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Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

  • Written by Simon F. Haeder, Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
imageThe new plan will shrink the Health and Human Services workforce from more than 82,000 to 62,000 employees.Sarah Stierch via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

On March 27, 2025, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced plans to dramatically transform the department. HHS is the umbrella agency responsible for...

Read more: Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for life in the universe

  • Written by David Garofalo, Professor of Physics, Kennesaw State University
imageBlack holes, like the one in this illustration, can spray powerful jets.S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF), CC BY-SA

One of the most powerful objects in the universe is a radio quasar – a spinning black hole spraying out highly energetic particles. Come too close to one, and you’d get sucked in by its gravitational pull, or burn up from the...

Read more: Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for...

Why do dogs love to play with trash?

  • Written by Nancy Dreschel, Associate Teaching Professor of Small Animal Science, Penn State
imageDogs will be dogs.Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Why do dogs love to play with trash? – Sarah G٫ age 11٫ Seguin٫ Texas

When I think about why dogs do something, I try...

Read more: Why do dogs love to play with trash?

What is a ‘revisionist’ state, and what are they trying to revise?

  • Written by Andrew Latham, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College
imageA meeting of top diplomats from China, Iran and Russia – three so-called revisionist powers.Photo by Getty Images

Once upon a time, “revisionist power” was a term reserved for nations trying to overturn the postwar liberal order – the usual suspects being countries like Russia, China or Iran.

But lately, that concept is start...

Read more: What is a ‘revisionist’ state, and what are they trying to revise?

As ‘right to die’ gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church

  • Written by Mathew Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross
imageIn recent years, euthanasia and assisted death rates have risen worldwide.Cavan Images / Raffi Maghdessian via Getty images

An individual’s “right to die” is becoming more accepted across the globe. Polls show that most Americans support allowing doctors to end a patient’s life upon their request. Assisted suicide is now...

Read more: As ‘right to die’ gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the...

The Panama Canal’s other conflict: Water security for the population and the global economy

  • Written by Karina Garcia, Researcher and Lecturer in Climate, Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá
imageThe Panama Canal carries cargo ships between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, cutting weeks off shipping time.Danny Lehman/The Image Bank via Getty Images

The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world, with about 7% of global trade passing through. It also relies heavily on rainfall. Without enough freshwater flowing in, the...

Read more: The Panama Canal’s other conflict: Water security for the population and the global economy

How is classified information typically shared and can officials declassify secrets whenever they want? A national security expert explains

  • Written by Dakota Rudesill, Associate Professor of Law, The Ohio State University
imageDirector of Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on March 26, 2025, in Washington. Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg on March 27, 2025, ordered top Trump administration officials to preserve records of their messages sent on the messaging app...

Read more: How is classified information typically shared and can officials declassify secrets whenever they...

‘Everyday discrimination’ linked to increased anxiety and depression across all groups of Americans

  • Written by Monica Wang, Associate Professor of Public Health, Boston University
imageEveryday discrimination happens to all races and genders.FG Trade Latin/E+ via Getty Images

People who most frequently encounter everyday discrimination – those subtle snubs and slights of everyday life – are more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression.

What’s more, that finding remains true no matter the person’s...

Read more: ‘Everyday discrimination’ linked to increased anxiety and depression across all groups of Americans

From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis’ appreciation for the power of history and books

  • Written by Joëlle Rollo-Koster, Professor of Medieval History, University of Rhode Island
imagePope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican, on Nov. 10, 2024.AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

In January 2025, while doing research at the Vatican archives, I heard Pope Francis’ Sunday prayers in St. Peter’s Square. The pope reflected on the ceasefire that had just gone into effect in Gaza, highlighting...

Read more: From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis’ appreciation for the power of history and books

Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs

  • Written by Deborah Fuller, Professor of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Washington
imageDivesting from the next generation of researchers means cutting the lifeblood of science and medicine.J Studios/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Nearly every modernmedical treatment can be traced to research funded by the National Institutes of Health: from over-the-counter and prescription medications that treat high cholesteroland pain to...

Read more: Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for...

More Articles ...

  1. Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
  2. As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans
  3. Want to stay healthier and fulfilled later in life? Try volunteering
  4. We analyzed racial justice statements from the 500 largest US companies and found that DEI officials really did have an influence
  5. First year of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model − and speeding up the time frame
  6. Myanmar’s civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role
  7. What ‘The White Lotus’ gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices
  8. Women are reclaiming their place in baseball
  9. Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security
  10. Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action
  11. Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app
  12. Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm
  13. From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools
  14. US swing toward autocracy doesn’t have to be permanent – but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections
  15. Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could spell trouble for distilled spirits
  16. With Hooters on the verge of bankruptcy, a psychologist reflects on her time spent studying the servers who work there
  17. Mississippi’s education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
  18. Medetomidine is replacing xylazine in Philly street fentanyl − creating new hurdles for health care providers and drug users
  19. Maritime truce would end a sorry war on the waves for Russia that set back its naval power ambitions
  20. Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next
  21. Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about − by dumping debris into the thriving midwater zone
  22. The solution to workplace isolation might be in the gap − the generation gap
  23. Trump is not a king – but that doesn’t stop him from reveling in his job’s most ceremonial and exciting parts
  24. Trump’s desire to ‘un-unite’ Russia and China is unlikely to work – in fact, it could well backfire
  25. Engineering students explore how to ethically design and locate nuclear facilities in this college course
  26. Amid a tropical paradise known as ‘Lizard Island,’ researchers are cracking open evolution’s black box – scientist at work
  27. Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship
  28. Rethinking repression − why memory researchers reject the idea of recovered memories of trauma
  29. Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends − here’s why the US isn’t likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan
  30. How many types of insects are there in the world?
  31. Genomic sequencing reveals previously unknown genes that make microbes resistant to drugs and hard to kill
  32. Poor neighborhoods, health care barriers are factors for heart disease risk in Black mothers
  33. National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act
  34. How Japanese anime draws on religious traditions to explore themes of destiny, sacrifice and the struggle between desire and duty
  35. Egg prices soar as outdated supply chains crack under pressure
  36. Who gets to brand Puerto Rico: Its tourism agency or its biggest star?
  37. Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department was inspired by the Heritage Foundation’s decades-long disapproval of the agency
  38. What are AI hallucinations? Why AIs sometimes make things up
  39. Why the words in your job posting may attract rule-bending narcissists
  40. Avoiding your neighbor because of how they voted? Democracy needs you to talk to them instead
  41. Defending humanitarian aid in terms of national security obscures its real purpose
  42. Trump’s firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks
  43. Cuts to research into inequality, disparities and other DEIA topics harm science
  44. Helper bots in online communities diminish human interaction
  45. Digital imperialism: How US social media firms are using American law to challenge global tech regulation
  46. Debate over H-1B visas shines spotlight on US tech worker shortages
  47. What causes the powerful winds that fuel dust storms, wildfires and blizzards? A weather scientist explains
  48. Trump administration seeks to starve libraries and museums of funding by shuttering this little-known agency
  49. Tyrannical leader? Why comparisons between Trump and King George III miss the mark on 18th-century British monarchy
  50. 5 years on, true counts of COVID-19 deaths remain elusive − and research is hobbled by lack of data