NewsCo

The Conversation

What are phthalates, and how do they put children's health at risk?

  • Written by Stephanie Eick, Postdoctoral Researcher in Reproductive Health, University of California, San Francisco
imagePhthalates can be found in many common products and types of plastic packaging.Curtoicurto via Getty Images, CC BY-ND

You may not realize it, but you likely encounter phthalates every day. These chemicals are found in many plastics, including food packaging, and they can migrate into food products during processing. They’re in personal care...

Read more: What are phthalates, and how do they put children's health at risk?

Meatpacking plants have been deadly COVID-19 hot spots – but policies that encourage workers to show up sick are legal

  • Written by Ruqaiijah Yearby, Professor of Law, Saint Louis University
imageNearly 1,000 workers at this Smithfield Foods pork-processing plant in South Dakota contracted COVID-19 between mid-March and mid-April 2020. Kerem Yucel / AFP via Getty Images

Working in meatpacking plants has always been dangerous. A recent study shows that it became deadlier in the era of COVID-19, even as company profits soared.

This analysis,...

Read more: Meatpacking plants have been deadly COVID-19 hot spots – but policies that encourage workers to...

Can vaccinated people still spread the coronavirus?

  • Written by Deborah Fuller, Professor of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Washington
imageVaccinated people are wondering whether they can ease social distancing and mask-wearing.AP Photo/Darko Bandic

Editor’s note: So you’ve gotten your coronavirus vaccine, waited the two weeks for your immune system to respond to the shot and are now fully vaccinated. Does this mean you can make your way through the world like the old...

Read more: Can vaccinated people still spread the coronavirus?

Misinformation-spewing cable companies come under scrutiny

  • Written by Joshua Braun, Associate Professor of Journalism, University of Massachusetts Amherst
imageIf its services help deliver misinformation to your home, what responsibility does Comcast have for that?AP Photo/Mike Stewart

Looking at political violence in the U.S., a New Jersey state legislator sent a text message to an executive of cable television giant Comcast: “You feed this garbage, lies and all.” The cable channels Fox News...

Read more: Misinformation-spewing cable companies come under scrutiny

How does the Johnson Johnson vaccine compare to other coronavirus vaccines? 4 questions answered

  • Written by Maureen Ferran, Associate Professor of Biology, Rochester Institute of Technology
imageThe Johnson & Johnson vaccine only requires one dose. Phill Magoke/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the use of the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine in adults. Maureen Ferran, a virologist at the Rochester Institute of Technology, explains how this third authorized vaccine works and explores the...

Read more: How does the Johnson Johnson vaccine compare to other coronavirus vaccines? 4 questions answered

Alexei Navalny leads Russians in a historic battle against arbitrary rule, with words echoing Catherine the Great

  • Written by Hilde Hoogenboom, Associate Professor of Russian, Arizona State University
imageWomen form a human chain on Feb. 14 in central Moscow to support jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, his wife Yulia Navalnaya and other political prisoners. Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Tens of thousands of young Russians are protesting the leadership of Vladimir Putin nationwide in freezing temperatures. Thousands have been arrested.

Central...

Read more: Alexei Navalny leads Russians in a historic battle against arbitrary rule, with words echoing...

Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web

  • Written by Jennifer Grygiel, Assistant Professor of Communications (Social Media) & Magazine, News and Digital Journalism, Syracuse University
imageFacebook's decision to shut off sharing of Australian news made headlines across the nation.AP Photo/Rick Rycroft

When Facebook disabled Australians’ access to news articles on its platform, and blocked sharing of articles from Australian news organizations, the company moved a step closer to killing the World Wide Web – the...

Read more: Facebook's news blockade in Australia shows how tech giants are swallowing the web

Deported veterans, stranded far from home after years of military service, press Biden to bring them back

  • Written by Jennifer Martinez-Medina, PhD Candidate/Political Science Instructor, Portland State University
imageMexican-American deported veterans at a Memorial Day ceremony held annually on the bridge that connects Texas to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, May 28, 2018. Herika Martinz/ AFP via Getty Images

Ivan Ocon thought he would be headed back to civilian life as a U.S. citizen after serving the U.S. Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003.

Ocon, who was born in...

Read more: Deported veterans, stranded far from home after years of military service, press Biden to bring...

