The Conversation

Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort

Written by Patrick Megonigal, Associate Director of Research, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Smithsonian Institution

A firefighting plane dumps water on one of the fires in the Los Angeles area in January 2025.Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Firefighters battling the deadly wildfires that raced through the Los Angeles area in January 2025 have been hampered by a limited supply of freshwater. So, when the winds are calm enough, skilled...

Mass deportations don’t keep out ‘bad genes’ − they use scientific racism to justify biased immigration policies

Written by Shoumita Dasgupta, Professor of Medicine, Assistant Dean of Diversity & Inclusion, Boston University

Anti-immigration policies were a key talking point for Republican candidates.Matt Rourke/AP Photo

Threats of mass deportations loom on the post-2024 election horizon. Some supporters claim these will protect the country from immigrants who bring “bad genes” into America. But this is a misguided use of the language of science to give a...

From Myanmar to Gaza, Ukraine to Sudan – 2024 was another grim year, according to our mass atrocity index

Written by Collin J. Meisel, Associate Director of Geopolitical Analysis, Pardee Institute, University of Denver

A doctor stands near bodies lined up for identification in the Gaza Strip on April 25, 2024.AFP via Getty Images

With major conflicts in Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Southeast Asia, 1 in 8 people worldwide were exposed to conflict in 2024 – proving another fraught year in terms of human suffering on a mass scale. In fact, 111 countries...

One way Trump could help revive rural America’s economies

Written by Tim O'Brien, Senior Manager of Applied Research, Growth Lab, Harvard Kennedy School

With close to 10,000 residents, Cody is one of Wyoming’s bigger communities. It relies on seasonal tourism revenue to support its economy.Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Picture yourself living the American Dream. You likely have more opportunity than your parents did. Through hard work, smart choices and...

Is capitalism falling out of favor? We analyzed 400,000 news stories to find out

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston University

Choose one.Fokusiert via Getty Images Plus

Capitalism, communism and socialism are the world’s three major economic systems. While the phrase “economic system” may seem like a yawn, countless people have fought and died in major wars over which one should dominate.

Shifts from one system to another, like the 1989 fall of communism in...

Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the US

Written by Carla Martinez Machain, Professor of Political Science, University at Buffalo

A Chinese container ship sails near the Cocoli locks on the Panama Canal.Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has in recent days repeatedly denounced what he sees as China’s outsized influence on the Panama Canal – the crucial maritime passageway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

On Dec. 25, 2024,...

What the dead, the uncanny and the monstrous tell us about human nature

Written by Jue Liang, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Case Western Reserve University

A scroll illustrating the realm of the hungry ghosts, one of the six realms in Buddhist cosmology.Kyoto National Museum via Wikimedia Commons

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

Title of the course

Ghosts, Zombies and Monsters: What We Fear and Loathe in Religions

What...

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph to escape Earth?

Written by Benjamin L. Emerson, Principal Research Engineer, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with its Crew Dragon capsule launches from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in January 2024.Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

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.

Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph (about...

From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal

Written by Valerie Thomas, Professor of Industrial Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology

The Energy Department recently finished modernizing the B61-12 nuclear bomb, extending its service life by at least 20 years.Devan Halstead, U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Department of Energy was created in 1977 by merging two agencies with different missions: the Atomic Energy Commission, which developed, tested and maintained the nation’s...

Secretary of defense must perform a ‘delicate dance’ between the president, Congress and the public

Written by Evelyn Farkas, Executive Director, McCain Institute, Arizona State University

The U.S. military is a massive group effort serving the nation's -- and the public's -- interests.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Senate confirmation hearings are slated to begin on Jan. 14, 2025, for Pete Hegseth, whom President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to serve as the next secretary of defense. It’s a massive job, broadly affecting...