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After eight years, NASA's Dawn probe brings dwarf planet Ceres into closest focus

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageCeres, as seen by NASA's Dawn spacecraft on December 10, around a crater chain called Gerber Catena.NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA, CC BY

More than a thousand times farther from Earth than the moon, farther even than the sun, an extraordinary extraterrestrial expedition is taking place. NASA’s Dawn spacecraft is exploring dwarf planet...

Read more: After eight years, NASA's Dawn probe brings dwarf planet Ceres into closest focus

Hoverboards and health: how good for you is this year’s hottest trend?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageOK, no spontaneous flames, doing well....urbanwheel.co, CC BY-NC

Walking across campus to my office each morning this semester, I’ve found it hard to ignore the growing number of students using hoverboards to get around. These two-wheel self-balancing boards (they don’t really hover, Back-to-the-Future-style) are one of the hottest...

Read more: Hoverboards and health: how good for you is this year’s hottest trend?

Gift-giving taboos that aren’t as bad as you think

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageA gift of cash may be just the right thing.Cash gift via www.shutterstock.com

There are many social norms that dictate gift-giving, including when, how and what to give as gifts.

Interestingly, these norms don’t seem to be about making sure that recipients get the gifts they want. What makes for a good or bad gift often differs in the eyes of...

Read more: Gift-giving taboos that aren’t as bad as you think

How the Nazis co-opted Christmas

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageA postcard.depicts Adolf Hitler posing with a child and a Christmas tree. Author provided

In 1921, in a Munich beer hall, newly appointed Nazi party leader Adolf Hitler gave a Christmas speech to an excited crowd.

According to undercover police observers, 4,000 supporters cheered when Hitler condemned “the cowardly Jews for breaking the...

Read more: How the Nazis co-opted Christmas

From blood diamonds to dirty gold: how to buy gold less tainted by mercury

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageA speck of gold from a mine in Liberia, Africa. dw-akademie-africa, CC BY-NC

When a customer walks into a jewelry store, weddings or special occasions are usually front of mind. Rarely does that customer think of where the jewelry comes from, let alone its social and environmental costs.

The tragedy of “blood diamonds” – illegally...

Read more: From blood diamonds to dirty gold: how to buy gold less tainted by mercury

A purported new mathematics proof is impenetrable – now what?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageWait, what was that? You lost me.Notations image via www.shutterstock.com.

What happens when someone claims to have proved a famous conjecture? Well, it depends. When a paper is submitted, the journal editor will pass it off to a respected expert for examination. That referee will then scan the paper looking for a significant new idea. If there...

Read more: A purported new mathematics proof is impenetrable – now what?

Democratic debate takes on ISIS, guns and taxes

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageSanders and Clinton had plenty to say Saturday evening -- but was anyone listening?Brian Snyder/REUTERS

The three Democratic presidential candidates took the debate stage in New Hampshire Saturday night, less than two months before the first-in-the-nation primary there. Perhaps you missed the debate or the exchanges between candidates left you with...

Read more: Democratic debate takes on ISIS, guns and taxes

Does it matter if there was really a Star of Bethlehem?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
image'What difference would it make to human life if a celestial event were unequivocally linked to the very night of Jesus’ birth?'Nathan Rupert/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

The celebration of Christmas is marked by many symbols, among them the nativity scenes that dot the lawns of churches and homes and the twinkling lights that represent the star said...

Read more: Does it matter if there was really a Star of Bethlehem?

What should America do with its $2-per-gallon gas windfall?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageGoing down: Prices in Texas in November 2015.saintseminole/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

American consumers have been enjoying Christmas since July – that is, July 2014, when the average price for all grades of gasoline peaked at US$3.75 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. Since then, prices have declined substantially, as...

Read more: What should America do with its $2-per-gallon gas windfall?

More Articles ...

  1. Celebrating Christmas in an age of religious extremism
  2. The Force Awakens: a sugar high, but not a great movie
  3. Fed's rate rise shows it recognizes when the economic line of scrimmage shifts
  4. Forests gain long-awaited recognition in Paris climate summit
  5. What stories should you be telling kids this holiday season?
  6. Training to reduce 'cop macho' and 'contempt of cop' could reduce police violence
  7. A force awakened: why so many find meaning in Star Wars
  8. Can elephants retain their social bonds in the face of poaching?
  9. How Charles Dickens redeemed the spirit of Christmas
  10. The day after Paris: politicians hand the baton to green industries
  11. Could an end to Syria's civil war be in sight?
  12. How computers help biologists crack life's secrets
  13. Latest Star Wars film may be 'biggest movie of all time' – just not at the box office
  14. Experts weigh in on Fed hike: it was the right call, but will it work?
  15. Seven market signals that business needs before it embraces the Paris Climate Agreement
  16. Fat-burning fat exists, but might not be the key to weight loss
  17. Does it matter that Greenpeace journalists lied in order to expose academics-for-hire?
  18. A win for air quality in Paris summit, but climate-smart agriculture still lags
  19. For pro athletes on the cusp of retirement, what psychological challenges lie ahead?
  20. Pass or fail? Profs grade GOP foreign policy debate
  21. Engaging civil society will help ensure transparent and credible review of climate pledges
  22. Heroes or scoundrels: how popular culture portrays journalists and what that means for the 2016 campaign
  23. Stretching science: why emotional intelligence is key to tackling climate change
  24. Sports history shows why playing ball with Cuba makes sense
  25. Does wearing a school uniform improve student behavior?
  26. Feeling SAD? Talk therapy gets better long-term results than light boxes
  27. Why the 'no pretty nannies' debate matters
  28. Dear Republicans: Do your patriotic duty
  29. What's the real risk from consumer drones this holiday season?
  30. Paris Agreement on climate change: the good, the bad, and the ugly
  31. Promises, promises: how legally durable are Obama's climate pledges?
  32. Why today's long STEM postdoc positions are effectively anti-mother
  33. Studying gun violence is the only way to figure out how to stop it – but we don't
  34. The rhetorical brilliance of Trump the demagogue
  35. Why Every Student Succeeds Act still leaves most vulnerable kids behind
  36. Sinatra's films shattered the postwar myth of the white American male
  37. Scholars: Trump's call to 'ban Muslims' is un-American
  38. Terror attacks in Paris and California expose modern society’s lack of resilience
  39. Rarity of Jupiter-like planets means planetary systems exactly like ours may be scarce
  40. Why scholars emphasize the need for affirmative action
  41. How the justice system fails us after police shootings
  42. Gun laws are being reformed, just not on Capitol Hill
  43. How a simple observation from the 1800s about patterns in big data sets can fight fraud
  44. What's behind Japan's moss obsession?
  45. Why China and the US have found common purpose on climate change
  46. How do we ensure the next generation of workers isn't worse off than the last?
  47. When is an aspirin a day to prevent heart attacks too risky?
  48. Should voters care about candidates' religious views?
  49. It's time to repeal the gun industry's exceptional legal immunity
  50. How much diversity can the US Constitution stand?