The Conversation

Millions are protesting – but boycotts might be key to changing government policies

Written by Lisa Schirch, Professor of the Practice of Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame

The 'No Kings' protests have drawn millions of Americans and may grow even larger.Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The organizers of the estimated 3,000 “No Kings” protests, rallies and other events planned for March 28, 2026, say they expect that the protests will be the largest such mass mobilization in U.S. history.

As scholars...

The long shadow of Paul Ehrlich’s ‘Population Bomb’ is evident in anti-immigration efforts today

Written by Brian C. Keegan, Associate Professor of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder; Harvard University

The idea of overpopulation has been used to argue against immigration.Pandagolik/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Paul Ehrlich opened his 1968 book “The Population Bomb” with a scene recounting returning to his hotel through a crowded Delhi neighborhood on a stifling night in the mid-1960s. He described the physical sensation of overpopulation:...

Why do basketball players miss shots they’ve made a thousand times before? Neuroscience has an answer

Written by David Van den Heever, Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University

Every March Madness it happens. A player steps to the line, takes the shot and misses. And just like that, there goes your perfect bracket.

These are elite players. The player has made that shot thousands of times before. So what went wrong this time?

Research from my lab has found that the difference between making and missing a shot may come down...

NASA’s Artemis II mission will take an astronaut crew around the Moon – a space policy expert describes the long road to launch

Written by Scott Pace, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, George Washington University

NASA's Space Launch System rocket will launch a crewed capsule into orbit and then on a mission around the Moon. AP Photo/John Raoux

NASA is once again shooting for the Moon, for the first time since the 1970s. As soon as April 2026, NASA will launch its Artemis II mission, using the Space Launch System heavy lift rocket to send a crewed...

Vagus nerve stimulation shows promise as a way to counter Alzheimer’s disease- and age-related memory loss

Written by Elizabeth Riley, Lecturer in Psychology, Cornell University

The vagus nerve, which carries information between the brain and heart, lungs and other organs, might regulate the activity of a tiny brain region called the locus coeruleus.Sebastian Kaulitzki/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Most people think of Alzheimer’s disease as an illness of aging. But in fact, the brain changes that...

College students are writing with AI – but a pilot study finds they’re not simply letting it write for them

Written by Jeanne Beatrix Law, Professor of English, Kennesaw State University

Debates about generative AI in higher education have been informed by studies of completed student papers, or self-reported survey data. Research shows that artificial intelligence tools can support learning, but also has raised concerns, including students’ overreliance, cheating, and the potential degradation of critical thinking and...

Scientists may be overestimating the amount of microplastics in the environment – and the culprit is lab gloves

Written by Anne McNeil, Professor of Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering, University of Michigan

Gloves used in the laboratory that led to microplastic overestimation.Madeline Clough

It seems like every day a new study finds tiny plastic particles called microplastics where they should not be: in our bodies and our food, water and air.

Yet finding and identifying microplastics is extremely challenging, especially given their small size. One...

Supreme Court’s tariff decision still leaves a ‘mess’ for companies trying to grab refunds

Written by Peter R. Crabb, Professor of Finance and Economics, Northwest Nazarene University; Institute for Humane Studies

Containers are stacked up in a cargo terminal in Frankfurt, Germany. AP Photo/Michael Probst

U.S. companies stung by President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs had hoped for relief when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 in their favor. But settling on a remedy – namely, rebate checks from the government – may be an...

Soaring gas prices and disrupted supply chains will ripple out to increase costs in every store and sector of the economy

Written by Vidya Mani, Associate Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia; Cornell University

Americans are already seeing higher gas prices, but that's just the beginning.AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

The disruptions from the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran spread quickly to commercial aircraft, shipping lanes and the world’s energy supply. Those repercussions have already hit fuel costs, including for motorists, truckers and fishermen,...

2026’s historic snow drought brings worries about water, wildfires and the future in the West

Written by Alejandro N. Flores, Professor of Geoscience, Boise State University

The snow drought was evident in Park City, Utah, on Feb. 9, 2026. This golf course is normally used for cross-country skiing in winter.Mario Tama/Getty Images

Across much of the Western United States, winter 2026 was the year the snow never came. Many ski resorts got by with snowmaking but shut down their winter operations early. Fire officials and...