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Do smartphones belong in classrooms? Four scholars weigh in

  • Written by Louis-Philippe Beland, Associate Professor of Economics, Carleton University
imageAcademic performance improves when schools ban smartphones, research shows.Westend61 via Getty Images

Should smartphones be allowed in classrooms? A new report from UNESCO, the education arm of the United Nations, raises questions about the practice. Though smartphones can be used for educational purposes, the report says the devices also disrupt...

Read more: Do smartphones belong in classrooms? Four scholars weigh in

In search of the world's largest freshwater fish – the wonderfully weird giants lurking in Earth's rivers

  • Written by Stefan Lovgren, Research Scientist in River Ecosystems, University of Nevada, Reno
imageAlligator gar can grow to gargantuan sizes.Zeb Hogan

Rivers have been the lifeblood of human civilization throughout history, and yet we know surprisingly little about what lives in many of them – including the giant creatures that prowl their depths.

While we know the biggest animal in the ocean is the blue whale and the largest marine fish...

Read more: In search of the world's largest freshwater fish – the wonderfully weird giants lurking in Earth's...

How well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding as extreme storms become more common in a warming world

  • Written by Riley Post, PhD Candidate in Water Resources Engineering, University of Iowa
imageDams and reservoirs often serve several purposes, including flood control.Karl Specht/U.S. Department of Energy

The arduous task of cleaning up from catastrophic flooding is underway across the Northeast after storms stretched the region’s flood control systems nearly to the breaking point.

As rising global temperatures make extreme storms...

Read more: How well-managed dams and smart forecasting can limit flooding as extreme storms become more...

Women can now undertake Islamic pilgrimages without a male guardian in Saudi Arabia, but that doesn't mean they're traveling alone -- communities are an important part of the religious experience

  • Written by Iqbal Akhtar, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Florida International University
imageAmerican Muslim women on pilgrimage at the Prophet's Mosque in Medina in 2023.Iqbal Akhtar, CC BY-NC

Saudi Arabia has changed its decadeslong rule that mandated single women be accompanied by a male relative when performing an Islamic pilgrimage, facilitating the participation of thousands of single Muslim women in the Hajj in 2023.

The new rules...

Read more: Women can now undertake Islamic pilgrimages without a male guardian in Saudi Arabia, but that...

Horse health research will help humans stay healthy, too, with insights on reining in diabetes and obesity

  • Written by Jane Manfredi, Associate Professor of Pathobiology and Diagnostic Investigation, Michigan State University
imageLearning how to treat endocrine disorders in horses may also lead to treatments in people, and vice versa.Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

As a veterinary science researcher, equine surgeon and sports medicine and rehabilitation specialist, I’ve seen firsthand the similarities between horses and humans.

Both horses and...

Read more: Horse health research will help humans stay healthy, too, with insights on reining in diabetes and...

Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions

  • Written by Adrienne Wood, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia
imageA well-deployed laugh can help grease a social interaction, even if nothing is funny.Catherine Falls Commercial/Moment via Getty Images

Laughter is an everyday reminder that we humans are animals. In fact, when recorded laughter is slowed down, listeners can’t tell whether the sound is from a person or an animal.

We throw our heads back and...

Read more: Laughter can communicate a lot more than good humor – people use it to smooth social interactions

As contentious judicial 'reform' becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

  • Written by David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, and Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Studies and Public Policy, UMass Amherst
imageIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the country's parliament in Jerusalem on July 24, 2023. AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo

Israel’s parliament passed a law on July 24, 2023, that limits the Supreme Court’s ability to rein in government actions, part of a broader proposal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to...

Read more: As contentious judicial 'reform' becomes law in Israel, Netanyahu cements his political legacy

Decades of public messages about recycling in the US have crowded out more sustainable ways to manage waste

  • Written by Michaela Barnett, Founder, KnoxFill, University of Virginia
imageA worker sorts cardboard at a recycling center in Newark, N.J.Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

You’ve just finished a cup of coffee at your favorite cafe. Now you’re facing a trash bin, a recycling bin and a compost bin. What’s the most planet-friendly thing to do with your cup?

Many of us would opt for the...

Read more: Decades of public messages about recycling in the US have crowded out more sustainable ways to...

Will I ever need math? A mathematician explains how math is everywhere – from soap bubbles to Pixar movies

  • Written by Hortensia Soto, Professor of Mathematics, Colorado State University
imageIn addition to explaining natural phenomena, math can help strengthen your brain.Liz Arnold, CC BY-NDimage

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.

Will I ever need math besides for school or work? – Hadassah G., age 9, New Jersey

It...

Read more: Will I ever need math? A mathematician explains how math is everywhere – from soap bubbles to...

Massachusetts is updating its sex education guidelines for the first time in 24 years

  • Written by Emily Rothman, Professor and Chair, Occupational Therapy; and Professor of Community Health Sciences, Boston University
imageA dozen U.S. states still do not mandate sex education in schools.Xavier Lorenzo/Moment via Getty Images

In June 2023, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shared with the public a draft of a new framework that will guide how elementary, middle and high schools in the state approach sex education.

