The Conversation

Some funders are embracing 'trust-based philanthropy' by giving money without lots of obligations

Written by Emily Finchum-Mason, Doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Management, University of Washington

Taking grantees' word that they will spend money responsibly frees up time and can strengthen relationships.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

With most foundations, the board of directors and top executives set all funding priorities. Nonprofits seeking money from those funders, in turn, must demonstrate an intention to do work that...

Rural superintendents lament: 'We went from being heroes to villains'

Written by Gerald K. LeTendre, Professor of Educational Administration, Penn State

Teachers in Pennsylvania and around the world adapted to handle the pandemic.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

When the pandemic first closed schools in March 2020, it was an emergency response that upended the typical priorities of public education. Schools suddenly needed to distribute laptops and tablets, set up Wi-Fi hot spots, check on families and...

What makes religious relics – like pieces of the 'true cross' and hair of saints – sacred to Christians

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

Christian clergymen carry a wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem in 2019.AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean

A Russian missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sunk after it was heavily damaged in April 2022. Kremlin officials said that a fire on board caused munitions to explode, while Ukraini...

Will new vaccines be better at fighting coronavirus variants? 5 questions answered

Written by Vaibhav Upadhyay, Postdoctoral Fellow of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Dozens of coronavirus vaccines are in clinical trials in the U.S.Joao Paulo Burini/Moment via Getty Images

The first three coronavirus vaccines earned Emergency Use Authorization more than a year ago. To date, no other vaccines have been put into use in the U.S – but that will soon change. More than 40 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials i...

A boom in fitness trackers isn't leading to a boom in physical activity – men, women, kids and adults in developed countries are all moving less

Written by Scott A. Conger, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology, Boise State University

Since the mid-1990s, people have been doing less and less walking or bicycling to work and school and spending a lot more time staring at screens. RainStar/E+ via Getty Images

Worldwide sales of fitness trackers increased from US$14 billion in 2017 to over $36 billion in 2020. The skyrocketing success of these gadgets suggests that more people than...

Wastewater monitoring took off during the COVID-19 pandemic – and here's how it could help head off future outbreaks

Written by Susan De Long, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University

Sampling wastewater can be time-intensive.John Eisele/Colorado State University

A community’s sewage holds clues about its COVID-19 burden. Over the course of the pandemic, wastewater surveillance has become an increasingly popular way to try to understand local infection trends.

Microbiologists Susan De Long and Carol Wilusz met and became...

PFAS are showing up in children’s stain- and water-resistant products – including those labeled ‘nontoxic’ and ‘green’

Written by Kathryn Rodgers, Ph.D. Student in Environmental Health, Boston University

Stain-resistance can mean questionable chemicals in children's clothes.VM via Getty Images

Even if children’s stain- or water-resistant clothes are advertised as “green” or “nontoxic,” they might still contain PFAS, a group of manufactured “forever chemicals” that have been linked to a wide range of health...

Abortion right guaranteed by Roe will be replaced by state power if the Supreme Court adopts the leaked Alito opinion

Written by Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, UMass Lowell

Abortion rights battles look set to go from the Supreme Court to statehouses.Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/For The Washington Post via Getty Images

Draft opinions circulated among Supreme Court justices are meant to allow for deliberation and editing before a final version is released. They are not the last word, nor ready for public reaction.

But on the...

No, Biden can't just sell off seized Russian yachts and central bank assets to help aid Ukraine – international law and the US Constitution forbid it

Written by Paul B. Stephan, John C. Jeffries Jr. Distinguished Professor of Law and David H. Ibbeken '71 Research Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Biden wants to find a way to seize oligarch-owned yachts.AP Photo/Francisco Ubilla

The Biden administration wants to sell off the yachts, homes and other luxury assets it has seized from Russian oligarchs and use those proceeds to support reparations for Ukraine.

As part of his proposal for the latest aid package to Ukraine, President Joe Biden is...

What's at stake as Supreme Court appears intent on overturning Roe v. Wade -- 3 essential reads

Written by Matt Williams, Breaking News Editor

A women cries while kneeling in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 2022.Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

A leaked draft opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito suggests the Supreme Court is on the brink of overturning two rulings, including Roe v. Wade, that guarantee the right to abortion in the U.S.

The Supreme...