The Conversation

Helium is an essential material for research and medical equipment, but it's nonrenewable and difficult to recycle

Written by Nicholas Fitzkee, Professor of Chemistry, Mississippi State University

A bag full of gas used in a helium recovery system.Bluefors Cryocooler Technology, Inc.

The next time you pick up balloons for your big party, remember the helium gas in those balloons is destined for the stars. Helium is so light that it easily escapes Earth’s gravity, and all helium will eventually make its way into space. Like fossil...

Gaza's oldest mosque, destroyed in an airstrike, was once a temple to Philistine and Roman gods, a Byzantine and Catholic church, and had engravings of Jewish ritual objects

Written by Stephennie Mulder, Associate Professor of Art History, The University of Texas at Austin

The Omari Mosque of Gaza.Mohammed Alafrangi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Omari Mosque in Gaza was largely destroyed by Israeli bombardment on Dec. 8, 2023. It was one of the most ancient mosques in the region and a beloved Gazan landmark.

The mosque was first built in the early seventh century and named after Islam’s second...

DeSantis-linked super PAC broke new ground in pushing campaign finance rules in Iowa in support of a 2nd-place finish

Written by Barbara A. Trish, Professor of Political Science, Grinnell College

Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis greets an audience in West Des Moines, Iowa, on caucus night on Jan. 15, 2024.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Never Back Down, the Ron DeSantis super PAC, played an outsized role in the Iowa caucuses campaign of the Florida governor. Its impact on the results, in which DeSantis came in second to former...

Iowa was different this time – even if the outcome was as predicted

Written by Timothy Hagle, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa

Former President Donald Trump speaks in Des Moines, Iowa, shortly after his victory in the Iowa Caucus on Jan. 15, 2024. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trounced, crushed, routed, dominated: Pick your verb to describe what former President Donald Trump did to his GOP rivals in the Jan. 15, 2024 Iowa caucus. The Conversation U.S. asked two scholars to...

Long after Indigenous activists flee Russia, they continue to face government pressure to remain silent

Written by Laura A. Henry, Associate Professor of Government and Legal Studies, Bowdoin College

Pavel Sulyandziga, a Russian Indigenous activist, poses with his family in 2017 in Yarmouth, Maine, where he awaits a decision on political asylum. Derek Davis/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Pavel Sulyandziga, an Indigenous activist and member of the Udege people of Russia’s far eastern region, arrived in the United States in...

What social robots can teach America's students

Written by Gerald K. LeTendre, Professor of Educational Administration, Penn State

Some researchers predict social robots will become common in K-12 classrooms.selimaksan/E+ Collection/Getty Images

How would you feel if your child were being tutored by a robot?

Social robots – robots that can talk and mimic and respond to human emotion – have been introduced into classrooms around the world. Researchers have used them...

Congress is failing to deliver on its promise of billions more in research spending, threatening America's long-term economic competitiveness

Written by Jason Owen-Smith, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan

Federal funding was essential to the development of the COVID-19 vaccine.AP Photo/Vincent Thian

The battle to keep the government open may feel just like the crisis of the day. But these fights pose immediate and long-term risks for the U.S.

The federal government spends tens of billions of dollars every year to support fundamental scientific...

Miami residents believe Biscayne Bay is 'healthy,' despite big declines in water quality and biodiversity, new study finds

Written by Julia Wester, Lecturer in Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami

Biscayne Bay is home to more than 30 endangered or at-risk species.Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Residents of Miami-Dade County appreciate Biscayne Bay for its ecological, cultural, recreational and economic offerings, but they see the estuary as “moderately healthy” – despite a significant decline in water...

How to prevent America's aging buildings from collapsing – 4 high-profile disasters send a warning

Written by Abieyuwa Aghayere, Professor of Structural Engineering, Drexel University

This six-story apartment building in Davenport, Iowa, had clear signs of trouble before it partially collapsed in May 2023.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Four recent catastrophic building collapses and a near miss are raising concerns about the state of America’s aging buildings and questions about who, if anyone, is checking their safety.

Many...

Your fingerprint is actually 3D − research into holograms could improve forensic fingerprint analysis

Written by Partha Banerjee, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Dayton

Fingerprints have been used as unique identifiers for decades. AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

When you use your fingerprint to unlock your smartphone, your phone is looking at a two-dimensional pattern to determine whether it’s the correct fingerprint before it unlocks for you. But the imprint your finger leaves on the surface of the button is...