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Biological sex is far from binary − this college course examines the science of sex diversity in people, fungi and across the animal kingdom

  • Written by Ari Berkowitz, Presidential Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Biology; Director, Cellular & Behavioral Neurobiology Graduate Program, University of Oklahoma
imageBiological sex comes in many more forms than just male or female.Yifei Fang/Moment via Getty Imagesimage

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

Diversity of Biological Sex Characteristics

What prompted the idea for the course?

Most people view biological sex,...

Read more: Biological sex is far from binary − this college course examines the science of sex diversity in...

A layered lake is a little like Earth’s early oceans − and lets researchers explore how oxygen built up in our atmosphere billions of years ago

  • Written by Elizabeth Swanner, Associate Professor of Geology, Iowa State University
imageResearchers sample water from various layers to analyze back in the lab.Elizabeth Swanner, CC BY-ND

Little Deming Lake doesn’t get much notice from visitors to Itasca State Park in Minnesota. There’s better boating on nearby Lake Itasca, the headwaters of the Mississippi River. My colleagues and I need to maneuver hundreds of pounds of...

Read more: A layered lake is a little like Earth’s early oceans − and lets researchers explore how oxygen...

Key Trump co-defendants accept plea deals – a legal expert explains what that means

  • Written by Cynthia Alkon, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University
imageKenneth Chesebro, left, is sworn in during his plea deal hearing in Atlanta on Oct. 20, 2023.Alyssa Pointer/Pool Photo via AP

Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro, two people charged in Georgia with racketeering and other crimes alongside former President Donald Trump, have accepted plea deals that let them avoid the jail time their original charges...

Read more: Key Trump co-defendants accept plea deals – a legal expert explains what that means

For the Osage Nation, the betrayal of the murders depicted in 'Killers of the Flower Moon' still lingers

  • Written by Shannon Toll, Associate Professor of Indigenous Literatures, University of Dayton
imageAn Osage man on the Arkansas River sometime between 1910 and 1918 – about a decade before the Osage Reign of Terror.Vince Dillion/Oklahoma Historical Society via Getty Images

This article contains plot spoilers of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”

The sheriff disguised her death as whiskey poisoning.
Because, when he carved her body...

Read more: For the Osage Nation, the betrayal of the murders depicted in 'Killers of the Flower Moon' still...

How much time do kids spend on devices – playing games, watching videos, texting and using the phone?

  • Written by David Rosenberg, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wayne State University
imageToday, nearly all U.S. teens have a smartphone.MoMo Productions/Digital Vision via Getty Imagesimage

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 many hours does the average American spend on devices each year? – Maxwell P., age 10

Thi...

Read more: How much time do kids spend on devices – playing games, watching videos, texting and using the...

Hezbollah alone will decide whether Lebanon − already on the brink of collapse − gets dragged into Israel-Hamas war

  • Written by Asher Kaufman, Professor of History and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
imageSupporters of Hezbollah have been rallying in Beirut in support of Palestinians in Gaza.AP Photo/Bilal Hussein

Lebanon, which is teetering on the edge of economic and political collapse, risks becoming entangled in the escalating war between Israel and Hamas.

Hezbollah has been gearing up for the possibility of joining the fight ever since...

Read more: Hezbollah alone will decide whether Lebanon − already on the brink of collapse − gets dragged into...

Delivering aid during war is tricky − here’s what to know about what Gaza relief operations may face

  • Written by Topher L. McDougal, Professor of Economic Development & Peacebuilding, University of San Diego
imagePalestinians on the outskirts of Gaza City walk by buildings destroyed by Israeli bombardment on Oct. 20, 2023. AP Photo/Ali Mahmoud

The 2.2 million people who live in Gaza are facing economic isolation and experiencing incessant bombardment. Their supplies of essential resources, including food and water, are quickly dwindling.

In response, U.S....

Read more: Delivering aid during war is tricky − here’s what to know about what Gaza relief operations may face

New research helps explain why Indian girls appear to be less engaged in politics than Indian boys

  • Written by Sara Wilf, Ph.D. Candidate in Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles
imageA recent survey found that just over half of boys in India consider themselves politically engaged compared with less than a third of girls. Sayantan Chakraborty/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Girls in India report being less interested and engaged in...

Read more: New research helps explain why Indian girls appear to be less engaged in politics than Indian boys

A memorial in Yiddish, Italian and English tells the stories of Triangle Shirtwaist fire victims − testament not only to tragedy but to immigrant women's fight to remake labor laws

  • Written by Karla Goldman, Professor of Social Work and Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
imageVictims' names engraved in a metal overhang, part of the Triangle Shirtwaist Memorial, are reflected in mirroring panels along the sidewalk.AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

The 10-story Brown Building, site of one of the deadliest workplace disasters in United States history, stands one block east of Washington Square Park in New York City. Despite three...

Read more: A memorial in Yiddish, Italian and English tells the stories of Triangle Shirtwaist fire victims −...

