The Conversation

Why more and more Americans are painting their lawns

Written by Ted Steinberg, Professor of History, Case Western Reserve University

Americans – especially those living in areas affected by drought – are turning to paint to give their grass that perfect green sheen.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

To paint or not to paint?

That is the question that many homeowners are facing as their dreams for perfect turf are battered – whether it’s from inflation pushing...

What causes motion sickness? Here's how to reconcile the mismatch in what your senses are telling your brain

Written by James Phillips, Research Associate Professor of Head and Neck Surgery and Director of UW Medicine’s Dizziness and Balance Center, University of Washington

When your inner ears and your eyes perceive conflicting motion, you might be in trouble.ozgurcankaya/E+ via Getty Images

My first experience with motion sickness was as a college student, standing on the back of a marine research vessel looking at interesting things dredged from the seafloor off the California coast. It was a day trip, the weather...

Anyone can claim to be a journalist or a news organization, and publish lies with almost total impunity

Written by John C. Watson, Associate Professor of Journalism, American University

There are no standards for what it takes to be a journalist.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

Headlines in early March 2023 implied Fox News mogul Rupert Murdoch had made a damning confession. He had affirmed that some of his most important journalists were reporting that the 2020 presidential election was a fraud – even though they...

Defying the Holocaust didn't just mean uprising and revolt: Remembering Jews' everyday resistance on Yom HaShoah and year-round

Written by Chad Gibbs, Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies, College of Charleston

Samuel Willenberg, the last survivor of the Treblinka uprising, poses for a picture at his art studio in Tel Aviv, Israel, in 2010. AP Photo/Oded Balilty

Richard Glazar insisted that no one survived the Holocaust without help. To this Prague-born Jewish survivor, who endured Nazi imprisonment at Treblinka and Theresienstadt, plus years in hiding,...

Looming behind antibiotic resistance is another bacterial threat – antibiotic tolerance

Written by Megan Keller, Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, Cornell University

Tolerant bacteria are dormant until an antibiotic threat has passed, then reemerge to conduct business as usual.Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Have you ever had a nasty infection that just won’t seem to go away? Or a runny nose that keeps coming back? You may have been dealing with a bacterium that is tolerant of,...

Jupiter's moons hide giant subsurface oceans – two missions are sending spacecraft to see if these moons could support life

Written by Mike Sori, Assistant Professor of Planetary Science, Purdue University

The surface of Europa – one of Jupiter's moons – is a thick layer of solid ice.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute, CC BY-SA

On April 13, 2023, the European Space Agency launched a rocket carrying a spacecraft destined for Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer – or JUICE – will spend at least three years on Jupiter’s...

Hangry bacteria in your gut microbiome are linked to chronic disease – feeding them what they need could lead to happier cells and a healthier body

Written by Christopher Damman, Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, University of Washington

The gut microbiome may play a role in regulating the body's appetite, cognition and immune responses. nopparit/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Diet-related chronic diseases have reached a critical juncture in the U.S.

Nearly half the population has prediabetes or diabetes. Over 40% are overweight or obese. One in nine people over the age of 65 has...

For Black social workers, anxiety and depression are on the rise

Written by Carmen Reese Foster, Interim Online MSSW Program Director, Assistant Professor of Practice, Director of Alumni Affairs, University of Tennessee

A woman raises her fist during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Queens, New York. Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images

When George Floyd was brutally murdered in the summer of 2020, a wave of activism spread throughout the country.

People protested. Anti-racism books became bestsellers. Diversity, equity and inclusion jobs increased by 55%,...

Ditching a friend who is not like you can deepen social inequality

Written by Mark C. Pachucki, Associate Professor of Sociology, UMass Amherst

Newly released research of residents in northern California suggests that since the 2016 presidential election, some friendship groups have become more homogeneous. Steve Pfost/Newsday RM via Getty Images

Since the 2016 presidential election, news accounts and scientific research have illustrated how defriending, a term originally associated with...

How direct admission is changing the process of applying for college

Written by Mary L. Churchill, Associate Dean, Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice, Boston University

A college admission letter might come from a school you haven't applied to – or even heard of.Antonio_Diaz / iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images

For students and families who are considering college, a relatively new option for admission is gaining popularity. In addition to the long-standing regular admissions process, and various...