Audio chatrooms like Clubhouse have become the hot new media by tapping into the age-old appeal of the human voice

  • Written by Damian Radcliffe, Carolyn S. Chambers Professor in Journalism, University of Oregon
imageThe name "clubhouse" conveys a sense of exclusivity, belonging and connection.wundervisuals/E+ via Getty Images

Google “What is Clubhouse?” and you’ll find a flurry of articles written in the past few weeks about this fast-growing social network. It’s not yet a year old, and much of the buzz stems from the fact that...

Read more: Audio chatrooms like Clubhouse have become the hot new media by tapping into the age-old appeal of...

More Articles ...

  1. What public school students are allowed to say on social media may be about to change
  2. Giving while female: Women are more likely to donate to charities than men of equal means
  3. The exercise pill: How exercise keeps your brain healthy and protects it against depression and anxiety
  4. Many Black Americans aren’t rushing to get the COVID-19 vaccine – a long history of medical abuse suggests why
  5. What's behind $15,000 electricity bills in Texas?
  6. In Texas, price gouging during disasters is illegal – it is also on very shaky ethical ground
  7. AI is killing choice and chance – which means changing what it means to be human
  8. Engineered viruses can fight the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
  9. Relief or stimulus: What's the difference, and what it means for Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus package
  10. Black biomedical scientists still lag in research funding – here's why that matters to all Americans
  11. From 'aliens' to 'noncitizens' – the Biden administration is proposing to change a legal term to recognize the humanity of non-Americans
  12. How New York's 19th-century Jews turned Purim into an American party
  13. How Black cartographers put racism on the map of America
  14. When men started to obsess over six-packs
  15. Decision-making experts explain how to avoid arguments over where to get dinner together
  16. Why Black and Hispanic small-business owners have been so badly hit in the pandemic recession
  17. 5 ways parents can help kids avoid gender stereotypes
  18. How Philadelphia's Black churches overcame disease, depression and civil strife
  19. How to really fix COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling
  20. Child poverty in the U.S. could be slashed by monthly payments to parents – an idea proved in other rich countries and proposed by a prominent Republican decades ago
  21. Rev. Raphael Warnock's historic US Senate win broke more barriers than you may think
  22. Biden's Cabinet of many women shows other world leaders that US takes gender equality seriously
  23. How safe is your baby food? Company reports show arsenic, lead and other heavy metals – here's what you need to know
  24. An ancient Greek approach to risk and the lessons it can offer the modern world
  25. How safe is your baby food?
  26. What are the origins of Lent?
  27. John Keats' concept of 'negative capability' – or sitting in uncertainty – is needed now more than ever
  28. What I learned when I recreated the famous 'doll test' that looked at how Black kids see race
  29. How do arctic foxes hunt in the snow?
  30. If Big Tech has the will, here are ways research shows self-regulation can work
  31. Keeping trees in the ground where they are already growing is an effective low-tech way to slow climate change
  32. Space Force sounds like a joke thanks to pop culture – that could be a problem for an important military branch
  33. 3 ways companies could offer more father-friendly policies that will help women
  34. Women of color spend more than $8 billion on bleaching creams worldwide every year
  35. Rethinking the US-China fight: Does China really threaten American power abroad?
  36. Why do mass shootings spawn conspiracy theories?
  37. Australia, fighting Facebook, is the latest country to struggle against foreign influence on journalism
  38. How the Texas electricity system produced low-cost power but left residents out in the cold
  39. One month in, how Biden has changed disaster management and the US COVID-19 response
  40. How a mass suicide by slaves caused the legend of the flying African to take off
  41. Americans still need a lifeline despite trillions in coronavirus aid
  42. I interviewed 48 bankrupt Americans – here's who they blame for their financial troubles
  43. Air filters can scrub out pollutants near highways, reduce blood pressure
  44. Election violence spiked worldwide in 2020 – will this year be better?
  45. What belief in extraterrestrial visitors to Earth reveals about trust in elections
  46. 6 important truths about COVID-19 vaccines
  47. Black sororities have stood at the forefront of Black achievement for more than a century
  48. Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock
  49. Taking it to the street: Food vending during and after COVID-19
  50. How the National Guard became the go-to military force for riots and civil disturbances
Writers Wanted

.