The Conversation

What will 2022 bring in the way of misinformation on social media? 3 experts weigh in

Written by Anjana Susarla, Professor of Information Systems, Michigan State University

A cutout display at a protest highlighted the connection between social media and the real-world effects of misinformation.Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images

At the end of 2020, it seemed hard to imagine a worse year for misinformation on social media, given the intensity of the presidential election and the trauma of the COVID-19...

How common is the 'Common Era?' How A.D. and C.E. took over counting years

Written by Miriamne Ara Krummel, Professor of English, University of Dayton

Amid the pandemic, confetti fell on an almost-empty Times Square last New Year's Eve.AP Photo/Craig Ruttle

On Dec. 31, people from cultures all around the world will be raising a toast to welcome in A.D. 2022. Few of them will think about the fact that A.D. signals “anno Domini,” Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” In A.D....

Manchin takes aim at Build Back Better, but his real focus is on West Virginia

Written by Samuel Workman, Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University

Putting his sights on Build Back Better?Manchin for West Virginia/YouTube

Joe Manchin isn’t averse to taking a shotgun to policy he dislikes.

In 2018, the senator starred in a political ad in which he explains how a lawsuit to repeal the Affordable Care Act – something his opponent, state attorney general Patrick Morrisey, was at the...

Medical technologies have been central to US pandemic response – but social behaviors matter just as much

Written by Eyal Oren, Professor of Epidemiology, San Diego State University

COVID-19 vaccines and treatments aren't societal silver bullets when health disparities persist.Michael Nagle/Xinhua via Getty Images

Before COVID-19, there was tuberculosis. Twentieth century British physician Thomas McKeown controversially proposed that the sharp declines in infectious disease death rates in the late 1900s were due to improved...

Biden to expand access to at-home COVID kits: 4 essential reads on the critical role of rapid tests

Written by Matt Williams, Breaking News Editor

Reflecting on the growing demand for at-home rapid COVID-19 tests.Corinna Kern/Getty Images

President Joe Biden has outlined plans to massively ramp up COVID-19 testing in an effort to curb – or at least slow – the spread of the highly infectious omicron variant across the U.S.

In a speech on Dec. 21, 2021, Biden said he aimed to get out...

During a COVID-19 surge, ‘crisis standards of care’ involve excruciating choices and impossible ethical decisions for hospital staff

Written by Matthew Wynia, Director of the Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Amid the latest surge of COVID-19 cases, health care workers yet again are having to make difficult triage decisions in caring for patients. Morsa Images/E+ via Getty Images

The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find all of the stories here...

2021: a year physicists asked, 'What lies beyond the Standard Model?'

Written by Aaron McGowan, Principal Lecturer in Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology

Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider in Europe, like the ATLAS calorimeter seen here, are providing more accurate measurements of fundamental particles.Maximilien Brice, CC BY

If you ask a physicist like me to explain how the world works, my lazy answer might be: “It follows the Standard Model.”

The Standard Model explains the...

What is Log4j? A cybersecurity expert explains the latest internet vulnerability, how bad it is and what's at stake

Written by Santiago Torres-Arias, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University

A vulnerability in Log4j, a humble but widespread piece of software, has put millions of computers at risk.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Log4Shell, an internet vulnerability that affects millions of computers, involves an obscure but nearly ubiquitous piece of software, Log4j. The software is used to record all manner of activities that...

Stress is contagious in relationships – here's what you can do to support your partner and boost your own health during the holidays and beyond

Written by Rosie Shrout, Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University

Relationship stress can hit new highs during the holidays.Aaron Amat/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With the flurry of shopping, spending money and traveling to see family, stress can feel inevitable during the holidays.

You might already know stress can affect your own health, but what you may not realize is that your stress – and how you...

As spiritualism's popularity grows, photographer Shannon Taggart takes viewers inside the world of séances, mediums and orbs

Written by Beth Saunders, Curator and Head of Special Collections and Gallery, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Table-tipping workshop with mediums Jane and Chris Howarth in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2014.© Shannon Taggart. Courtesy of the Artist., Author provided

The word séance conjures images of darkened rooms, entranced mediums, strange occurrences and spirit voices. For many contemporary audiences, these visions might seem like something out...