The Conversation

Why the 'brain-eating' amoeba found in freshwater lakes – while rare – is so deadly

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, author of Pleased to Meet Me: Genes, Germs, and the Curious Forces that Make Us Who We Are, Indiana University

Computer-generated representation of the amoeba _Naegleria fowleri_, which causes deadly brain infections.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Composed of a single cell, amoeba seem harmless enough: They look like playful critters waltzing under the spotlight of a microscope until they come upon a group of bacteria. Then, these previously...

Conspiracy theories and fear of needles contribute to vaccine hesitancy for many parents

Written by Timothy Callaghan, Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University School of Public Health, Texas A&M University

Anti-vaccine protesters at a rally.Ted S. Warren/AP Photo

Over 1,160 cases of measles have been confirmed in the U.S. in 2019. That is more measles cases in just seven months than any full year this decade, and, more problematically, more than all U.S. measles cases from 2010-2013 and 2015-2017 combined.

Lawmakers in some states, such as Washington a...

Fed rate cut bails out Trump for policies that are slowing the economy

Written by Rodney Ramcharan, Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics, University of Southern California

The Federal Reserve appears to be bailing out the president.

Responding to concerns of a slowing economy – in part caused by President Donald Trump’s trade wars – the Fed cut short-term interest rates for the first time since 2008, lowering its benchmark rate 25 basis points to 2.25%.

The cut sends a message to financial markets...

If Germany atoned for the Holocaust, the US can pay reparations for slavery

Written by Bernd Reiter, Professor, University of South Florida

Slavery is not so far removed. Anderson and Minerva Edwards met in the 1860s as enslaved laborers in Texas, had 16 children and lived into their 90s in a cabin a few miles from the plantations they once worked. They are photographed here in 1937.U.S. Library of Congress

The idea of paying reparations for slavery is gaining momentum in the United...

What’s the scoop on kids and dirt? Get enough to help, but not enough to hurt, a doctor advises

Written by Cosby Stone, Instructor in Allergy/Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

Kids may need more exposure to dirt and microbes than previously thought.MNStudio/shutterstock.com

Whenever I am asked what I do for a living, the phrase “I’m an allergist” is almost immediately followed by “So, where are all of these allergies coming from?”

Maybe I’ll get sick of that question some day, but I...

Black bears adapt to life near humans by burning the midnight oil

Written by Kathy Zeller, Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Black bear near military housing at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle, May 17, 2010.USAF/Kathy Gault

Amid reports that human activities are pushing many wild species to the edge of extinction, it’s easy to miss the fact that some animal populations are expanding. Across North America, a number of species that were reduced by...

Political polarization is about feelings, not facts

Written by Robert B. Talisse, W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University

Animosity between partisan voters has grown in recent years.Gutzemberg/Shutterstock.com

Politicians and pundits from all quarters often lament democracy’s polarized condition.

Similarly, citizens frustrated with polarized politics also demand greater flexibility from the other side.

Decrying polarization has become a way of impugning...

School spankings are banned just about everywhere around the world except in US

Written by Lucy Sorensen, Assistant Professor in Public Administration and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York

Corporal punishment in schools around the world is disappearing, but a handful of countries have held on to the practice.Cat Act Art/Shutterstock.com

In 1970, only three countries – Italy, Japan and Mauritius – banned corporal punishment in schools. By 2016, more than 100 countries banned the practice, which allows teachers to legally...

All public universities get private money, but some get much more than the rest

Written by Kevin McClure, Associate Professor of Higher Education, University of North Carolina Wilmington

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has more than $3 billion in its endowment.AP Photo/Gerry Broome

U.S. universities raised nearly US$47 billion in the academic fiscal year that ended in mid-2018. This new record haul marked a 7% increase from the prior year.

As usual, private universities generally led the way. But public universities...

Yes, flesh-eating bacteria are in the warm coastal waters – but it doesn't mean you'll get sick

Written by Brian Labus, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Rising water temperature encourage the spread of bacteria in ocean waters.Jean Faucett/Shutterstock.com

Like humans, many bacteria like to spend time at the beach. The so-called flesh-eating bacteria, Vibrio vulnificus, don’t just like the beach; they need it, and rely on seasalt for survival. And as with human beachgoers, the warmer the...