The Conversation

DNA apps promise deeper insights for consumers – but at what cost?

Written by Sarah Catherine Nelson, Research Scientist in Biostatistics and PhD Candidate in Public Health Genetics, University of Washington

Users may want to know more than what’s in a basic report from a genetic testing company.science photo/Shutterstock.com

Last month, law enforcement in California apprehended the alleged Golden State Killer, a serial murderer and rapist who terrorized the state during the 70s and 80s. Investigators triangulated to a suspect using a combination...

A sustainable, energy-saving way to make the key ingredient in fertilizers

Written by Xiaofeng Feng, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Central Florida

Ammonia production is one of the most energy-intensive industrial processes on the planet.By saoirse2013/shutterstock.com

Ammonia, with its unmistakable urinous odor, is a critical ingredient in agricultural fertilizers. With more than 145 million tonnes manufactured annually, only sulfuric acid outranks it as the world’s most produced...

Why China can't meet Trump's $200 billion trade demand

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

President Donald Trump has demanded China cut its trade deficit with the U.S. by US$200 billion by 2020 or face a host of punishing tariffs. After recent talks with the U.S., China agreed to reduce it but wouldn’t commit to a target.

Regardless, my research in international economics tells me that meeting Trump’s demand is implausible....

5 things to know about mass shootings in America

Written by Frederic Lemieux, Professor of the Practice and Faculty Director of the Master's in Applied Intelligence, Georgetown University

Outside Santa Fe High School in Texas on May 18, 2018.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

At least 10 students were killed at a Santa Fe, Texas high school on May 18 after a classmate opened fire with a shotgun and a .38 revolver.

The shooting came just three months after another teen shooter killed 17 in Parkland, Florida, sparking nationwide youth-led...

Scott Pruitt's approach to pollution control will make the air dirtier and Americans less healthy

Written by Robert Percival, Professor of Environmental Law, University of Maryland

Smog alert in Cleveland, Ohio, July 20, 1973.USEPA

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethical lapses and extravagant spending habits have distracted the public from what he is doing to roll back important environmental protections.

Pruitt helped persuade President Donald Trump to withdraw from the Paris climate accord,...

I teach refugees to map their world

Written by Brian Tomaszewski, Associate Professor of Information Sciences and Technologies, Rochester Institute of Technology

A scene from Zaatari refugee camp, Jordan.Brian Tomaszewski, CC BY-SA

I first visited the Zaatari refugee camp in early 2015. Located in northern Jordan, the camp is home to more than 80,000 Syrian refugees. I was there as part of a research study on refugee camp wireless and information infrastructure.

It’s one thing to read about refugees...

How lessons from childhood cancer care could improve adult cancer care

Written by Leonard L. Berry, University Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Mays Business School; Senior Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Texas A&M University

Cancer care for adults could be improved if caregivers provided the empathy they provide to children, the authors suggest. ESB Professional/Shutterstock.com

A cancer diagnosis is a firestorm that turns lives upside down. It may not be life-ending, but it almost always is life-changing.

Few life experiences are crueler than childhood cancer, but this...

The GOP's poor arguments for doubling down on SNAP's work requirements

Written by Patricia Smith, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan

More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP for groceries.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

Republicans aim to tighten the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program’s work requirements as part of the farm bill Congress is debating.

These changes would cut spending on this nutritional benefit for the poor – commonly called SNAP or food stamps –...

Privatizing essential human services like the VA can come at a high social cost

Written by Sebastian Jilke, Assistant Professor, Rutgers University Newark

For-profit service providers may use discrimination as a way to make more money.wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com

Over the years, countries have privatized dozens of services and activities once the sole domain of governments, such as the provision of electricity and water, road operations, prisons and even health care, with the ostensible aim of...

70 years of instant photos, thanks to inventor Edwin Land's Polaroid camera

Written by Ann Elsner, Professor of Optometry, Indiana University

It's been 70 years of instant photography, thanks to Edwin Land, on the left.AP Photo

It probably happens every minute of the day: A little girl demands to see the photo her parent has just taken of her. Today, thanks to smartphones and other digital cameras, we can see snapshots immediately, whether we want to or not. But in 1944 when 3-year-old...