation can take years

Written by Olivia Harper Wilkins, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Dickinson College

The Taurus molecular cloud is a relatively close star-forming region at 450 light-years away. It has been the site of many astromolecule discoveries.European Southern Observatory

Astronomers can use telescopes to find specific molecules in the atmospheres of neighboring planets, in nebulae – clouds of interstellar dust and gas –...

Perseverance doesn’t always pay off for companies – sometimes it’s better to ‘fail fast’

Written by Scott Friend, Professor and Schaefer Endowed Chair in Marketing, University of Dayton

Slack's embrace of a ‘fail fast’ approach helped it become the world's dominant intra-office messaging app. AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato

Across the business world, companies often double down on struggling ideas, retreating only after clear evidence shows they won’t work.

A recent spectacular example was Meta’s metaverse push....

Texas proposes Bible readings for K-12 students, reigniting century-old legal battle over their place in public schools

Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton

A proposed list of required reading for Texan public schools includes several stories from the Bible.plherrera/E+ via Getty Images

In 2023, Texas passed a law aimed at improving K-12 students’ reading. In part, it called for a required reading list to spell out “at least one literary work to be taught in each grade level.”

An...