The Conversation

A warning as a heat wave roasts the US West: Extreme heat + air pollution can be deadly, with the health risk together worse than either alone

Written by Erika Garcia, Assistant Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California

Bad air pollution and extreme heat each raise health risks, but they're worse combined.Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

On the morning news, you see the weather forecast is for high heat, and there is an “excessive heat watch” for later in the week. You were hoping the weather would cool down, but yet another heat...

Workhorses, not show horses: Five ways to promote effective lawmaking in Congress

Written by Craig Volden, Professor of Public Policy and Politics, University of Virginia

There are ways to get things done under the U.S. Capitol dome.AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

Americans dislike Congress, especially when it fails to act on pressing problems. They are then surprised by legislative accomplishments on climate change, gun control and maintaining competitiveness with China.

But Congress does much more on a daily basis than...

Why virtue signaling isn't the same as virtue – it actually furthers the partisan divide

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Associate Research Professor, Political Science, Co-host of Democracy Works Podcast, Penn State

A sign in a yard listing many virtues – an example of virtue signaling.davelogan/iStock via Getty images

In a speech on July 23, 2022, before the Conservative Political Action Committee, or CPAC, Sen. Ted Cruz introduced himself to the audience with the words, “My name is Ted Cruz and my pronoun is kiss my ass.”

In 2019, the...

FBI's Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit reveals how Trump may have compromised national security – a legal expert answers 5 key questions

Written by Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State University

The seal of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is seen outside of its headquarters in Washington, DC on August 15, 2022.Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

The Justice Department on Aug. 26, 2022, released an affidavit written by an FBI special agent that was used to obtain a court order for the FBI’s search of former President Donald...

NASA's Artemis 1 mission to the Moon sets the stage for routine space exploration beyond Earth's orbit – here's what to expect and why it's important

Written by Jack Burns, Professor of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

NASA is going back to the Moon.NASA

NASA’s Artemis 1 mission is poised to take a key step toward returning humans to the Moon after a half-century hiatus. The launch was initially scheduled for the morning of Aug. 29, 2022 but was postponed due to an issue with one of the rocket’s engines. NASA rescheduled the launch to Sept. 3, 2022,...

Slime is all around and inside you – new research on its origins offers insight into genetic evolution

Written by Omer Gokcumen, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo

Slime plays an essential role in the lives of snails, hagfish and people alike.Adrienne Bresnahan/Moment via Getty Images

Slime is everywhere. It shapes the consistency of your bodily fluids, from the saliva in your mouth to the goo that covers your organs. It protects you against pathogens, including coronavirus, while creating a home in your...

The US lacks adequate education around puberty and menstruation for young people – an expert on menstrual health explains

Written by Marni Sommer, Associate Professor of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University

Many young people receive limited guidance about what to expect as they near menstruation.SolStock/E+ via Getty Images

One thing few people have been talking about since Roe v. Wade was overturned is how abortion restrictions will affect young girls across the United States.

Around the time of their first period, many young people learn the basic...

Imperiled Ukrainian nuclear power plant has the world on edge – a safety expert explains what could go wrong

Written by Najmedin Meshkati, Professor of Engineering and International Relations, University of Southern California

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is being operated by Ukrainian technicians while occupied by Russian troops.Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP

Russian forces occupy Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. Russian and Ukrainian forces are...

Some refugees stay in temporary status indefinitely – how they still manage to create homes and communities

Written by Anita H. Fábos, Professor of International Development, Community, and Environment, Clark University

A cafe in Cairo, Egypt, that is predominantly visited by Sudanese migrants, in August 2017.Oliver Weiken/picture alliance via Getty Images

More than 6.5 million Ukrainian war refugees are now scattered across Europe and North America, most with temporary emergency residency allowing them to stay in host countries for one to three years.

But roughly...

Salman Rushdie wasn't the first novelist to suffer an assassination attempt by someone who hadn't read their book

Written by Jonathan Bate, Foundation Professor of Environmental Humanities, Arizona State University

A still from the film version of Hugo Bettauer's prophetic 1922 novel 'The City Without Jews.'Barbican

Hadi Matar, the man charged with the attempted murder of the distinguished novelist Salman Rushdie, admitted that he had only “read like two pages” of “The Satanic Verses,” Rushdie’s 1988 novel that angered...