The Conversation

Going nuclear? Why a growing number of Washington’s allies are eyeing an alternative to US umbrella

Written by Amy McAuliffe, Visiting Distinguished Professor of the Practice, University of Notre Dame

American allies contemplate a post-U.S. nuclear umbrella future.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Canadians are openly discussing the merits and risks of pursuing a nuclear weapon. Europeans are similarly considering a nuclear deterrent for the bloc. In South Korea, public support for a nuclear weapon is at its highest level on record, and even in Japan some...

Iran’s nuclear materials and equipment remain a danger in an active war zone

Written by Matthew Bunn, Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

A satellite photograph shows construction work and buildings at a site known as Pickaxe Mountain, which is believed to store Iranian nuclear material and equipment.Satellite image (c) 2026 Vantor via Getty Images

Before launching his war on Iran, President Donald Trump said his most important goal was that Iran would “never have a nuclear...

With AI finishing your sentences, what will happen to your unique voice on the page?

Written by Gayle Rogers, Professor of English, University of Pittsburgh

Predictive language technologies are making prose less distinct.echo1/iStock via Getty Images

It’s a familiar feeling: You start a text message, and your phone’s auto-complete function suggests several choices for the next word, ranging from banal to hilarious. “I love…” you, or coffee? Or you’re finishing an...

Cancer vaccines could transform treatment and prevention – but misinformation about mRNA vaccines threatens their potential

Written by Dannell D. Boatman, Assistant Professor and Health Communication Researcher, West Virginia University

A cancer vaccine would only help patients if they were willing to take it.Javier Zayas Photography/Moment via Getty Images

Scientists are making rapid progress toward a long-awaited goal that could help to reshape cancer care: mRNA cancer vaccines with the potential to significantly boost the immune system’s ability to fight and eliminate...

Researchers develop biodegradable, plant-based packaging from natural fibers – new research

Written by J. Carson Meredith, Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

Plastic packaging fills up landfills – engineers are working on a bio-based alternative that could replace the kind shown here. tuk69tuk/iStock via Getty Images

Jie Wu, an engineering graduate student, was studying a type of striking white beetle found in Southeast Asia and attempting to figure out how to mimic its brilliant color when an...

My research on wheelchair basketball challenges one of the biggest assumptions about sex differences in sports

Written by Leanne Snyder, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science, Loyola University Chicago

Physiological differences between women and men in sports may be far less pronounced in wheelchair basketball players.Steph Chambers/Staff via Getty Images Sports

Every March, millions of Americans fill out brackets and tune in to watch the NCAA college basketball tournaments known as March Madness. The men’s and women’s competitions...

Magic mushroom-infused products appear in Colorado gas stations – what public health officials want consumers to know

Written by David Kroll, Professor of Natural Products Pharmacology & Toxicology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

This isn't the first time psilocybin-laced products have been found in Denver.John Moore/Getty Images

A Denver food and cannabis investigator became suspicious of PolkaDot-branded chocolate bars sitting next to convenience store energy shots and nicotine pouches in January 2026.

Months earlier, California public health officials warned about...

Tax changes taking effect in 2026 may boost the number of donors but lead to the US missing out on an estimated $5.7B a year in charitable giving

Written by Jon Bergdoll, Associate Director of Data Partnerships at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University

New tax policies could change who gives and how much people and corporations donate. sesame/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

Many provisions in the huge tax-and-spending package that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4, 2025, sometimes called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will influence how much money Americans give to charity....

In war-torn Iran, air pollution from burning oil depots and bombed buildings unleashes invisible health threats

Written by Armin Sorooshian, Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona

A woman sifts through the rubble in her home after it was damaged by a missile on March 15, 2026, in Tehran. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

The waves of U.S. and Israeli bomb strikes in Tehran and Beirut, and Iran’s missile and drone attacks on neighboring countries in response, are damaging more than buildings – they are sending toxic debris...

Paul Ehrlich, often called alarmist for dire warnings about human harms to the Earth, believed scientists had a responsibility to speak out

Written by William J. (Bill) Kovarik, Professor of Communication, Radford University

Biologist Paul R. Ehrlich in 2010.Paul R. Ehrlich/Wikipedia, CC BY

Stanford University biologist Paul Ehrlich, who died March 15, 2026, in Palo Alto, California, was a scientific crusader whose dire predictions about population growth, world hunger and environmental collapse made headlines and sparked controversy for decades.

Sometimes called a...