The Conversation

Donations by top 50 US donors dropped sharply to $16 billion in 2022 – Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Mike Bloomberg and Warren Buffett lead the list of biggest givers

Written by David Campbell, Professor of Public Administration, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett were two of the year's biggest three donors.AP Photo/Nati Harnik

The top 50 American individuals and couples who gave or pledged the most to charity in 2022 committed to giving US$16 billion to foundations, universities, hospitals and more – a total that was 55% below an inflation-adjusted $35.6 billion in 2021,...

How do blood tests work? Medical laboratory scientists explain the pathway from blood draw to diagnosis and treatment

Written by Rodney E. Rohde, Regents' Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas State University

Pathology analyzes bodily fluids and tissues using a variety of methods.Alvaro Lavin/Moment via Getty Images

Medical laboratory testing is the heartbeat of medicine. It provides critical data for physicians to diagnose and treat disease, dating back thousands of years. Unfortunately, laboratory medicine as a field is poorly understood by both the...

Five years after Parkland shooting, a school psychologist offers insights on helping students and teachers deal with grief

Written by Philip J. Lazarus, Associate Professor, Counseling, Recreation and School Psychology, Florida International University

Simply returning to a school where a shooting took place can be a struggle for many students.fstop123 via Getty Images

Whenever a school shooting takes place, school officials often arrange for grief counseling services to be made available for whoever needs them. But what exactly do those services entail?

To answer that question, The Conversation...

My art uses plastic recovered from beaches around the world to understand how our consumer society is transforming the ocean

Written by Pam Longobardi, Regents' Professor of Art and Design, Georgia State University

Pam Longobardi amid a giant heap of fishing gear that she and volunteers from the Hawaii Wildlife Fund collected in 2008.David Rothstein, CC BY-ND

I am obsessed with plastic objects. I harvest them from the ocean for the stories they hold and to mitigate their ability to harm. Each object has the potential to be a message from the sea – a...

Tribes in Maine left out of Native American resurgence by 40-year-old federal law denying their self-determination

Written by Joseph Kalt, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy, Emeritus, Harvard Kennedy School

Supporters of one of several tribal sovereignty bills march in front of the governor's mansion on April 11, 2022, in Augusta, Maine. AP Photo/David Sharp

Hundreds of the 574 federally recognized Indian nations in the U.S. now routinely provide their citizens with the full array of services customarily expected from state and local governments, from...

Scandals can end congressional careers – which is why the Office of Congressional Ethics regularly faces attempts to rein it in

Written by Logan Dancey, Associate Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

The House GOP under new leader Kevin McCarthy, center in front of flag, adopted rules that included changes to operations of the office that conducts investigations of members.Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Members of Congress can have their reputations damaged when caught up in a scandal, as media coverage surrounding George Santos for...

Why the love story of Radha and Krishna has been told in Hinduism for centuries

Written by Jeffery D. Long, Professor of Religion and Asian Studies, Elizabethtown College

In the Hindu tradition, the story of the divine love of Radha and Krishna features prominently.Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images

Although it originated as a Christian holiday in honor of St. Valentine, Valentine’s Day has become a global celebration of romantic love, observed by people of many religions and of no religion.

Other...

Big Oil's trade group allies outspent clean energy groups by a whopping 27x, with billions in ads and lobbying to keep fossil fuels flowing

Written by Christian Downie, Associate Professor, Australian National University

Leer en español.

You’ve probably seen ads promoting gas and oil companies as the solutions to climate change. They’re meant to be inspiring and hopeful, with scenes of a green, clean future.

But shiny ads are not all these companies do to protect their commercial interests in the face of a rapidly heating world. Most also provide...

Why does the Earth spin?

Written by Silas Laycock, Professor of Astronomy, UMass Lowell

There are many pieces of evidence to help explain why the Earth spins, and some major mysteries.Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision 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 the Earth spin? Sara H., age 5, New...

A less biased way to determine trademark infringement? Asking the brain directly

Written by Zhihao Zhang, Assistant Professor of Business Administration, University of Virginia

Neuroimaging could help the courts better distinguish between two similar trademarks.RichVintage/E+ via Getty Images

Does the toothpaste Colddate infringe upon the trademark of Colgate? Some might think this is a no-brainer. But in a 2007 lawsuit between the two brands, Colgate-Palmolive lost on the grounds that the two brands were...