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Cutting funding for science can have consequences for the economy, US technological competitiveness

  • Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
imageNational Institutes of Health indirect costs, which are under the knife, go toward managing laboratories and facilities. Fei Yang/Moment via Getty Images

America has already lost its global competitive edge in science, and funding cuts proposed in early 2025 may further a precipitous decline.

Proposed cuts to the federal agencies that fund...

Read more: Cutting funding for science can have consequences for the economy, US technological competitiveness

Trump has purged the Kennedy Center’s board, which in turn made him its chair – why does that matter?

  • Written by E. Andrew Taylor, Associate Professor and Director of Arts Management, American University
imageFormer Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter walks by The Reach, a major expansion of the performing arts center completed during her tenure.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

President Donald Trump dismissed half the appointed trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts’ board on Feb. 12, 2025. The remaining board members, most...

Read more: Trump has purged the Kennedy Center’s board, which in turn made him its chair – why does that...

Why is water different colors in different places?

  • Written by Courtney Di Vittorio, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Wake Forest University
imageCrater Lake in Oregon looks brilliant blue because its water comes from melting snow and is extremely pure.CST Tami Beduhn, NOAA Ship Fairweather/Flickr, CC BY

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 different colors in...

Read more: Why is water different colors in different places?

Why do skiers sunburn so easily on the slopes? A snow scientist explains

  • Written by Steven R. Fassnacht, Professor of Snow Hydrology, Colorado State University
imageSkiers can sunburn easily for reasons that have nothing to do with the mountain's elevation.Matt Bird/Stone via Getty Images

It’s extremely easy to get sunburned while you’re skiing and snowboarding in the mountains, but have you ever wondered why?

While it’s true that you’re slightly closer to the Sun when you’re high...

Read more: Why do skiers sunburn so easily on the slopes? A snow scientist explains

Who are Ismaili Muslims and how do their beliefs relate to the Aga Khan’s work?

  • Written by Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University
imagePrince Karim Aga Khan at an event on Oct. 2, 2019, in London.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Prince Karim Aga Khan, who died on Feb. 4, 2025, served as the religious leader of Ismaili Muslims around the world since being appointed as the 49th hereditary imam in 1957. He came to be known around the world for his enormous work on global development...

Read more: Who are Ismaili Muslims and how do their beliefs relate to the Aga Khan’s work?

Evolving intelligent life took billions of years − but it may not have been as unlikely as many scientists predicted

  • Written by Daniel Brady Mills, Postdoctoral Fellow in Geomicrobiology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich
imageThe Sun's distance from Earth allows it to be habitable for life.DrPixel/Moment via Getty Images

A popular model of evolution concludes that it was incredibly unlikely for humanity to evolve on Earth, and that extraterrestrial intelligence is vanishingly rare.

But as experts on the entangled history of life and our planet, we propose that the...

Read more: Evolving intelligent life took billions of years − but it may not have been as unlikely as many...

Congress, not the president, decides on government spending − a constitutional law professor explains how the ‘power of the purse’ works

  • Written by Zachary Price, Associate Professor of Law, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
imageCongress has the authority to spend the nation's money. Presidents try to get around that limitation.ATU Images-The Image Bank/Getty Images

Because of the Trump administration’s efforts to cut staff and spending, Congress’ “power of the purse” has been in the news lately. Many of these actions have been challenged in court.

I&...

Read more: Congress, not the president, decides on government spending − a constitutional law professor...

How Americans really feel about deporting immigrants – 3 charts explain the conflicting headlines from recent polls

  • Written by Leo Gugerty, Professor Emeritus in Psychology, Clemson University
imageA protest in San Diego against the Trump administration's mass deportation plan, Jan. 31, 2025.Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s signature promise during his campaign was to carry out the “largest deportation” operation in U.S. history, targeting all migrants “who violated the law coming into...

Read more: How Americans really feel about deporting immigrants – 3 charts explain the conflicting headlines...

