The Conversation

Overactive immune cells can worsen heart failure – targeting them could offer new treatments

Written by Shyam Bansal, Associate Professor of Medicine, Penn State

Heart failure affects millions of people around the world.Yuichiro Chino/Moment via Getty Images

Around 64 million people worldwide suffer from heart failure, and nearly half die within the first five years of diagnosis due to a lack of effective treatments to stop the disease from getting worse.

Heart failure occurs when the heart’s ability...

AI-generated text is overwhelming institutions – setting off a no-win ‘arms race’ with AI detectors

Written by Bruce Schneier, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

Generative AI is enabling people to swamp all manner of institutions with documents, forms and messages.sekulicn/E+ via Getty Images

In 2023, the science fiction literary magazine Clarkesworld stopped accepting new submissions because so many were generated by artificial intelligence. Near as the editors could tell, many submitters pasted the...

How women are reinterpreting the menstrual taboos in Chinese Buddhism

Written by Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee

'Blood Pond Hell 'detail depicted in a 1940 Taipei Hell Scroll. The Trustees of the British Museum

In many religions and cultures, women who are menstruating or who just gave birth are not allowed to enter sacred sites, such as temples, or participate in religious rituals. This is because they are often seen as ritually impure.

Early Christians cite...

Has Little Caesars Arena boosted economic activity in Detroit? We looked at hotel and short-term rental industry data to find out

Written by Gidon Jakar, Assistant professor of sport management, University of Florida

Owners claimed the local economy would be the real winner when the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons play.Scott Legato/WireImage via Getty Images

Detroit’s population reportedly grew in 2023 for the first time in 60 years, a trend that has continued in recent years. Over the past decade, the city center has experienced substantial private and...

‘Less lethal’ crowd-control weapons still cause harm – 2 physicians explain what they are and their health effects

Written by Michele Heisler, Professor of Internal Medicine and Health Behavior and Health Equity, University of Michigan

A Border Patrol tactical unit agent dispenses pepper spray at a protester attempting to block an immigration officer's vehicle.Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images

Images and videos from Minneapolis, Chicago and other U.S. cities show masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents in military-style gear...

ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota − accused of violating 1st, 2nd, 4th and 10th amendment rights − are testing whether the Constitution can survive

Written by Michael J. Lansing, Professor of History, Augsburg University

ICE officers and federal agents clash with protesters in south Minneapolis after Alex Pretti was fatally shot by federal agents on Jan. 24, 2026. Richard Tsong-Taatarii/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Forcibly entering homes without a judicial warrant. Arresting journalists who reported on protests. Defying dozens of federal orders. Killing U.S. citizens...

Schools are increasingly telling students they must put their phones away – Ohio’s example shows mixed results following new bans

Written by Corinne Brion, Associate Professor in Educational Administration, University of Dayton

Schools with phone bans are often giving students the option of placing their devices in a locked case or a box.Hill Street Studios/iStock/Getty Images

Cellphones are everywhere – including, until recently, in schools.

Since 2023, 29 states, including New York, Vermont, Florida and Texas, have passed laws that require K-12 public schools to...

Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left out of those maps

Written by Melinda Laituri, Professor Emeritus of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability, Colorado State University

Gladys West, right, developed the mathematical models behind GPS.U.S. Navy/Wikimedia Commons

Although women have always been part of the mapping landscape, their contributions to cartography have long been overlooked.

Mapmaking has traditionally featured men, from Mercator’s projection of the world in the 1500s to land surveyors such as...

Congress has exercised minimal oversight over ICE, but that might change

Written by Claire Leavitt, Assistant Professor of Government, Smith College

President Donald Trump and Congress agreed to separate funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a larger spending bill that enables the federal government to continue operations. They now face a self-imposed deadline of Feb. 13, 2026, to negotiate potential changes to immigration enforcement.

The fact that funding for the department...

Lüften sounds simple – but ‘house-burping’ is more complicated in Pittsburgh

Written by William Bahnfleth, Professor of Architectural Engineering, Penn State

Lüften refers to the German practice of opening windows and sometimes doors to rapidly fill a house with outdoor air, at least a couple of times daily.Jan Nevidal/Getty Images

Recently, the German term “lüften” has been circulating on social media and trending on Google. The term refers to the practice of opening windows and...