Quantum dots − a new Nobel laureate describes the development of these nanoparticles from basic research to industry application

  • Written by Louis Brus, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, Columbia University
imageLouis Brus, center, shares Nobel recognition with two other quantum dots pioneers.Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images

The Nobel Prize in chemistry for 2023 goes to three scientists “for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.” The Conversation Weekly podcast caught up with one of this trio, physical chemist Louis Brus, who did...

Read more: Quantum dots − a new Nobel laureate describes the development of these nanoparticles from basic...

More Articles ...

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  2. New class of recyclable polymer materials could one day help reduce single-use plastic waste
  3. Health care workers gain 21% wage increase in pending agreement with Kaiser Permanente after historic strike
  4. House speaker paralysis is confusing – a political scientist explains what's happening
  5. COVID-19 vaccine mandates have come and mostly gone in the US – an ethicist explains why their messy rollout matters for trust in public health
  6. Hamas was unpopular in Gaza before it attacked Israel – surveys showed Gazans cared more about fighting poverty than armed resistance
  7. What do a Black scientist, nonprofit executive and filmmaker have in common? They all face racism in the ‘gray areas’ of workplace culture
  8. Nonprofits can become more resilient by spending more on fundraising and admin − new research
  9. Biden’s Middle East trip has messages for both global and domestic audiences
  10. New technique uses near-miss particle physics to peer into quantum world − two physicists explain how they are measuring wobbling tau particles
  11. Babe Ruth, patron saint of the home run, turned the ball field into a church – and lived his own Catholic faith in the spotlight
  12. What is a virtual power plant? An energy expert explains
  13. Israel is getting a surge in donations from the US in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attacks
  14. Louise Glück honed her poetic voice across a lifetime to speak to us from beyond the grave
  15. #UsToo: How antisemitism and Islamophobia make reporting sexual misconduct and abuse of power harder for Jewish and Muslim women
  16. What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence and the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 tell us about the future of fire in the West
  17. What the extreme fire seasons of 1910 and 2020 – and 2,500 years of forest history – tell us about the future of wildfires in the West
  18. What 2,500 years of wildfire evidence tells us about the future of fires in the West
  19. Decades of underfunding, blockade have weakened Gaza's health system − the siege has pushed it into abject crisis
  20. A reflexive act of military revenge burdened the US − and may do the same for Israel
  21. Gangsters are the villains in 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' but the biggest thief of Native American wealth was the US government
  22. Gun deaths among children and teens have soared – but there are ways to reverse the trend
  23. Why is space so dark even though the universe is filled with stars?
  24. How the 'laws of war' apply to the conflict between Israel and Hamas
  25. Deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust spurs a crisis of confidence in the idea of Israel – and its possible renewal
  26. Reflections on hope during unprecedented violence in the Israel-Hamas war
  27. An itching paradox – a molecule that triggers the urge to scratch also turns down inflammation in the skin
  28. Wildfire smoke leaves harmful gases in floors and walls − air purifiers aren’t enough, new study shows, but you can clean it up
  29. Empire building has always come at an economic cost for Russia – from the days of the czars to Putin's Ukraine invasion
  30. Steep physical decline with age is not inevitable – here's how strength training can change the trajectory
  31. From ancient Jewish texts to androids to AI, a just-right sequence of numbers or letters turns matter into meaning
  32. Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system works well – here's how Hamas got around it
  33. This engineering course has students use their brainwaves to create performing art
  34. Gaza depends on UN and other global aid groups for food, medicine and basic services – Israel-Hamas war means nothing is getting in
  35. Intelligence failure or not, the Israeli military was unprepared to respond to Hamas' surprise attack
  36. Philadelphia bans supervised injection sites – evidence suggests keeping drug users on the street could do more harm than good
  37. Horseshoe crab blood is vital for testing intravenous drugs, but new synthetic alternatives could mean pharma won't bleed this unique species dry
  38. How Chicana women artists have often used the figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe for political messages
  39. Vaccines against COVID-19, the seasonal flu and RSV are our best chance of preventing a winter surge
  40. What is a strong El Niño? Meteorologists anticipate a big impact in winter 2023, but the forecasts don't all agree
  41. Astronomers have learned lots about the universe − but how do they study astronomical objects too distant to visit?
  42. How did Israeli intelligence miss Hamas' preparations to attack? A US counterterrorism expert explains how Israeli intelligence works
  43. Rising oil prices, surging inflation: The Arab embargo 50 years ago weaponized oil to inflict economic trauma – sound familiar?
  44. Rising oil prices, surging inflation: The Arab embargo 50 years ago weaponized oil to inflict economic trauma
  45. Why the crisis in Israel is putting pressure on GOP to act over vacant House speaker role
  46. Israel has no good options for dealing with Hamas' hostage-taking in Gaza
  47. Comets 101 − everything you need to know about the snow cones of space
  48. What is seawater intrusion? A hydrogeologist explains the shifting balance between fresh and salt water at the coast
  49. Listen up, ladies and gentlemen, guys and dudes: Terms of address can be a minefield, especially as their meanings change
  50. Your immune system makes its own antiviral drug − and it's likely one of the most ancient