The last time Massachusetts issued guidelines that...

Read more: Massachusetts is updating its sex education guidelines for the first time in 24 years

More Articles ...

  1. Blame capitalism? Why hundreds of decades-old yet vital drugs are nearly impossible to find
  2. How book-banning campaigns have changed the lives and education of librarians – they now need to learn how to plan for safety and legally protect themselves
  3. This year's debate over defense spending threatens to disrupt a tradition of bipartisan consensus-building over funding the military
  4. A sculptor of wind explains how to make fiber dance far above city streets
  5. Women's World Cup will highlight how far other countries have closed the gap with US – but that isn't the only yardstick to measure growth of global game
  6. Global diabetes cases on pace to soar to 1.3 billion people in the next 3 decades, new study finds
  7. First contact with aliens could end in colonization and genocide if we don't learn from history
  8. What is a target letter? 3 things to know about how the Justice Department notifies suspects, like Donald Trump, ahead of possible charges
  9. Targeting Trump for prosecution – 4 essential reads on how the Jan. 6 investigation laid the groundwork for the special counsel
  10. Exercise may or may not help you lose weight and keep it off – here's the evidence for both sides of the debate
  11. Registering refugees using personal information has become the norm – but cybersecurity breaches pose risks to people giving sensitive biometric data
  12. 175 years ago, the Seneca Falls Convention kicked off the fight for women's suffrage – an iconic moment deeply shaped by Quaker beliefs on gender and equality
  13. Using green banks to solve America’s affordable housing crisis – and climate change at the same time
  14. 'Zombie fires' in the Arctic: Canada's extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future
  15. China needs immigrants
  16. FTC probe of OpenAI: Consumer protection is the opening salvo of US AI regulation
  17. Returning to the Moon can benefit commercial, military and political sectors – a space policy expert explains
  18. Actors are demanding that Hollywood catch up with technological changes in a sequel to a 1960 strike
  19. A 1-minute gun safety video helped preteen children be more careful around real guns – new research
  20. Events that never happened could influence the 2024 presidential election – a cybersecurity researcher explains situation deepfakes
  21. Why people tend to believe UFOs are extraterrestrial
  22. What do astronomers say about Moon landing deniers? Batting down the conspiracy theory with an assist from the 1969 Miracle Mets
  23. What the US can learn from affirmative action at universities in Brazil
  24. International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C., pays new respect to the enslaved Africans who landed on its docks
  25. Religion shapes vaccine views – but how exactly? Our analysis looks at ideas about God and beliefs about the Bible
  26. Impunity over Wagner mutiny signals further degradation of rule of law in Russia
  27. Democrats revive the Equal Rights Amendment from a long legal limbo -- facing an unlikely uphill battle to get it enshrined into law
  28. How I learned to stop worrying and love the doll – a feminist philosopher's journey back to Barbie
  29. As a summer heat wave pummels the US, an expert warns about the dangers of humidity – particularly for toddlers, young athletes and older adults
  30. Hollywood on the picket line – 5 unsung films that put America’s union history on the silver screen
  31. A US-Russia prisoner swap for reporter Evan Gershkovich could be tricky: 3 essential reads on the recent history
  32. Corals are starting to bleach as global ocean temperatures hit record highs
  33. Curing America's loneliness epidemic would make us healthier, fitter and less likely to abuse drugs
  34. Drugs and religion have been a potent combination for millennia, from cannabis at ancient funerary sites to psychedelic retreats today
  35. Is the US being hypocritical in taking years to destroy its chemical weapons, while condemning other nations for their own chemical weapons programs? A political philosopher weighs in
  36. Female physicists aren't represented in the media – and this lack of representation hurts the physics field
  37. A new, thin-lensed telescope design could far surpass James Webb – goodbye mirrors, hello diffractive lenses
  38. A new, thin-lensed telescope design could far surpass James Webb – goodbye mirrors, hello diffractive lenses
  39. Children, like adults, tend to underestimate how welcome their random acts of kindness will be
  40. Classic literature still offers rich lessons about life in the deep blue sea
  41. Strep throat can easily be confused with throat infections caused by viruses – here are a few ways to know the difference
  42. Sawfish, guitarfish and more: Meet the rhino rays, some of the world's most oddly shaped and highly endangered fishes
  43. Liberal CEOs were more likely to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine than more conservative corporate leaders
  44. The 21st Century Cures Act requires that patients receive medical results immediately – and new research shows patients prefer it that way
  45. What's on the agenda as Biden heads to NATO summit: 5 essential reads as Western alliance talks expansion, Ukraine
  46. Tuberculosis on the rise for first time in decades after COVID-19 interrupted public health interventions and increased inequality
  47. Kakhovka Dam breach in Ukraine caused economic, agricultural and ecological devastation that will last for years
  48. Why putting off college math can be a good idea
  49. China's ties to Cuba and growing presence in Latin America raise security concerns in Washington, even as leaders try to ease tensions
  50. Science activism is surging – which marks a culture shift among scientists