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The Conversation

They might sound gross, but intestinal worms can actually be good for you

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageFour rat tapeworms harvested from a single laboratory rat are shown in a six-well plate. The worms don’t harm the rats. Each worm, between two and three feet long, can produce more than 1,000 eggs per day. William Parker, CC BY-NC-SA

Intestinal worms have an incredibly bad reputation. The thought of them sneaking around inside our bodies and...

Read more: They might sound gross, but intestinal worms can actually be good for you

What gets students motivated to work harder? Not money

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageWhat motivates kids?woodleywonderworks, CC BY

Rewarding teachers financially for student achievement is an increasingly common practice, despite mixed evidence as to whether it improves results. Some scholars have instead suggested paying students.

But giving kids cash for grades and scores hasn’t proved straightforward either. So maybe the...

Read more: What gets students motivated to work harder? Not money

Paul Ryan just accepted the worst job in politics

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageRyan wields brand new speaker's gavel, October 29 2015. Gary Cameron/REUTERS

Republicans voted overwhelmingly to make Paul Ryan the new speaker of the House of Representatives on Thursday, but the Wisconsin congressman has no reason to celebrate. He just got the worst job in American politics.

In theory, the House speaker is an immensely powerful...

Read more: Paul Ryan just accepted the worst job in politics

Breaking the link between a conservative worldview and climate skepticism

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageFormer New York Governor George Pataki: "I think part of the problem is the...way Republicans think about climate change."Rick Wilking/Reuters

The tide is finally turning. In last night’s third Republican debates, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and former New York Governor George Pataki both acknowledged the scientific consensus that...

Read more: Breaking the link between a conservative worldview and climate skepticism

What should we make of Paul Ryan’s fondness for Ayn Rand?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageRepresentative Paul Ryan arrives to talk to the media after being nominated for speaker of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington October 28 2015.Yuri Gripas/Reuters

Paul Ryan, the Republican congressman from Wisconsin who was just elected speaker of the US House of Representatives, has acknowledged his admiration for novelist...

Read more: What should we make of Paul Ryan’s fondness for Ayn Rand?

Evolutionary psychology explains why haunted houses creep us out

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageIsolated, crumbling, and full of twists and turns.'House' via www.shutterstock.com

The Haunted House is a time-honored horror setting. All of us have shivered our way through spooky flicks such as The Haunting, The Amityville Horror, The Sentinel and Poltergeist.

It’s not only at the movies that we pay good money to frighten ourselves to...

Read more: Evolutionary psychology explains why haunted houses creep us out

Solar power can cut consumers' bills and still be good for utilities

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageRooftop solar panels: will they kill power companies or can they help them?kincuri/flickr, CC BY-NC

The cost of solar energy continues to fall, so it is no surprise that more people are adopting solar.

This rapid growth of rooftop solar, however, has led many electric utilities to try to apply the brakes. A number have lobbied to change the...

Read more: Solar power can cut consumers' bills and still be good for utilities

Do liberal arts students learn how to collaborate?

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageDance is about creating work in a collaborative way.Joseph Mehling, CC BY-NC-ND

Liberal arts colleges teach many valuable skills, but collaboration is not often among them.

This is curious, because virtually all human activities involve collective behavior. A conversation, or an article such as this, takes at least two to tango (or tangle, as the...

Read more: Do liberal arts students learn how to collaborate?

Scholars on the GOP debate: middle-class struggles take center stage as Rubio walks tightrope

  • Written by The Conversation Contributor
imageWho will stand out after Wednesday's debate? Reuters

Republican presidential candidates debated a range of economic issues in their third debate, from what to do about Medicare and social security to tax policy and even a brief exchange on daily fantasy sports. The moderators became part of the scrum, and Hillary Clinton and her fellow Democrats...

Read more: Scholars on the GOP debate: middle-class struggles take center stage as Rubio walks tightrope

More Articles ...

  1. Why can’t the UN protect civilians in places like Syria?
  2. What are the limits to free speech in schools?
  3. How texting helped fuel the anti-austerity protests roiling Europe
  4. In the fight against anemia, iron fortification is a clutch player
  5. Why aren't more women running for office?
  6. Could Hurricane Patricia be a harbinger of storms in a warming climate?
  7. Does 'translating' Shakespeare into modern English diminish its greatness?
  8. Why Google's plan to blanket wilderness with Wi-Fi is a bad idea
  9. Sugar isn't just empty, fattening calories -- it's making us sick
  10. California universities launch experiment to go carbon-neutral 'at scale'
  11. Tracking American eels on the open sea to crack the mystery of their migration
  12. When gang violence goes viral
  13. The modern, molecular hunt for the world's biodiversity
  14. The humble (ad-free!) origins of the first World Series broadcasts
  15. Explainer: what's the debt ceiling and why it's an obsolete way to control spending
  16. Obama calls for limits on school testing. Here's why
  17. Jeb Bush needs a home run in Wednesday's GOP debate
  18. Did El Niño give Hurricane Patricia more kick?
  19. Sometimes less is better – so why don't doctors 'deintensify' medical treatment?
  20. How American schools are making inequality worse
  21. The problems with Big History and turning science into myth
  22. Are we sleep-deprived or just darkness-deprived?
  23. China's economic slowdown threatens African progress
  24. How Playboy skirted the anti-porn crusade of the 1950s
  25. Does 'Twitter Moments' herald the comeback of human beings?
  26. Is your doctor choosing the right IV?
  27. MIT rejects fossil fuel divestment but is still a leader on climate change
  28. Refugee passports could end border delays in the Balkans
  29. Why it's wrong for pediatricians to eliminate daily screen time recommendations
  30. Why we should pay attention to Poland's elections
  31. America's rental affordability crisis is about to go from bad to worse
  32. Benghazi committee grills Clinton for 11 hours, yields zero new facts
  33. Is lagging on climate change a political liability?
  34. Explainer: what it will take to make computer science education available in all schools
  35. The New York Times and Washington Post are ignoring civilians killed by US drone strikes
  36. Are we recycling too much of our trash?
  37. Why your father's Playboy can't compete in today's world of hard-core porn
  38. A gambling expert weighs in: what makes daily fantasy sports so alluring – and dangerous – for young men?
  39. Will 'sew-bots' stitch up a future for American Apparel?
  40. The dark side of free markets
  41. Women preferred for STEM professorships – as long as they’re equal to or better than male candidates
  42. Can it get more absurd? Now music teachers are being tested based on math and reading scores
  43. Canadian election: Scholars on what the rest of the world needs to know
  44. Can we expand solar power dramatically without damaging protected lands?
  45. Trump's wall and the cost-benefit analysis of immigration
  46. In 19 states, it's okay to hit kids with a wooden board
  47. Ruling shows Europe still vexed over NSA spying, leaving US companies in legal limbo
  48. New DNA analysis says your pooch's ancestors were Central Asian wolves
  49. We're hiring!
  50. Milwaukee case could encourage gun stores to reduce illegal sales