The Conversation

Money buys even more happiness than it used to

Written by Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology, San Diego State University

Don't listen to the old adage.PonyWang/Getty Images

Many factors determine happiness, but one has stirred considerable controversy over the years: money.

While the old adage says that money can’t buy happiness, several studies have determined that the more your income increases, the happier you are, up until US$75,000 a year. After hitting...

Vigilantism, again in the news, is an American tradition

Written by Jonathan Obert, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Amherst College

Armed white citizens and police have historically worked together in the U.S., though it's not clear whether that's what's happening here.George Frey/Getty Images

It’s a contentious time in the U.S., with a pandemic, racial equality, police violence and a presidential election all occupying people’s attention. Given all that stress, it...

With prizes, food, housing and cash, Putin rigged Russia's most recent vote

Written by Regina Smyth, Professor, Indiana University

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a polling station to cast his ballot in a nationwide vote on constitutional reforms in Moscow on July 1, 2020. Alexey Druzhinin/SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)

When Russians voted in early July on 200 constitutional amendments, officials rigged the election to create the illusion that President Vladimir Putin...

Cell-like decoys could mop up viruses in humans – including the one that causes COVID-19

Written by Liangfang Zhang, Professor of Nanoengineering, University of California San Diego

Duck decoys lure real ducks within range of hunters. Nanoparticles that look like cells serve as both decoys and hunters to ensnare virus particles.Chuck Holland/Flickr, CC BY-ND

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Researchers around the world are working frantically to develop COVID-19 vaccines meant to...

When states pass social liberalization laws, they create regional advantages for innovation

Written by Laurina Zhang, Assistant Professor of Strategy & Innovation, Boston University

Marriage equality supporters in 2006 probably had no idea the law they advocated would spur innovation.Darren McCollester/Getty Images News via Getty Images

What conditions lead to world-changing innovation? It’s an important question for business and government leaders.

Contrary to the traditional notion of the solitary scientist, new...

Aerosols are a bigger coronavirus threat than WHO guidelines suggest – here's what you need to know

Written by Byron Erath, Associate professor of fluid mechanics, Clarkson University

Aerosols are made up of tiny respiratory droplets suspended in the air.Jeffrey Coolidge via Getty Images

When someone coughs, talks or even breathes, they send tiny respiratory droplets into the surrounding air. The smallest of these droplets can float for hours, and there is strong evidence that they can carry live coronavirus if the person is...

Simply scrapping the SAT won't make colleges more diverse

Written by Guadalupe I. Lozano, Director, Center for University Education Scholarship, and Associate Reserach Professor of Mathematics, University of Arizona

College entrance exams are being rethought.Johnny Louis/Getty Images

When the University of California decided in early 2020 to stop using the ACT and SAT in admissions by 2025, the decision sparked discussions anew about how fair and useful college entrance exams are in the first place.

Studies have shown, for instance, that some SAT questions syste...

When Trump pushed hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19, hundreds of thousands of prescriptions followed despite little evidence that it worked

Written by Richard L. Kravitz, Professor of Health Policy and Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis

As public figures and some in the media touted hydroxychloroquine, prescriptions skyrocketed. Grace Cary / Moment via Getty Images

In late March and early April, President Trump repeatedly proclaimed that hydroxychloroquine could prevent or treat COVID-19. Within days, the number of prescriptions for the drug skyrocketed even though evidence it...

The Supreme Court just expanded the 'ministerial exception' shielding religious employers from anti-bias laws

Written by Steven K. Green, Professor of Law, Director of the Center for Religion, Law & Democracy, Willamette University

The ministerial exemptions ruling is one of several cases involving religious employers in front of the Supreme Court.Brooks Kraft LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

Should religious employers be allowed to discriminate?

When it comes to houses of worship selecting spiritual leaders, then the answer from lower courts has long been “yes.” Even...

COVID-19 exposes why the Postal Service needs to get back into the banking business

Written by Melanie G. Long, Assistant Professor of Economics, The College of Wooster

The USPS could do more than deliver mail.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Financial services play a major role in the economic lives of most Americans, from the moment their paychecks are directly deposited into a bank account to the loan taken out to buy their first home or car.

Yet over 12 million people – about 6% of U.S. adults – cannot access...