The Conversation

Religion is uniquely human, but computer simulations may help us understand religious behavior

Written by Wesley Wildman, Professor of Philosophy, Theology, and Ethics, Boston University

Christchurch Cathedral in New Zealand partially collapsed after a 2011 earthquake. AP Photo/Mark Baker

When disaster strikes, people often turn to religion for comfort and support. A powerful recent example of this comes from a study called “Faith after an Earthquake,” by prominent New Zealand religion and society researchers Chris...

Memo to President Trump: Better ties between North and South Korea should come first – then get rid of nukes

Written by Lynn T. White III, Professor Emeritus and Senior Research Scholar, Woodrow Wilson School and East Asian Studies Program, Princeton, Princeton University

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone, April 27, 2018. AP/Korea Summit press pool

At President Donald Trump’s summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, Kim may promise complete denuclearization, but Trump should know...

Rules-based trade made the world rich. Trump's policies may make it poorer

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

Trump against the world?Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government via AP

Nations sell goods and services to each other because this exchange is generally mutually beneficial.

It’s easy to understand that Iceland should not be growing its own oranges, given its climate. Instead, Iceland should buy oranges from Spain, which can grow them more...

Why predicting suicide is a difficult and complex challenge

Written by Joseph Franklin, Assistant professor of Psychology, Florida State University

Anthony Bourdain, left, and Kate Spade, right. The Conversation with images from PeabodyAwards/flickr, CC BY-SA

Who is going to die by suicide? This terrible mystery of human behavior takes on particular poignance in the wake of suicides by high-profile and much-beloved celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. It is only natural that people...

G7 summit: Trump could be using advanced game theory negotiating techniques – or he's hopelessly adrift

Written by Charles Hankla, Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

The latest G7 summit, held June 8 to 9 in Quebec, is one of the most contentious in years.

Donald Trump and his counterparts from six other industrialized countries have been at loggerheads over the president’s aggressive but unstable trade policy. Trump’s renunciation of the Iran nuclear deal, his efforts to renegotiate NAFTA and his...

Trump could be using advanced game theory negotiating techniques – or he's hopelessly adrift

Written by Charles Hankla, Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

The latest G-7 summit, held June 8 to 9 in Quebec, was one of the most contentious in years.

That’s because Donald Trump and his counterparts from six other industrialized countries have been at loggerheads over the president’s aggressive but unstable trade policy. Trump’s renunciation of the Iran nuclear deal, his efforts to rene...

To conserve ocean life, marine reserves need to protect species that move around

Written by Heather Welch, Researcher in Ecosystem Dynamics, University of California, Santa Cruz

Bottlenose dolphins off the coast of New Jersey.Artie Kopelman, CC BY

This summer, many Americans will visit national parks and wildlife refuges in hope of seeing wild animals, such as bison on the Plains or alligators in the Everglades. Creating protected areas that forbid or manage activities like hunting is an important tool for protecting...

Students need IT skills to compete in the new economy

Written by Christos A. Makridis, Economist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Jobs that are 'IT intensive' have shown dramatic growth, new research shows.Mark Agnor/www.shutterstock.com

By 2026, employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 13 percent over what it was in 2016. Jobs in these fields will require skills in cloud computing, big data collection and storage, information...

Neurons made from blood cells – a new tool for understanding brain diseases

Written by Marius Wernig, Associate Professor of Pathology at the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University

Marius Wernig, Thomas C. Südhof and their colleagues created these “Induced neuronal (iN) cells” from adult human blood cells. Marius Wernig, CC BY-ND

Our team at Stanford University has just figured out the recipe for converting blood cells from adults directly into nerve cells, or neurons.

You may be wondering why anyone would...

'Jurassic Park' made a dinosaur-sized leap forward in computer-generated animation on screen, 25 years ago

Written by Adam Bargteil, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Computer-generated dinosaurs walk the Earth.Universal Pictures Studios

With 25 years of hindsight, “Jurassic Park” marks a pivotal point in the history of visual effects in film. It came 11 years after 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” debuted computer-generated imagery for a visual effect with a particle system...