The Conversation

To understand why Biden extended tariffs on solar panels, take a closer look at their historical impact

Written by David J. Feldman, Financial Analyst, National Renewable Energy Laboratory

China's cheaper solar panels made it harder for U.S. companies to compete.Ruan Xuefeng/VCG via Getty Images

President Joe Biden extended tariffs on imported solar panels in February 2022 in a bid to protect domestic manufacturing. These tariffs add a 14%-15% tax on cheaper imports, raising their cost in the U.S. At the same time, the Biden...

The cheerful lexicon of the Spanish language may help solve a health mystery called the Hispanic Paradox

Written by Maria Magdalena Llabre, Professor of Psychology, University of Miami

Clues to solve the paradox have emerged from an unlikely place. Jose Luis Pelaez/Stone via Getty Images

In early December 2021, I was seeing a physical therapist for a shoulder injury. During one of my visits, the therapist was alternating between me and another patient on an adjacent bed, who had a knee replacement. While the therapist worked on...

What is palliative care? How is it different from hospice?

Written by Yael Schenker, Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

Palliative care tries to support a patient's quality of life.Pekic/E+ via Getty Images

When most people hear the term palliative care, they look worried or confused. Introducing myself to patients and families as a palliative medicine physician, I commonly hear things like, “Does this mean I am dying?” or “I am not ready for...

Ukrainian refugees might not return home, even long after the war eventually ends

Written by Sandra Joireman, Weinstein Chair of International Studies, Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused more than 4.2 million people to flee to the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania, Moldova and elsewhere.

Russia’s violence against civilians and attacks on cities caused an additional 6.5 million or more people to become internally displaced. They left their homes but moved within Ukraine...

5 ways Americans' lives will change if Congress makes daylight saving time permanent

Written by Steve Calandrillo, Professor of Law, University of Washington

Some people dread the time change that occurs twice a year -- and for good reason.AP Photo/Elise Amendola

The U.S. Senate approved the Sunshine Protection Act in March 2022, with the goal of making daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023. If that happens, the U.S. will never again “spring forward” or “fall...

How Ukraine has defended itself against cyberattacks – lessons for the US

Written by Robert Peacock, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida International University

As missiles rain down on Ukraine's telecommunications infrastructure, including Kyiv's TV tower, hackers have been attacking in cyberspace.Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

In 2014, as Russia launched a proxy war in Eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea, and in the years that followed, Russian hackers hammered Ukraine. The cyberattacks went so far...

Ketanji Brown Jackson and the color blind society of Martin Luther King Jr.

Written by Bev-Freda Jackson, Adjunct Professorial Lecturer, American University School of Public Affairs

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson in a US Senate office on March 29, 2022.Alex Wong/Getty Images

U.S. Sen. Chuck E. Grassley had a question for Ketanji Brown Jackson during her confirmation hearings to be the first African American woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Grassley, the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wanted...

Har Gobind Khorana: The chemist who cracked DNA's code and made the first artificial gene was born into poverty 100 years ago in an Indian village

Written by Sahotra Sarkar, Professor of Philosophy and Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

Har Gobind Khorana pieced together how DNA encoded for the proteins that life relies on.AP Photo/Paul Shane

2022 marks the 100th birthday of Nobel Prize winning chemist Har Gobind Khorana – or so we think. The exact date of his birth is not known, because Khorana was born in poverty in a British Indian class that rarely recorded such dates....

Putin is staking his political future on victory in Ukraine – and has little incentive to make peace

Written by Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin won't be easy.Mikhail Klimentyev/SputnikAFP via Getty Images

Despite stop-and-start peace talks, a resolution to the brutal war in Ukraine appears distant.

Major cities in Ukraine are faltering. Civilians, including children, are dying of shrapnel and glass wounds, exposure and thirst.

At the same...

Using lies and disinformation, Putin and his team have been building the case for a Ukraine invasion for 14 years

Written by Juris Pupcenoks, Associate Professor of Political Science, Marist College

The destroyed fuel station in Stoyanka, Ukraine. Putin has been laying the rhetorical groundwork for the invasion of Ukraine for years. Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

As the invasion of Ukraine began in late February 2022, President Vladimir Putin offered several justifications for why Russia had no other option.

First: Russia needed to fight the...