The Conversation

AI makes huge progress predicting how proteins fold – one of biology's greatest challenges – promising rapid drug development

Written by Marc Zimmer, Professor of Chemistry, Connecticut College

A simple chain of amino acids folds into a complex three-dimensional structure.

Takeaways

A “deep learning” software program from Google-owned lab DeepMind showed great progress in solving one of biology’s greatest challenges – understanding protein folding.
Protein folding is the process by which a protein takes its shape...

The morality of canceling student debt

Written by Kate Padgett Walsh, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Iowa State University

Students pulling a heavy ball representing the total outstanding student debt in the U.S. at over $1.5 trillion.PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Joe Biden promised to forgive at least some student debt during his campaign, and he now supports immediately canceling US$10,000 per borrower as part of COVID-19 relief measures.

Such...

Global disabilities map visualizes the strength and power of millions of athletes around the world

Written by Sarah Hillyer, Director, Center for Sport, Peace, & Society, University of Tennessee

Qaphela Dlamini, educator, wheelchair basketball player and disability rights advocate from South Africa.globalsportsmentingprogram/flickr, CC BY-ND

When the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law in 1990, it became illegal to restrict access – to employment, education or federally funded institutions – based on disability....

Socialism is a trigger word on social media – but real discussion is going on amid the screaming

Written by Robert Kozinets, Jayne and Hans Hufschmid Chair in Strategic Public Relations and Business Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

'Tug-of-words' posts debating the merits of socialism versus capitalism are all over social media platforms.pxfuel

The word “socialism” has become a trigger word in U.S. politics, with both positive and negative perceptions of it split along party lines.

But what does socialism actually mean to Americans? Although surveys can ask...

Your brain's built-in biases insulate your beliefs from contradictory facts

Written by Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University

These psychological tendencies explain why an onslaught of facts won't necessarily change anyone's mind.Francesco Carta fotografo/Moment via Getty Images

A rumor started circulating back in 2008 that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. At the time, I was serving as chair of the Hawaii Board of Health. The director and deputy director of...

Peru's democracy faces greatest trial since Fujimori dictatorship after two presidents are ousted in one week

Written by Gisselle Vila Benites, Adjunct Researcher at the Center for Mining and Sustainability Studies at the Universidad del Pacífico (Peru) and PhD Candidate in Geography, University of Melbourne

Riot police face off against protesters in Lima, Peru, Nov. 12, 2020.Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Images

Peru’s new interim president took office on Nov. 17 under unenviable circumstances.

Francisco Sagasti became the South American country’s third president in a week after President Martin Vizcarra was impeached for “moral...

Rapid COVID-19 tests can be useful – but there are far too few to put a dent in the pandemic

Written by Bonnie LaFleur, Professor of Biostatistics, University of Arizona

Rapid tests for COVID-19 are easy to administer and give fast results. AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File

Since September, the Food and Drug Administration has approved seven COVID-19 tests that yield results in 30 minutes or less, offering hope for vast improvements in test access and efficiency throughout the U.S. Most of these are antigen tests that...

Reckoning with slavery: What a revolt's archives tell us about who owns the past

Written by Marjoleine Kars, Associate Professor of History, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Statue of the Berbice slave revolt leader Kofi in Georgetown, Guyana.David Stanley - Flickr/WikiMedia, CC BY-SA

The consequences of 400 years of the Atlantic slave trade are still felt today. Untangling the power structures and systemic racism that came with slavery is ongoing, with police brutality, memorials to slave owners and reparations forming...

James Baker's masterful legal strategies won George W. Bush a contested election – unlike Rudy Giuliani's string of losses

Written by Richard Pildes, Professor of Constitutional Law, New York University

Former President George W. Bush, left, with James A. Baker III at the 2018 funeral of George H.W. Bush.AP Pool

With Rudy Giuliani flailing through a series of failed election challenges for the Trump campaign, a superb new political biography provides fresh evidence of just how stark the contrast is between the head of Trump’s legal team and...

NCAA amateurism appears immune to COVID-19 – despite tide in public support for paying athletes having turned

Written by Chris Knoester, Associate Professor of Sociology, The Ohio State University

The pandemic has laid bare just how few economic rights college athletes possess.AP Photo/Keith Srakocic

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, college sports have mostly chugged along – albeit with cancellations, postponements and pauses in play.

While many college athletes are grateful for the opportunity to compete, the pandemic has laid bare...