The Conversation

What a cathedral and a massive military parade show about Putin's Russia

Written by Lena Surzhko Harned, Assistant Teaching Professor of Political Science, Penn State

Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, center, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, at the consecration of the Cathedral of Russian Armed Forces outside Moscow, June 14, 2020.Oleg Varov, Russian Orthodox Church Press Service via AP

May 9, 2022, marks the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany....

Ukraine receives weapons support from around the world

Written by Jordan Cohen, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, George Mason University

Javelin anti-tank missiles, T-72 tanks and Bayraktar TB2 drones are just some of the weapons that other nations have sent to Ukraine.Getty Images, Associated Press, Wikimedia Commons, U.S. Department of Defense, CC BY-ND

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many of the world’s nations have sought to support Ukrainians by sending...

Billions spent on overseas counterterrorism would be better spent by involving ex-terrorists

Written by Bernard Loesi, PhD Candidate, University of Washington

Machmudi 'Yusuf' Hariono, left, a former Indonesian terrorist, holds a book about former terrorists with an Islamic jihadist.Courtesy of Yusuf Hariono, Author provided

For decades, the U.S. government has sent aid to countries plagued by terrorism, believing that the money could help other nations tackle extremism. Money matters, but it alone...

Scientists in Antarctica discover a vast, salty groundwater system under the ice sheet – with implications for sea level rise

Written by Matthew Siegfried, Assistant Professor of Geophysics and Hydrologic Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Co-author Chloe Gustafson and mountaineer Meghan Seifert install measuring equipment on an ice stream.Kerry Key/Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

A new discovery deep beneath one of Antarctica’s rivers of ice could change scientists’ understanding of how the ice flows, with important implications for estimating future sea level rise.

Glaci...

Corals and sea anemones turn sunscreen into toxins – understanding how could help save coral reefs

Written by Djordje Vuckovic, PhD candidate in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

Many places have banned sunscreens with certain chemicals in an attempt to help protect coral reefs.Westend61 via Getty Images

Sunscreen bottles are frequently labeled as “reef-friendly” and “coral-safe.” These claims generally mean that the lotions replaced oxybenzone – a chemical that can harm corals – with...

How treaties protecting fossil fuel investors could jeopardize global efforts to save the climate – and cost countries billions

Written by Rachel Thrasher, Law Lecturer and Researcher at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Boston University

The threat of expensive payouts may already be having an effect.Tom Stoddart/Getty Images

Fossil fuel companies have access to an obscure legal tool that could jeopardize worldwide efforts to protect the climate, and they’re starting to use it. The result could cost countries that press ahead with those efforts billions of dollars.

Over the...

Abortion has been common in the US since the 18th century -- and debate over it started soon after

Written by Treva B. Lindsey, Professor of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies, The Ohio State University

At New York City's Rockefeller Center, activists hold a series of signs that read 'Legalize Abortion' in March, 1968. Bev Grant/Getty Images

State-by-state battles are heating up in the wake of news that the U.S. Supreme Court appears poised to overrule landmark rulings - Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey - and remove constitutional...

'Walking through Europe's door, singing' – How Eurovision helps define Europe's boundaries (and why Ukraine will likely win)

Written by Robert Deam Tobin, Henry J Leir Chair in Language, Literature and Culture, Clark University

Could Ukraine's entry be heading for Eurovision success?Maxim Fesenko/eurovision.tv

This year’s Eurovision Song Contest – an annual celebration of pop music in which nations compete to win the votes of judges and the public – takes place on May 14 in Turin, Italy. And Ukraine is overwhelmingly the favorite to win.

While the latest...

New eye drops can help aging people see better – an optometrist explains how Vuity treats presbyopia

Written by Robert Bittner, Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Nearly all people start to develop blurry vision once they hit their 40s and 50s.demaerre/iStock via Getty Images

When people get into their 40s and beyond, their close-up vision starts to worsen. For many people, cranking up the font size on a phone or maxing out the brightness on a computer is the only way to be able to read some text.

This...

If Roe v. Wade is overturned, there's no guarantee that people can get abortions in liberal states, either

Written by Amanda Jean Stevenson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Colorado Boulder

Anti-abortion protesters use bullhorns to counter abortion rights advocates outside the Supreme Court on May 3, 2022. Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Liberal policymakers are quickly positioning their states as abortion havens after a leaked draft of a U.S. Supreme Court opinion indicating that the court could overturn Roe v....