The Conversation

How Iran's military outsources its cyberthreat forces

Written by Dorothy Denning, Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Defense Analysis, Naval Postgraduate School

In the wake of the U.S. killing of a top Iranian general and Iran’s retaliatory missile strike, should the U.S. be concerned about the cyberthreat from Iran? Already, pro-Iranian hackers have defaced several U.S. websites to protest the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. One group wrote “This is only a small part of Iran’s...

If the Romance Writers of America can implode over racism, no group is safe

Written by Christine Larson, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado Boulder

While 97% of Romance Writers of America members are women, only 14% are people of color.Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Over the past month, Romance Writers of America, one of the country’s largest writing associations, with over 9,000 members, has erupted in a race-related scandal.

The controversy began when...

What a bundle of buzzing bees can teach engineers about robotic materials

Written by Orit Peleg, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Colorado Boulder

Individuals working together as one.Orit Peleg and Jacob Peters, CC BY-ND

Gathered inside a small shed in the midst of a peaceful meadow, my colleagues and I are about to flip the switch to start a seemingly mundane procedure: using a motor to shake a wooden board. But underneath this board, we have a swarm of roughly 10,000 honeybees, clinging to...

Stoneflies and mayflies, canaries of our streams

Written by Boris Kondratieff, Professor of Entomology and Curator of the C. P. Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Colorado State University

The presence of mayflies and stone flies indicates clean water is nearby.Andrew/flickr, CC BY-NC

Experienced anglers recognize that for a trout, the ultimate “steak dinner” is a stonefly or mayfly. That’s why fly fishing enthusiasts will go to extreme lengths to imitate these graceful, elegant and fragile insects.

I share their...

When politicians turn immigration into a 'crisis,' they hurt their own people

Written by Megan A. Carney, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, University of Arizona

An Italian official gestures at migrants waiting to disembark in the Sicilian port of Catania in August 2018.Giovanni Isolino/AFP via Getty Images

A massive influx of immigrants on the southern border led to record numbers of people entering the country without legal permission, record numbers of migrant deaths and the criminalization of...

Snacks after youth sports add more calories than kids burn while playing, study says

Written by Jay Maddock, Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University

Clark Moss, 12, of Gilbert, Ariz., shows the chips and drink he received after his soccer match, Jan. 18, 2020.Kristi Moss, CC BY-SA

Youth sports leagues are a great way for children to get physical activity, develop teamwork and create friendships. Research has shown that youth who participate in sports leagues are eight times as likely to be...

Is secondhand screen time the new secondhand smoking?

Written by Joelle Renstrom, Lecturer of Rhetoric, Boston University

Babies need to make eye contact with people, not phones.AFP via Getty

The Environmental Protection Agency first warned of secondhand smoke in 1991, some 30 years after scientists determined that smoking cigarettes causes cancer. Today, a growing body of research points toward a new indirect health hazard.

Just as frequently being around other people...

Where are the Hispanic executives?

Written by JD Swerzenski, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst

American executives only represent a fraction of the workforce.UfaBizPhoto/The Conversation

Many organizations have prioritized workplace equality and access to high-paying, executive level jobs for minority groups in recent years.

Several 2020 presidential candidates are putting forward plans to increase minority executive positions by diversifing...

Is it ethical to show Holocaust images?

Written by Paul Morrow, Human Rights Fellow, University of Dayton

A wall-size image at the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum that shows Jewish prisoners marching. The Nazis killed prisoners during these marches.AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

Seventy-five years ago, the world first saw the horrors of Nazi concentration camps.

Shot by photographers Lee Miller, George Rodger and others, and published in Time, the...

Giving is changing as philanthropy faces more scrutiny

Written by Emily Schwartz Greco, Philanthropy + Nonprofits Editor, The Conversation

The foundation Bill and Melinda Gates run has more assets than any other. AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

The more than US$400 billion Americans donate annually to charitable causes of all kinds, such as houses of worship, universities and efforts to cure cancer, add up to around 2% of the economy. The Indiana University Lilly Family School of...