The Conversation

How robots could help bridge the elder-care gap

Written by Cynthia Matuszek, Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, UMBC, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Robots can also lend a hand of sorts.Photographee.eu/Shutterstock.com

Despite innovations that make it easier for seniors to keep living on their own rather than moving into special facilities, most elderly people eventually need a hand with chores and other everyday activities.

Friends and relatives often can’t do all the work. Growing...

The opioid epidemic is finally a national emergency – eight years too late

Written by Erin Winstanley, Associate Professor of Pharmacy, West Virginia University

People without ID, like Steven Kemp, are sometimes turned away from the country's already threadbare system of drug treatment centers.Matt Rourke/AP Photo

“It has been many long, hard, agonizing battles for the last few years and you fought like a warrior every step of the way. Addiction, however, won the war. To the person who doesn’t...

Americans are confused about food and unsure where to turn for answers, survey shows

Written by Sheril Kirshenbaum, Food@MSU, Michigan State University

Trying to sort truth about food from fiction can be overwhelming.TheeErin, CC BY-SA

More than one-third of Americans do not know that foods with no genetically modified ingredients contain genes, according to the new nationally representative Food Literacy and Engagement Poll we recently conducted at Michigan State University. For the record, all...

Do coal and nuclear need a helping hand? 5 essential reads

Written by Martin LaMonica, Deputy Editor, Environment & Energy Editor, The Conversation

Coal power has long been a mainstay of the electricity system but has lost share as natural gas prices have gone down. John Fowler, CC BY-SA

The following is a roundup of previously published articles.

The U.S. electricity grid, the sprawling network that delivers power to our homes and businesses, is changing rapidly – a point few experts...

Postpartum depression can affect dads – and their hormones may be to blame

Written by Darby Saxbe, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

New fathers can feel low, too.loriZ, CC BY-NC

Postpartum depression has become more visible as celebrity moms including Brooke Shields, Drew Barrymore and Chrissy Teigen have publicly shared their struggles with feeling sad and hopeless after birth. But when a father – Adam Busby, from reality TV show “OutDaughtered” –...

Why students need better protection from loan fraud

Written by Richard Fossey, Professor of Education, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

How can we help the tens of thousands of college students who have been defrauded?SpeedKingz/Shutterstock.com

A college education can set you up for a lifetime – though it can come with a hefty price tag: Some unfortunate students have gotten both a mountain of debt and an education that falls far short of their expectations.

Across the...

For a primer on how to make fun of Nazis, look to Charlie Chaplin

Written by Kevin Hagopian, Senior Lecturer of Media Studies (Cinema Studies), Pennsylvania State University

Charlie Chaplin's character Adenoid Hynkel was a not-so-subtle nod to Adolf Hitler.Wikimedia Commons

White nationalists and neo-Nazis are having their moment. Former Ku Klux Klan Imperial Wizard David Duke is back, yet again, in the media spotlight, while newer figures such as white supremacist Richard Spencer and Christopher Cantwell are...

Can you pass this smell test?

Written by Steven D. Munger, Director, Center for Smell and Taste; Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida

The smell of daffodils is a treat for most people, but some cannot experience the joy because they have lost their sense of smell. Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko/Shutterstock.com

Each of our senses gives us a unique view of our world. Our visual system detects parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, revealing movement, brightness and color, but also a...

I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist

Written by Katharine Hayhoe, Professor and Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University

Exxon funded climate scientists while the bulk of its public-facing advertorials argued the science and cause of climate change was uncertain.AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

ExxonMobil’s deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate...

Dissecting Conor McGregor's steep odds in boxing showdown

Written by Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Pennsylvania State University

It seems to happen every few years: a boxing superfight briefly jolts the fringe sport back into the public consciousness.

But the latest mega match-up – between an undefeated boxer coming out of retirement and a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter who has never entered a professional boxing ring – is without precedent.

It’s...