The Conversation

Afghans' lives and livelihoods upended even more as US occupation ends

Written by Abdulkader Sinno, Associate Professor of Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies, Indiana University

Forced from their homes by fighting between the Taliban and Afghan government forces, thousands of families seek refuge in a Kabul park.Haroon Sabawoon/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

The United States invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 with the goal of destroying al-Qaida and its Taliban hosts and, supposedly, establishing a democratic Afghan state a...

Schools can reopen safely – an epidemiologist describes what works and what's not worth the effort

Written by Brandon Guthrie, Associate Professor of Global Health and Epidemiology, University of Washington

Masks are an important tool for slowing the spread of COVID-19 in schools.Malte Mueller via Getty Images

Just when schools were getting ready to reopen for the new school year, cases of COVID-19 started surging in the United States, driven in large part by the more contagious delta variant. School administrators around the country are working to...

Rat poison is just one of the potentially dangerous substances likely to be mixed into illicit drugs

Written by C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

Impurities are often added to recreational drugs to mask poor quality.Sebastian Leesch/EyeEm via Getty Images

Over 150 people in Illinois started bleeding uncontrollably after using synthetic cannabis-based products – including fake marijuana, Spice and K2 – that contained the rat poison brodifacoum in March and April 2018. By the end...

Vladimir Putin plans to win Russia's parliamentary election no matter how unpopular his party is

Written by Regina Smyth, Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

President Vladimir Putin addresses his United Russia party at its June 2021 convention, where members convened to choose candidates and draft a strategy for the country's upcoming election. Grigory Sysoyev\TASS via Getty Images

Despite its dismal approval rating, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ruling political party can – and likely...

Why we missed hugs

Written by Kory Floyd, Professor of Communication, University of Arizona

Not being able to hold and hug loved ones has been one of the more difficult parts of the pandemic.Alex Chan Tsz Yuk/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Rose Gagnon could not hug her grandchildren for several months.

Not being able to see and touch her loved ones every day because of COVID-19’s social distancing protocols was taking a...

How a volcano and flaming red sunsets led an amateur scientist in Hawaii to discover jet streams

Written by Kevin Hamilton, Emeritus Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hawaii

The eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 sent volcanic dust and gases circling the Earth, creating spectacular sunsets captured by artists.William Ashcroft via Houghton Library/Harvard University

On the evening of Sept. 5, 1883, people in Honolulu witnessed a spectacular sunset followed by a period of extended twilight described as a “singular lurid...

'Freezer burn' is a serious problem – preventing ice recrystallization may alleviate it

Written by Tong (Toni) Wang, Professor, food scientist, University of Tennessee

Americans throw away around $5.89 billion worth of frozen food a year.E+ via Getty Images

Open the freezer door and there, way in the back, may be an old carton of ice cream growing spikes of ice. Or a forgotten frozen lasagna covered in icy crystals. Or drying of meat surfaces if not well covered.

People sometimes call this phenomenon “freeze...

Is it possible to recreate dinosaurs from their DNA?

Written by William Ausich, Professor Emeritus of Paleontology, The Ohio State University

_Tyrannosaurus rex_ was a relentless predator who lived during the Cretaceous Period more than 65 million years ago.Roger Harris/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

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Deciphering the symptoms of long COVID-19 is slow and painstaking – for both sufferers and their physicians

Written by Allison Navis, Assistant Professor of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

People suffering from long-term effects of COVID-19 face uncertainty about the nature of their symptoms and how long they might last. Halfpoint Images/Moment via Getty Images

My first patient that day was a woman in her early 40s, an avid marathon runner who had contracted COVID-19 in March 2020. Now, 13 months later, she noted that she still felt...

250 preschool kids get suspended or expelled each day - 5 questions answered

Written by Kate Zinsser, Professor of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

Pre-K students are more likely to be expelled than any K-12 grade.Heather Walker/RooM Collection via Getty Images

When parents think of a child getting kicked out of school, they might imagine drugs found stashed in a locker, a classroom that’s been vandalized, or some kind of sexual or other violent assault. But the fact is that it’s...