The Conversation

Are tomorrow’s engineers ready to face AI’s ethical challenges?

Written by Elana Goldenkoff, Doctoral Candidate in Movement Science, University of Michigan

Finding ethics' place in the engineering curriculum.PeopleImages/iStock via Getty Images Plus

A chatbot turns hostile. A test version of a Roomba vacuum collects images of users in private situations. A Black woman is falsely identified as a suspect on the basis of facial recognition software, which tends to be less accurate at identifying women...

Getting a good night’s rest is vital for neurodiverse children – pediatric sleep experts explain why

Written by Beth Ann Malow, Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University

A poor night's sleep has consequences on behavior, academic performance and overall health.skynesher/E+ via Getty Images

Most of us are all too familiar with the consequences of a poor night’s sleep – be it interrupted sleep or simply too little of it. If you’re a parent with kids at home, it often leaves you and your children on...

Caring for older Americans’ teeth and gums is essential, but Medicare generally doesn’t cover that cost

Written by Frank Scannapieco, Professor and Chair of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo

C. Everett Koop, the avuncular doctor with a fluffy white beard who served as the U.S. surgeon general during the Reagan administration, was famous for his work as an innovative pediatric surgeon and the attention he paid to the HIV-AIDS crisis.

As dentistry scholars, we believe Koop also deserves credit for something else. To help make the medical...

Wild turkey numbers are falling in some parts of the US – the main reason may be habitat loss

Written by Marcus Lashley, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida

Wild turkeys in a yard on Staten Island, N.Y.AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Birdsong is a welcome sign of spring, but robins and cardinals aren’t the only birds showing off for breeding season. In many parts of North America, you’re likely to encounter male wild turkeys, puffed up like beach balls and with their tails fanned out, aggressively...

The tragedy of sudden unexpected infant deaths – and how bedsharing, maternal smoking and stomach sleeping all contribute

Written by Fern R. Hauck, Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, University of Virginia

Roomsharing can be done following safe infant sleep guidelines. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Unsafe sleep practices underlie most sudden unexpected infant deaths in the U.S., with three-quarters of infants affected by multiple unsafe practices at the time of death, and almost 60% sharing a sleep surface with another...

Graduation rates for low-income students lag while their student loan debt soars

Written by Robert Samuels, Continuing Lecturer in Writing, University of California, Santa Barbara

The likelihood of graduating from college is linked to the type of college a student attends.Ariel Skelley via Getty Images

The Conversation, CC BY-ND

A recent federal study on graduation rates for American colleges and universities shows that 40% of all students did not earn a degree or credential within eight years of leaving high school. The...

Columbia president holds her own under congressional grilling over campus antisemitism that felled the leaders of Harvard and Penn

Written by Lynn Greenky, Professor Emeritus of Communication and Rhetorical Studies, Syracuse University

Columbia University President Nemat Shafik testifies before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce during an April 17, 2024, hearing on antisemitism on campus.Alex Wong for Getty Images

Lawmakers grilled Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and three colleagues on April 17, 2024, over antisemitism on college campuses, just...

3 things to learn about patience − and impatience − from al-Ghazali, a medieval Islamic scholar

Written by Liz Bucar, Professor of Philosophy and Religion, Northeastern University

Al-Ghazali's book 'Alchemy of Happiness,' held in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.Al-Ghazali - Bibliothèque nationale de France via Wikimedia Commons

From childhood, we are told that patience is a virtue and that good things will come to those who wait. And, so, many of us work on cultivating patience.

This often starts by...

Why luck plays such a big role in hockey

Written by Mark Robert Rank, Professor of Social Welfare, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

A mathematical approach known as 'true score theory' can assess the contribution of luck to a team’s overall success.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The NHL playoffs are almost like a second season – two months of bruising, relentless play, as the top teams compete for the chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup.

The 16 hockey teams that...

Billions of cicadas are about to emerge from underground in a rare double-brood convergence

Written by John Cooley, Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut

Cicadas climb up a tree at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., during the Brood X emergence in 2021.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

In the wake of North America’s recent solar eclipse, another historic natural event is on the horizon. From late April through June 2024, the largest brood of 13-year cicadas, known as Brood XIX,...