The Conversation

Why fusion ignition is being hailed as a major breakthrough in fusion – a nuclear physicist explains

Written by Carolyn Kuranz, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering, University of Michigan

The target chamber at the National Ignition Facility has been the site of a number of breakthroughs in fusion physics.U.S. Department of Energy/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

American scientists have announced what they have called a major breakthrough in a long-elusive goal of creating energy from nuclear fusion.

The U.S. Department of...

Federal Reserve just hiked interest rates for the 7th time this year – so why are mortgage rates coming down?

Written by D. Brian Blank, Assistant Professor of Finance, Mississippi State University

Homebuyers are receiving something of a holiday gift in falling mortgage costs.Andrii Yalanskyi/Getty Images

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by half a percentage point on Dec. 14, 2022, to a range of 4.25 to 4.5%, the seventh increase this year. So far in 2022, the Fed has lifted its benchmark short-term rate, which influences most other...

Arctic Report Card 2022: The Arctic is getting rainier and seasons are shifting, with broad disturbances for people, ecosystems and wildlife

Written by Matthew L. Druckenmiller, Research Scientist, National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder

Rainier winters make life more difficult for Arctic wildlife and the humans who rely on them.Scott Wallace/Getty Image

In the Arctic, the freedom to travel, hunt and make day-to-day decisions is profoundly tied to cold and frozen conditions for much of the year. These conditions are rapidly changing as the Arctic warms.

The Arctic is now seeing more...

Are snow days about to get buried by remote learning? Not quite -- but it depends on where you live

Written by Nathan M. Sorber, Associate Professor of Higher Education, West Virginia University

When communities are buried in snow, as Buffalo, N.Y., was in November 2022, school sometimes stays in session – remotely.AP Photo/Carolyn Thompson

Snow days, a nostalgic rite of passage for generations of students across the northern United States, might seem destined to be a memory of school days past. For nearly a century, schools have...

Timing matters for medications – your circadian rhythm influences how well treatments work and how much they might harm you

Written by Tobias Eckle, Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Chronotherapeutic drug delivery aims to maximize treatment effectiveness and minimize side effects.Vaselena/iStock via Getty Images Plus

All living organisms on Earth are exposed to a 24-hour day-night cycle. This cycle is the reason why people rest during the darkness of night and are active during the light of day. Consequently, all human body...

That annoying ringing, buzzing and hissing in the ear – a hearing specialist offers tips to turn down the tinnitus

Written by Bradley Kesser, Professor of Otology and Neurotology, University of Virginia

Worldwide, more than 750 million people have tinnitus.Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Not a week goes by when I don’t see someone in my clinic complaining of a strange and constant phantom sound in one of their ears, or in both ears. The noise is loud, distracting and scary – and it doesn’t go away.

The...

After 50 years, 'liberation theology' is still reshaping Catholicism and politics – but what is it?

Written by Leo Guardado, Assistant Professor of Theology, Fordham University

A woman prays in front of a statue of the martyred Catholic archbishop of El Salvador, Oscar Romero, known for his embrace of liberation theology.Vlady Chicas/picture alliance via Getty Images

It isn’t often that theology makes headlines. But for the past 50 years, a way of thinking about God and poverty has been doing just that: liberation...

Iranian protesters turn to TikTok to get their message past government censors

Written by Whitney Shylee May, Ph.D. candidate in American Studies, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

Scenes of protest in Iran are difficult to get out of the country, but TikTok users are rising to the challenge.Screen capture by The Conversation

Images of the protests that followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Zhina Amini on Sept. 16, 2022, in Iran and reports of the government’s brutal crackdown have circulated widely on social media....

Congress aims to close off presidential election mischief and fraud with simple and bipartisan solutions

Written by Derek T. Muller, Professor of Law, University of Iowa

Reps. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., center, and Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, right, take cover as protesters disrupt the joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Presidential elections are complicated.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia hold simultaneous...

Brittney Griner's case was difficult for US negotiators for one key reason: She was guilty

Written by William E. Butler, Distinguished Professor of Law, Penn State

Brittney Griner on the plane after being released.Russian Security Service via AP

The release from Russian prison of WNBA star Britney Griner has been greeted with general delight in the United States.

Announcing the deal that saw her freed on Dec. 8, 2022, President Joe Biden lauded the “painstaking and intense negotiations” that made...