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The Rio Grande isn't just a border – it's a river in crisis

  • Written by Vianey Rueda, PhD Student in Resource Ecology Management, University of Michigan
imageThe Rio Grande, viewed from the Zaragoza International Bridge between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.Vianey Rueda, CC BY-ND

The Rio Grande is one of the longest rivers in North America, running some 1,900 miles (3,060 kilometers) from the Colorado Rockies southeast to the Gulf of Mexico. It provides fresh water for seven U.S. and Mexican...

Read more: The Rio Grande isn't just a border – it's a river in crisis

Backlash to the oil CEO leading the UN climate summit overlooks his ambitious agenda for COP28 – and concerns of the Global South

  • Written by Ibrahim Ozdemir, Professor of Philosophy, Uskudar University; Visiting Professor, Clark University
imageSultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of the United Arab Emirates' state oil company, will be leading the COP28 United Nations climate conference.Francois Walschaerts/AFP via Getty Images

In December 2023, negotiators from countries worldwide will meet in the United Arab Emirates for the next round of international climate talks. While the talks are...

Read more: Backlash to the oil CEO leading the UN climate summit overlooks his ambitious agenda for COP28 –...

Space rocks and asteroid dust are pricey, but these aren't the most expensive materials used in science

  • Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
imageMeteorites can get pricey, but they're not the most expensive material. AP Photo/Thibault Camus

After a journey of seven years and nearly 4 billion miles, NASA’s OSIRIS-RExspacecraft landed gently in the Utah desert on the morning of Sept. 24, 2023, with a precious payload. The spacecraft brought back a sample from the asteroid Bennu.

imageOSIRIS-RE...

Read more: Space rocks and asteroid dust are pricey, but these aren't the most expensive materials used in...

How 'La Catrina' became the iconic symbol of Day of the Dead

  • Written by Mathew Sandoval, Associate Teaching Professor in Culture & Performance, Arizona State University
imageA girl dressed as a 'catrina' takes part in the Catrinas Parade in Mexico City to celebrate Day of the Dead.Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

On April 13, 1944, thousands of people clashed with police on the steps of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The melee was unrelated to U.S. participation in World War II, labor unrest or President Franklin D....

Read more: How 'La Catrina' became the iconic symbol of Day of the Dead

Hot-button topics may get public attention at the Vatican synod, but a more fundamental issue for the Catholic Church is at the heart of debate

  • Written by Richard Wood, President, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageDelegates attend the opening of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Oct. 4, 2023, at the Vatican. Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images

High-ranking Catholics from across the globe have converged on the Vatican, where a landmark initiative is underway that will shape the future of the Catholic Church.

Cardinals, bishops, priests...

Read more: Hot-button topics may get public attention at the Vatican synod, but a more fundamental issue for...

GOP's House paralysis is a crisis in a time of crises

  • Written by Stefanie Lindquist, Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science, Arizona State University
imageThere's trouble under the U.S. Capitol dome. iStock / Getty Images Plus

House Republicans fired one leader, Kevin McCarthy, and have spent almost three weeks trying unsuccessfully to choose another to succeed him as speaker of the House. That’s left the U.S. House of Representatives unable to do its work, paralyzing the entire legislative...

Read more: GOP's House paralysis is a crisis in a time of crises

The Israel-Hamas war deepens the struggle between US and Iran for influence in the Middle East

  • Written by John Ciorciari, Professor of Public Policy, University of Michigan
imageIranians stage a rally outside the former U.S. embassy in Tehran in 2022. Contributor#072019/Getty Images

As Israel readies for a ground invasion of Gaza, and Palestinian and Israeli civilian deaths continue to mount, a broader struggle for influence continues in the Middle East between the United States and Iran.

The U.S. has long played an...

Read more: The Israel-Hamas war deepens the struggle between US and Iran for influence in the Middle East

Biological sex is far from binary − this college course examines the science of sex diversity in people, fungi and across the animal kingdom

  • Written by Ari Berkowitz, Presidential Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Biology; Director, Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma
imageBiological sex comes in many more forms than just male or female.Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Imagesimage

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Diversity of Biological Sex Characteristics

What prompted the idea for the course?

Most people view biological sex,...

Read more: Biological sex is far from binary − this college course examines the science of sex diversity in...

A layered lake is a little like Earth’s early oceans − and lets researchers explore how oxygen built up in our atmosphere billions of years ago

  • Written by Elizabeth Swanner, Associate Professor of Geology, Iowa State University
imageResearchers sample water from various layers to analyze back in the lab.Elizabeth Swanner, CC BY-ND

Little Deming Lake doesn’t get much notice from visitors to Itasca State Park in Minnesota. There’s better boating on nearby Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. My colleagues and I need to maneuver hundreds of pounds of...

Read more: A layered lake is a little like Earth’s early oceans − and lets researchers explore how oxygen...

