The Conversation

What lessons can the clergy sex abuse crisis draw from a 4th-century church schism?

Written by Cavan W. Concannon, Associate Professor of Religion, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Following the recent revelations about sex abuse, many Christian communities are facing a crisis of trust.AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis

A string of sex abuse scandals have rocked Christian communities recently: In the Roman Catholic Church, revelations related to sex abuse by priests continue to unfold across the globe. Within the Southern Baptist...

Humans and machines can improve accuracy when they work together

Written by Davide Valeriani, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Multimodal Neuroimaging and Machine Learning, Harvard University

Let's work together.Olena Yakobchuk/Shutterstock.com

Whether artificial intelligence systems steal humans’ jobs or create new work opportunities, people will need to work together with them.

In my research I use sensors and computers to monitor how the brain itself processes decision-making. Together with another brain-computer interface...

Pregnant women shouldn't have to choose between a job and a healthy baby

Written by Jeannette Cox, Professor of Law, University of Dayton

Employers are required to accommodate the needs of pregnant women only in limited circumstances. FotoAndalucia/Shutterstock.com

Pregnant women in low-income work often face an unappealing choice: lose their job or perform duties that endanger their health and that of their baby.

Walmart, the biggest private employer in the U.S., is a case in point....

Ancient DNA is a powerful tool for studying the past – when archaeologists and geneticists work together

Written by Elizabeth Sawchuk, Postdoctoral Fellow and Research Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)

New technology means accessing new information from ancient human remains, some which have been in collections for decades.Elizabeth Sawchuk, CC BY-ND

DNA has moved beyond esoteric science and into the center of everyday conversations about identity, culture and politics. It’s also reshaping stories about the past as advances allow scientists...

Underwater mudslides are the biggest threat to offshore drilling, and energy companies aren't ready for them

Written by Ian MacDonald, Professor of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science, Florida State University

Oil sheen drifting from the site of the former Taylor Energy oil rig in the Gulf of MexicoAP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File

Like generals planning for the last war, oil company managers and government inspectors tend to believe that because they survived the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, they are ready for all contingencies. Today they are...

Millennials are US$1 trillion in debt – but they're better at saving than previous generations

Written by Jimmie Lenz, Adjunct Professor of Finance, University of South Carolina

Millennials carry more student loan debt than previous generations.Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

New findings from the New York Federal Reserve reveal that millennials have now racked up over US$1 trillion of debt.

This troubling amount of debt, an increase of over 22 percent in just five years, is more than any other generation in history. This...

Why Spain needs more feminism in the classroom

Written by María Soledad Andrés Gómez, Profesora Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Alcalá

Shuttersock

It was a crime that shocked all of Spain: Five men raped an 18-year-old woman at Pamplona’s running of the bulls in July 2016, in a brutal assault captured on tape by the attackers.

The case – known as La Manada, which means “mob” – led to national outrage in Spain, both online and in the streets, and a...

The US government might charge for satellite data again – here's why that would be a big mistake

Written by Zhe Zhu, Assistant Professor of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Connecticut

A Landsat view of Mount St. Helens in 2011.U.S. Geological Survey

Landsat is one of the most important U.S. satellite systems. Since the program’s launch in 1972, Landsat satellites have provided the longest-running terrestrial satellite record and collected more than 5.6 million images.

For a long time, the U.S. government charged a fee for...

Mass-market electric pickup trucks and SUVs are on the way

Written by Venkat Viswanathan, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University

A new plug-in electric truck is in development, along with an electric SUV.Richard Truesdell/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Electric vehicles – specifically, the Tesla Model 3 – are dominating the U.S. market for premium sedans, but are barely even on the radar in the busiest automotive category, which includes SUVs and pickup trucks.

The...

Could a booster shot of truth help scientists fight the anti-vaccine crisis?

Written by Lee McIntyre, Research Fellow Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University

Dr. Roberto Ieraci prepares to vaccinate a child in Rome on Feb. 23, 2018.Alessandro Tarantino/AP Photo

The recent outbreak of measles cases in Clark County, Washington – which has been linked to a plummeting vaccination rate in this hotbed of anti-vaccination activism – makes clear that conspiracy theories, fear, and misinformation...