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The Conversation

Permafrost-eating bacteria: a new twist on thawing Arctic and global warming

  • Written by The Conversation
imageCarbon in some types of ancient permafrost is digested by greenhouse gas-producing microbes.US Bureau of Land Management, CC BY-SA

Global warming is accelerating the thawing of permafrost – soil that has been at or below the freezing point of water for approximately two or more years. This releases the potent greenhouse gas methane to the...

Read more: Permafrost-eating bacteria: a new twist on thawing Arctic and global warming

From Sophocles to Sherlock: economics, literature and the detective story

  • Written by The Conversation
imageWhat does economics have to do with a revolver? Book revolver via www.shutterstock.com

If you read or watch detective stories, you probably don’t think about them as an expression of economic principles.

But at their heart, that’s exactly what they are. And it’s not just detective stories, but works of fictions of all genres are...

Read more: From Sophocles to Sherlock: economics, literature and the detective story

The Umpqua, Oregon shootings: portrait of the killer as a young man

  • Written by The Conversation
imageHungry for information: the media, here covering the shooting in Oregon, falls into now-familiar patterns in covering mass shootings.Steve Dipaola/Reuters

All killers are Norman Bates – anti-social mama’s boys.

Or so the news media tell us in their instant profiles of the gunmen who shoot up schools, churches, military bases and other...

Read more: The Umpqua, Oregon shootings: portrait of the killer as a young man

What public health researchers want you to know about gun control

  • Written by The Conversation
imageObama calls for changes to gun laws after the shootings in Oregon, Oct. 1, 2015. Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

Editor’s note: In the wake of the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Oregon, we asked two public health researchers on gun violence to help us understand this latest violent act. Sandro Galea is the Dean of Boston...

Read more: What public health researchers want you to know about gun control

The University of Texas faculty are watching Oregon uneasily

  • Written by The Conversation
imageA line is drawn in Roseburg, Oregon, Oct. 2, 2015. Lucy Nicholson/REUTERS

I fear our senses will become dulled to horrific news like Thursday’s, when a gunman opened fire on an Oregon community college, killing nine and wounding 10. I fear we will forget, again and again.

Oregon is one of the seven states that now have provisions allowing the...

Read more: The University of Texas faculty are watching Oregon uneasily

Jobs market is stuck in neutral – it's time candidates talk about how to fix it

  • Written by The Conversation
imageUS jobs market needs a boost.Reuters

Today’s jobs report is very disappointing. Essentially the labor market is stuck in neutral, yet unfortunately there’s little political will to do much to get it back into gear.

The US economy added only 142,000 jobs last month, compared with economists' estimates of about 200,000. That put the...

Read more: Jobs market is stuck in neutral – it's time candidates talk about how to fix it

Plain cigarette packaging: healthier citizens, sicker state finances?

  • Written by The Conversation
imageFrance's tobacconists aren't very happy with plain cigarette packaging.Reuters

Over the last few years, a new idea for improving public health has been slowly spreading across the world: a ban on selling cigarettes in packages with custom brand designs. Instead of selling branded tobacco, all cigarettes are sold in either plain packages or packages...

Read more: Plain cigarette packaging: healthier citizens, sicker state finances?

The Martian: a space epic that explores ordinary human decency

  • Written by The Conversation
imageIn The Martian, the stakes are neither bigger, nor smaller, than a single human life.20th Century Fox

On the red planet, amid arid desert and rolling mountain ranges, six sleekly space suited astronauts grope their way back to their launch vehicle, fleeing a sudden and vicious wind storm.

Pelted and blinded by sand and metal, one of them is struck...

Read more: The Martian: a space epic that explores ordinary human decency

More Articles ...

  1. Is 'The Slants' racist? Court ruling on band name could upend trademark law
  2. Could Iran continue its nuclear program in Syria?
  3. Corporate climate scientists: advocates for science or protectors of status quo?
  4. I'm a librarian who banned a book. Here's why.
  5. The problem with rating people on the new app Peeple
  6. Do brain interventions to treat disease change the essence of who we are?
  7. A genetic test could predict future troubles for kidney donors – why not use it?
  8. Children who understand emotions become more attentive over time
  9. Does nature have value beyond what it provides humans?
  10. Forget the antioxidant pills; just stick with veggies
  11. Homeschooled children do not grow up to be more religious
  12. Chip-enabled cards may curb fraud, but consumers will be picking up the tab
  13. How close are we to actually becoming Martians?
  14. Free speech is no excuse for Muslim-baiting
  15. Mining for metals in society's waste
  16. Shell's abandoned well and the myth of the Arctic oil land grab
  17. What happens when you try to read Moby Dick on your smartphone?
  18. Pakistani drone strikes should worry Obama
  19. The not-so-invisible damage from VW diesel cheat: $100 million in health costs
  20. Is cyberbullying all that goes 'over the line' when kids are online?
  21. Banks will help ensure Iran keeps promises on nukes
  22. Why do female comedians disappear after dark?
  23. Safer chemicals would benefit both consumers and workers
  24. Should older Americans live in places segregated from the young?
  25. Beer behemoths struggle to fend off craft brew craze
  26. The pope, the premier, the president – and the retreat of globalization
  27. Despite Shell's about-face, interest in Arctic oil grows
  28. Antibiotic overuse might be why so many people have allergies
  29. For the Islamic State, music is the 'alcohol of the soul'
  30. Graduate education is a mess. Shouldn't universities fix it?
  31. Jesuits as science missionaries for the Catholic Church
  32. How could VW be so dumb? Blame the unethical culture endemic in business
  33. Volkswagen scandal will send costly ripples through auto industry
  34. VW needs massive marketing campaign to regain consumer trust – and survive
  35. Boehner resigns: scholars see trouble ahead for GOP
  36. Testing ancient human hearing via fossilized ear bones
  37. Pope Francis goes to Washington – but speaks past the politicians
  38. In too many ways, America's poorest communities are just like prison
  39. The risk of UN's Sustainable Development Goals: too many goals, too little focus
  40. To cut costs, college students are buying less food and even going hungry
  41. Hungry? Food choices are often influenced by forces out of your control
  42. Rise of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin begs question: what is money?
  43. Clinton stance on XL Pipeline reflects muscle of climate activists
  44. Vaping as a 'gateway' to smoking is still more hype than hazard
  45. Drake, Meek Mill and beef's prime place in rap culture
  46. Poland, long accustomed to emigration, must now confront immigration
  47. Learning from PowerPoint: is it time for teachers to move on?
  48. Despite Volkswagen's cheat, clean diesel is good technology today and the future
  49. Republicans and Democrats alike have love-hate relationship with Pope Francis
  50. Why US and Chinese cities will make or break any global climate deal