The Conversation

Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%

Written by Eric B. Larson, Affiliate Professor of Medicine, UW School of Medicine, University of Washington

Nearly half of all dementia cases could be delayed or prevented altogether by addressing 14 possible risk factors, including vision loss and high cholesterol.

That is the key finding of a new study that we and our colleagues published in the journal The Lancet.

Dementia, a rapidly increasing global challenge, affects an estimated 57 million...

3 strategies to help college students pick the right major the first time around and avoid some big hassles

Written by Rachael Cody, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Educational Psychology at the United States Coast Guard Academy, University of Connecticut

Not long after new college students have finished choosing the college that is right for them, they are asked to declare an academic major. For some students, this decision is easy, as their majors may have actually influenced their choice of college. Unfortunately, this decision is not always an easy one to make, and college students frequently...

A bipartisan data-privacy law could backfire on small businesses − 2 marketing professors explain why

Written by John Lynch, University of Colorado Distinguished Professor, University of Colorado Boulder

Orion Brown started Black Travel Box to serve Black female travelers who find hotel lotions and shampoos inadequate. Randel Bennett co-founded the insurance startup Sigo Seguros for underserved Spanish-speaking drivers. Bill Shufelt and John Walker founded Athletic Brewing Company so athletes and nondrinkers in social situations could drink tasty...

New storm is headed for the Caribbean: What meteorologists look for in early signs of a future hurricane

Written by Xingchao Chen, Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Penn State

Disturbances in the Atlantic like this on Aug. 12, 2024, may be no big deal, or they could be the seeds of a destructive hurricane.NOAA GOES

When tropical meteorologists peer at satellite images, they often catch sight of subtle cloud formations hinting at something more ominous brewing.

The first signs of a potential hurricane can be detected days...

Birth of a hurricane: What meteorologists look for as they hunt for early signs of a tropical cyclone forming

Written by Xingchao Chen, Assistant Professor of Meteorology, Penn State

Disturbances in the Atlantic may be nothing, or they could be the seeds of a destructive hurricane.NOAA GOES

When tropical meteorologists peer at satellite images, they often catch sight of subtle cloud formations hinting at something more ominous brewing.

The first signs of a potential hurricane can be detected days before a storm gains its fierce...

At its core, life is all about play − just look at the animal kingdom

Written by David Toomey, Professor of English, UMass Amherst

Throw it to me! Mike Linnane / 500px via Getty Images

At Cambridge University Library, along with all the books, maps and manuscripts, there’s a child’s drawing that curators have titled “The Battle of the Fruit and Vegetable Soldiers.”

The drawing depicts a turbaned cavalry soldier facing off against an English dragoon....

Could dinosaurs still exist somewhere in the world? A paleontologist explains

Written by Hans Sues, Senior Research Geologist and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, Smithsonian Institution

The extinction event that killed the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago. Mark Stevenson/UIG 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.

Do dinosaurs still exist in some parts of the world today? – Ruben M., age 5

Did...

Why is an ultimate goal called a ‘Holy Grail?’

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

An 18th-century stained glass window panel by William Peckitt, showing The Last Supper of Christ and the disciples.TonyBaggett via iStock / Getty Images Plus

For decades, winning an Olympic medal has been described as the Holy Grail of sports.

Athletes aren’t the only ones in search of a Holy Grail. For example, in 2012, when physicists...

If you want Americans to pay attention to climate change, just call it climate change

Written by Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Director of Behavioral Science & Policy Initiative, Schaeffer Institute of Public Policy & Government Service, USC Price School of Public Policy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Escalating the language might work in a rally, but the general public isn't as swayed by it, a new study show.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

You probably have been hearing phrases like “climate crisis,” “climate emergency” or “climate justice” more often lately as people try to get across the urgent...

Wagner Group setback in Mali challenges Moscow’s strategy in Africa and the region’s faith in Russian mercenaries

Written by Christopher Michael Faulkner, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs in the College of Distance Education, US Naval War College

While Russia’s army is bogged down in Ukraine, its mercenaries are faring no better in Africa.

In late July 2024, mercenaries from the the Wagner Group, a Moscow-aligned private military company, accompanied the Malian army in what the Malian regime called a “stabilization operation” in the West African country’s...