The Conversation

Supreme Court skeptical that Colorado − or any state − should decide for whole nation whether Trump is eligible for presidency

Written by Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

Police place a fence at the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 8, 2024, before justices heard arguments over whether Donald Trump is ineligible for the 2024 ballot. AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Both liberal and conservative justices weighed in during oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court on Feb. 8, 2024, asking questions concerning whether a...

FCC bans robocalls using deepfake voice clones − but AI-generated disinformation still looms over elections

Written by Joan Donovan, Assistant Professor of Journalism and Emerging Media Studies, Boston University

The FCC is responding to the threat of deepfakes.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

The Federal Communications Commission on Feb. 8, 2024, outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence.

The 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans artificial voices in robocalls. The FCC’s Feb. 8 ruling declares that AI-generated voices,...

‘Look for a reversal in a fairly short period of time’ − former federal judge expects Supreme Court will keep Trump on Colorado ballot

Written by John E. Jones III, President, Dickinson College

Even a day before the oral arguments, a line had formed outside the Supreme Court to sit in on the court's session.AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

To get the rare perspective of a former federal judge on the oral arguments at the Supreme Court, The Conversation U.S. spoke with John E. Jones III. He is the president of Dickinson College and a retired...

El Niño is starting to lose strength after fueling a hot, stormy year, but it’s still powerful − an atmospheric scientist explains what’s ahead for 2024

Written by Paul Roundy, Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, University at Albany, State University of New York

In California, El Niño helped fuel a wet 2023 and early 2024.Mario Tama/Getty Images

Wild weather has been roiling North America for the past few months, thanks in part to a strong El Niño that sent temperatures surging in 2023. The climate phenomenon fed atmospheric rivers drenching the West Coast and contributed to summer’s...

Sugary handshakes are how cells talk to each other − understanding these name tags can clarify how the immune system works

Written by Kelvin Anggara, Group leader in Single molecule imaging, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research

Handshakes between glycans are one way cells recognize each other.Kelvin Anggara, CC BY

Like the people they make up, cells communicate by bumping into one another and exchanging handshakes. Unlike people, cells perform these handshakes using the diverse range of sugar molecules coating their surface like trees covering a landscape. Handshakes...

Anger, sadness, boredom, anxiety – emotions that feel bad can be useful

Written by Heather Lench, Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Texas A&M University

A bad feeling can trigger behavior that leads to something better.Rawpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Remember the sadness that came with the last time you failed miserably at something? Or the last time you were so anxious about an upcoming event that you couldn’t concentrate for days?

These types of emotions are unpleasant to experience...

The myth of men’s full-time employment

Written by Sarah Damaske, Professor of Sociology and Labor and Employment Relations, Penn State

He's not alone.Image Bank/Getty Images

Men’s employment in the U.S. reached a 20-year high in 2023, with nearly 90% of men ages 25 to 54 in the workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This supports the broad expectation – some might say stereotype – that full-time employment is the norm for American men.

Yet...

The Super Bowl gets the Vegas treatment, with 1 in 4 American adults expected to gamble on the big game

Written by Thomas Oates, Associate Professor of Sport Media, University of Iowa

Billions of dollars are being bet on the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs.Ethan Miller/Getty Images

CC BY-ND

A record 67.8 million American adults are expected to bet US$23.1 billion on Super Bowl LVIII, according to a new survey conducted by Morning Consult for the American Gaming Association. The estimated number of...

Heart attacks, cancer, dementia, premature deaths: 4 essential reads on the health effects driving EPA’s new fine particle air pollution standard

Written by Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The Conversation

Large industrial facilities like this oil refinery outside Houston are major sources of fine particulate air pollution.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a new standard for protecting the public from fine particulate air pollution, known as PM2.5 because the particles are smaller than 2.5 millionths of...

Americans spend millions of dollars on Valentine’s Day roses. I calculated exactly how much

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston University

Feb. 14 is Valentine’s Day – an occasion that traditionally combines romance with big business. One of the biggest businesses is selling roses, which Americans increasingly love. Back in 1989, about 1 billion cut roses were sold annually in the U.S. By 2023, that had risen to roughly 2.8 billion – enough to give every adult in...