The Conversation

Coronavirus responses highlight how humans are hardwired to dismiss facts that don't fit their worldview

Written by Adrian Bardon, Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University

The more politicized an issue, the harder it is for people to absorb contradictory evidence.Drew Angerer/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Bemoaning uneven individual and state compliance with public health recommendations, top U.S. COVID-19 adviser Anthony Fauci recently blamed the country’s ineffective pandemic response on an American...

Prisoners in US suffering dementia may hit 200,000 within the next decade – many won't even know why they are behind bars

Written by Rachel Lopez, Associate Professor of Law, Drexel University

An inmate at California Men's Colony prison.Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Prison officials are bracing for a silver tsunami that will flood correctional facilities with elderly and often vulnerable prisoners.

Like the rest of the United States population, the prison population is aging fast. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that by 2030, people over the...

Economic policies can induce people to quarantine safely during the pandemic

Written by Roberto Chang, Distinguished Professor of Economics, Rutgers University

Folks are more likely to social distance properly if there are economic incentives to do so.Malte Mueller/Getty Images

Recent economic proposals to deal with COVID-19, like those summarized by UC Berkeley economist Pierre Olivier Gourinchas, have focused on compensating households and businesses for income losses due to lockdowns and other health...

A selective retreat from trade with China makes sense for the United States

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

A moored container ship in Qingdao, China.Getty Images

Trade tensions and mistrust are escalating between the U.S. and China. Soon after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that China recommitted to its January trade deal obligations after a face-to-face meeting with Beijing’s top diplomat on June 17, he upbraided the country for...

5 things you should do right now to fight the rising number of COVID-19 cases

Written by Kacey Ernst, Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Arizona

Wearing a mask and using hand sanitizers can protect you and your family at this critical time. d3sign/Getty Images

The increase of COVID-19 cases across the country calls for quick action. Sure, you and your family are exhausted from distancing, you miss your loved ones and you want to get back to your support groups or church.

But the...

What doctors know about lingering symptoms of coronavirus

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

Geoffrey McKillop (front) with his partner Nicola Dallet McConaghie as they left the hospital where he was discharged after surviving coronavirus. Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images

With over 2 million cases in the U.S. since the coronavirus pandemic began in late December, there are now many people who have recovered from COVID-19. At the...

Why safely reopening high school sports is going to be a lot harder than opening college and pro ball

Written by Tamara Hew-Butler, Associate Professor of Exercise and Sports Science, Wayne State University

Ongoing testing, say the authors, is critical to bringing back amateur sports.Getty Images / Erik Isakson

Along with the revival of professional sports comes the yearning for a return to amateur sports – high school, college and club. Governing officials are now offering guidance as to when and how to resume play.

However, lost in the...

How fake accounts constantly manipulate what you see on social media – and what you can do about it

Written by Jeanna Matthews, Full Professor, Computer Science, Clarkson University

All is not as it appears on social media.filadendron/E+ via Getty Images

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram started out as a way to connect with friends, family and people of interest. But anyone on social media these days knows it’s increasingly a divisive landscape.

Undoubtedly you’ve heard reports that...

A massive public health effort eradicated smallpox but scientists are still studying the deadly virus

Written by Patricia L. Foster, Professor Emerita of Biology, Indiana University

Today smallpox can only be found in deep freeze inside a few highly secured laboratories, like this one at the CDC in 1980.CDC, CC BY

Smallpox was a terrible scourge on humanity, killing hundreds of millions of people over the centuries. But its origin remains obscure. Egyptian mummies from 3,000 to 4,000 years ago, including that of Pharaoh Ramses...

1 in 10 HBCUs were financially fragile before COVID-19 endangered all colleges and universities

Written by Gregory N. Price, Professor of Economics, University of New Orleans

Howard University, in Washington, D.C., recently got its finances in order.Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

By reducing enrollment and disrupting instruction, the COVID-19 pandemic is generating financial distress for all colleges and universities.

Schools that were already financially fragile before this health emergency...