The Conversation

Mining powers modern life, but can leave scarred lands and polluted waters behind

Written by Matthew Ross, Assistant Professor of Water Quality, Colorado State University

The Bingham Canyon open-pit copper mine in Utah has operated since 1903.David Guthrie/Flickr, CC BY

Modern society relies on metals like copper, gold and nickel for uses ranging from medicine to electronics. Most of these elements are rare in Earth’s crust, so mining them requires displacing vast volumes of dirt and rock. Hard rock mining...

People are increasingly interrupted at work, but it's not all bad

Written by Elana Feldman, Assistant Professor of Business, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Between email, Slack and social media, you may need three devices to handle all the interruptions.Artie Medvedev/Shutterstock.com

An email pops up on your screen. It’s a client sharing a project update. A Slack message appears. It’s your boss asking a question. A text alert beeps. A colleague wants to know if you will be attending a...

New England power line corridors harbor rare bees and other wild things

Written by David L. Wagner, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut

A rich diversity of animals thrive in these rights-of-way.Author provided

To many people, power line corridors are eyesores that alter wild lands and landscapes, even if they are necessary sites for transmission lines that deliver electricity.

But ecologically, the swaths of open, scrubby landscapes under transmission lines support a rich and...

America now solves problems with troops, not diplomats

Written by Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

Is America a bully?

As a scholar, under the auspices of the Military Intervention Project, I have been studying every episode of U.S. military intervention from 1776 to 2017.

Historically, the U.S. advanced from a position of isolationism to one of reluctant intervenor, to global policeman. Based on my research since 2001, I believe that the U.S....

3 questions about vodka, answered

Written by Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor, Hospitality Management, Colorado State University

Actor Roger Moore poses with a martini after learning he would play the British secret agent James Bond.AP Photo

Towards the end of Ian Fleming’s spy novel “Dr. No,” James Bond orders a vodka dry martini – “Shaken and not stirred please.”

The novel was published in 1958, at the height of the Cold War. But four...

Curious Kids: How do my eyes adjust to the dark and how long does it take?

Written by Mark D. Fairchild, Professor of Color Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

Give yourself time and you can see in the dark.Anton Watman/Shutterstock.com

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

How long does it take for your eyes to adjust to the dark and how does it happen? – Ellen T., 8, Cambridge,...

This year at the Supreme Court: Gay rights, gun rights and Native rights

Written by Morgan Marietta, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

The Supreme Court begins its newest session on the first Monday in October.AP/J. Scott Applewhite

The Supreme Court begins its annual session on Oct. 7 and will take up a series of cases likely to have political reverberations in the 2020 elections.

Major cases this year address the immigration program for young people (“Dreamers”) known...

Trump's bad Nixon imitation may cost him the presidency

Written by Ken Hughes, Research Specialist, the Miller Center, University of Virginia

President Richard Nixon, left, and President Donald Trump, right.AP//Frank C. Curtin; REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Whatever Donald Trump does, Richard Nixon usually did it first and better.

Nixon got a foreign government’s help to win a presidential election over 50 years ago. Trump’s imitation of the master has proven far from perfect, and...

What moons in other solar systems reveal about planets like Neptune and Jupiter

Written by Bradley Hansen, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles

Exomoons orbiting an exoplanet outside our solar system.Dotted Yeti/Shutterstock.com

What is the difference between a planet-satellite system as we have with the Earth and Moon, versus a binary planet – two planets orbiting each other in a cosmic do-si-do?

I am an astronomer interested in planets orbiting nearby stars, and gas giants –...

Gandhi's 150th birthday: A little-remembered philosopher translated the Mahatma's ideas of nonviolence for Americans

Written by John Charles Wooding, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell

School children in India celebrate Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary.AP Photo/Altaf Qadri

October this year marks Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birthday. One of the 20th century’s most iconic figures, Gandhi’s legacy defines how many people think about peace, self-reflection and the path to a more just world.

Much less celebrated...