Key Trump co-defendants accept plea deals – a legal expert explains what that means

  • Written by Cynthia Alkon, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University
imageKenneth Chesebro, left, is sworn in during his plea deal hearing in Atlanta on Oct. 20, 2023.Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP

Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, two people charged in Georgia with racketeering and other crimes alongside former President Donald Trump, have accepted plea deals that let them avoid the jail time their original charges...

Read more: Key Trump co-defendants accept plea deals – a legal expert explains what that means

More Articles ...

  1. For the Osage Nation, the betrayal of the murders depicted in 'Killers of the Flower Moon' still lingers
  2. How much time do kids spend on devices – playing games, watching videos, texting and using the phone?
  3. Hezbollah alone will decide whether Lebanon − already on the brink of collapse − gets dragged into Israel-Hamas war
  4. Delivering aid during war is tricky − here’s what to know about what Gaza relief operations may face
  5. New research helps explain why Indian girls appear to be less engaged in politics than Indian boys
  6. A memorial in Yiddish, Italian and English tells the stories of Triangle Shirtwaist fire victims − testament not only to tragedy but to immigrant women's fight to remake labor laws
  7. Quantum dots − a new Nobel laureate describes the development of these nanoparticles from basic research to industry application
  8. Does chicken soup really help when you're sick? A nutrition specialist explains what's behind the beloved comfort food
  9. New class of recyclable polymer materials could one day help reduce single-use plastic waste
  10. Health care workers gain 21% wage increase in pending agreement with Kaiser Permanente after historic strike
  11. House speaker paralysis is confusing – a political scientist explains what's happening
  12. COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health
  13. Hamas was unpopular in Gaza before it attacked Israel – surveys showed Gazans cared more about fighting poverty than armed resistance
  14. What do a Black scientist, nonprofit executive and filmmaker have in common? They all face racism in the ‘gray areas’ of workplace culture
  15. Nonprofits can become more resilient by spending more on fundraising and admin − new research
  16. Biden’s Middle East trip has messages for both global and domestic audiences
  17. New technique uses near-miss particle physics to peer into quantum world − two physicists explain how they are measuring wobbling tau particles
  18. Babe Ruth, patron saint of the home run, turned the ball field into a church – and lived his own Catholic faith in the spotlight
  19. What is a virtual power plant? An energy expert explains
  20. Israel is getting a surge in donations from the US in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks
  21. Louise Glück honed her poetic voice across a lifetime to speak to us from beyond the grave
  22. #UsToo: How antisemitism and Islamophobia make reporting sexual misconduct and abuse of power harder for Jewish and Muslim women
  23. What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West
  24. What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West
  25. What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence tells us about the future of fires in the West
  26. Decades of underfunding, blockade have weakened Gaza's health system − the siege has pushed it into abject crisis
  27. A reflexive act of military revenge burdened the US − and may do the same for Israel
  28. Gangsters are the villains in 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government
  29. Gun deaths among children and teens have soared – but there are ways to reverse the trend
  30. Why is space so dark even though the universe is filled with stars?
  31. How the 'laws of war' apply to the conflict between Israel and Hamas
  32. Deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust spurs a crisis of confidence in the idea of Israel – and its possible renewal
  33. Reflections on hope during unprecedented violence in the Israel-Hamas war
  34. An itching paradox – a molecule that triggers the urge to scratch also turns down inflammation in the skin
  35. Wildfire smoke leaves harmful gases in floors and walls − air purifiers aren’t enough, new study shows, but you can clean it up
  36. Empire building has always come at an economic cost for Russia – from the days of the czars to Putin's Ukraine invasion
  37. Steep physical decline with age is not inevitable – here's how strength training can change the trajectory
  38. From ancient Jewish texts to androids to AI, a just-right sequence of numbers or letters turns matter into meaning
  39. Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system works well – here's how Hamas got around it
  40. This engineering course has students use their brainwaves to create performing art
  41. Gaza depends on UN and other global aid groups for food, medicine and basic services – Israel-Hamas war means nothing is getting in
  42. Intelligence failure or not, the Israeli military was unprepared to respond to Hamas' surprise attack
  43. Philadelphia bans supervised injection sites – evidence suggests keeping drug users on the street could do more harm than good
  44. Horseshoe crab blood is vital for testing intravenous drugs, but new synthetic alternatives could mean pharma won't bleed this unique species dry
  45. How Chicana women artists have often used the figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe for political messages
  46. Vaccines against COVID-19, the seasonal flu and RSV are our best chance of preventing a winter surge
  47. What is a strong El Niño? Meteorologists anticipate a big impact in winter 2023, but the forecasts don't all agree
  48. Astronomers have learned lots about the universe − but how do they study astronomical objects too distant to visit?
  49. How did Israeli intelligence miss Hamas' preparations to attack? A US counterterrorism expert explains how Israeli intelligence works
  50. Rising oil prices, surging inflation: The Arab embargo 50 years ago weaponized oil to inflict economic trauma – sound familiar?