How to find climate data and science the Trump administration doesn’t want you to see

  • Written by Eric Nost, Associate Professor of Geography, University of Guelph
imageGovernment scientists at NOAA collect and provide crucial public information about coastal conditions that businesses, individuals and other scientists rely on.NOAA's National Ocean Service

Information on the internet might seem like it’s there forever, but it’s only as permanent as people choose to make it.

That’s apparent as the...

Read more: How to find climate data and science the Trump administration doesn’t want you to see

Nonprofits get more donations when they vary their Facebook fundraising messages − new research

  • Written by Abhishek Bhati, Associate professor, Bowling Green State University
imageMoney doesn't grow on smartphones.SERSOL/Stock via Getty Images Plus

When nonprofits use multiple strategies during their online fundraising campaigns, such as thanking donors for their support, telling the public about their missions and conveying how they are helping people, they receive more donations than if they stick to only one kind of post....

Read more: Nonprofits get more donations when they vary their Facebook fundraising messages − new research

More Articles ...

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  6. From Jewish summer camp to gospel to Chabad, Bob Dylan’s faith doesn’t fit in a box − but he’s long had a connection to Israel
  7. Can the president really kill off the penny – and should he?
  8. Syria’s mass graves: Accounting for the dead and disappeared is crucial for the nation to heal
  9. Trump and Maduro refresh a complex relationship governed by self-interest and tainted by Venezuela election fraud
  10. Inflation is heating up again, putting pressure on Trump to cool it on tariffs
  11. How Valentine’s Day was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and ‘manufactured intimacy’
  12. Why federal courts are unlikely to save democracy from Trump’s and Musk’s attacks
  13. How much does scientific progress cost? Without government dollars for research infrastructure, breakthroughs become improbable
  14. In spite of anti-DEI pressures, top corporations continued to diversify in 2024: new research
  15. China flexes its media muscle in Africa – encouraging positive headlines as part of a soft power agenda
  16. Repatriation to Indigenous groups is more than law, it’s human rights − an archaeologist describes the day that lesson hit home
  17. Teenagers turning to AI companions are redefining love as easy, unconditional and always there
  18. Address science misinformation not by repeating the facts, but by building conversation and community
  19. Helping teachers learn what works in the classroom − and what doesn’t − will get a lot harder without the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences
  20. Even as polarization surges, Americans believe they live in a compassionate country
  21. The New Yorker turns 100 − how a poker game pipe dream became a publishing powerhouse
  22. Decluttering can be stressful − a clinical psychologist explains how personal values can make it easier
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  24. NOAA’s vast public weather data powers the local forecasts on your phone and TV – a private company alone couldn’t match it
  25. Legal fight against AI-generated child pornography is complicated – a legal scholar explains why, and how the law could catch up
  26. Mirror life is a scientific fantasy leading to a dangerous reality − a synthetic biologist explains how mirror bacteria could conquer life on Earth
  27. Rural Americans don’t live as long as those in cities − new research
  28. Whether Christians should prioritize care for migrants as much as for fellow citizens has been debated for centuries
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  30. Art and science illuminate the same subtle proportions in tree branches
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  32. Here’s how researchers are helping AIs get their facts straight
  33. Poor sleep and addiction go hand in hand − understanding how could lead to new treatments for opioid use disorder
  34. A boycott campaign fuels tension between Black shoppers and Black-owned brands – evoking the long struggle for ‘consumer citizenship’
  35. Why the price of your favorite chocolate will continue to rise
  36. Teen girls are facing an increased risk of suicide − and stress related to sexual identity might be contributing to it
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  38. How the human neck became a locus of power, beauty and frailty
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  41. Gut-wrenching love: What a fresh look at the ‘Good Samaritan’ story says for ethics today
  42. US sovereign wealth fund: A feasible idea to invest strategically, or a giant opportunity for waste?
  43. Efficiency − or empire? How Elon Musk’s hostile takeover could end government as we know it
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  45. Map wars in the Middle East: How cartographers charted and helped shape a regional conflict
  46. Why does Trump want to abolish the Education Department? An anthropologist who studies MAGA explains 4 reasons
  47. How AI can help in the creative design process
  48. Why Americans need well-informed national security decisions – not politicized intelligence analysis
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