The Conversation

LIGO detects more gravitational waves, from even more ancient and distant black hole collisions

Written by Sean McWilliams, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, West Virginia University

Artist's conception of two merging black holes, spinning in a nonaligned fashion.LIGO/Caltech/MIT/Sonoma State (Aurore Simonnet), CC BY-ND

For the third time in a year and a half, the Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory has detected gravitational waves. Hypothesized by Einstein a century ago, the identification of these...

Cutting Superfund’s budget will slow toxic waste cleanups, threatening public health and property values

Written by Katherine Kiel, Professor of Economics, College of the Holy Cross

Cleanup at the GE Housatonic Superfund site in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 2007. Years of PCB and industrial chemical use at GE's Pittsfield facility and improper disposal led to extensive contamination around the town and down the entire length of the Housatonic River.USACE/Flickr, CC BY-ND

Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the Love Canal...

Why Jefferson's vision of American Islam matters today

Written by Denise A. Spellberg, Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Texas at Austin

The Thomas Jefferson memorial in Washington, DC.Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA

An estimated 3.3 million American Muslims are celebrating the month of Ramadan. It was during this month that Prophet Mohammad first received revelations from God.

The holiday has been celebrated at the White House with American Muslims since 1996, when First Lady Hillary...

How yoga is helping girls heal from trauma

Written by Rebecca Epstein, Executive Director, Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality, Georgetown University

Photo copyright TheArtOfYogaProject.

Rocsana Enriquez started thinking about yoga again when she was pregnant. She was 19 and in an abusive relationship.

When she was younger, Rocsana, whom I interviewed as part of my research, had taken part in a yoga program in a San Francisco Bay Area juvenile hall run by The Art of Yoga Project. She began...

Private defense companies are here to stay – what does that mean for national security?

Written by Charles Mahoney, Professor of Political Science, California State University, Long Beach

Share prices of many military and intelligence contractors have risen sharply since President Donald Trump’s election.

Investors are betting that an increase in defense spending will provide a windfall for these firms. For instance, General Dynamics, a large contractor that develops combat vehicles and weapons systems for the U.S. military,...

The demographics of the #resistance

Written by Dana R. Fisher, Professor of Sociology and Director of Program for Society and the Environment, University of Maryland

Ninety percent of the protesters at the Women's March on Washington voted for Hillary Clinton.Liz Lemon/Flickr

Since the inauguration of Donald Trump, hundreds of thousands of people have marched on Washington, D.C. – sometimes, repeatedly.

Two more big protests are scheduled for June: the March for Truth and the National Pride March.

The...

Mainstream media outlets are dropping the ball with terrorism coverage

Written by Philip Seib, Professor of Journalism and Public Diplomacy, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Breathless reporting accompanies each attack, with little time spent addressing the underlying causes.Nick Lehr/The Conversation via Google, CC BY-SA

News coverage of the Manchester terrorist attack was sadly familiar: cellphone videos of screaming victims; details of first responders’ hectic efforts; “Was it terrorism?”...

CRISPR controversy raises questions about gene-editing technique

Written by Ian Haydon, Doctoral Student in Biochemistry, University of Washington

Laboratory mice are among the first animals to have their diseases treated by CRISPRtiburi via Pixabay.com

A new research paper is stirring up controversy among scientists interested in using DNA editing to treat disease.

In a two-page article published in the journal Nature Methods on May 30, a group of six scientists report an alarming number of...

Are esports the next major league sport?

Written by Galen Clavio, Associate Professor of Sports Media; Director of the National Sports Journalism Center, Indiana University

Two basketball teams go head-to-head in an esports competition, with spectators cheering them on.Dan Steinberg/Invision for NBA 2K/AP Images

In late 2016, a sports championship event was held in Chicago, drawing 43 million viewers during the series finals. That was 12 million more people than watched the 2016 NBA Finals.

It wasn’t soccer, or...

Does national service help heal America’s divisions?

Written by Cecilia Hyunjung Mo, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Vanderbilt University

Teach For America teacher Sergio Santiago looks over an assignment with a student.pennstatenews/flickr, CC BY-NC

President Donald Trump’s budget proposes getting the government out of the business of national service. This comes at a time when the election has divided Americans like few in history. And individuals from different walks of life...