The Conversation

We study mass surveillance for social control, and we see Trump laying the groundwork to ‘contain’ people of color and immigrants

Written by Brittany Friedman, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California

Black and Latino communities are disproportionately affected by mass surveillance, studies show.Vicente Méndez/Getty Images

President Donald Trump has vowed to target his political enemies, and experts have warned that he could weaponize U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct mass surveillance on his targets.

Mass surveillance is the...

Survey shows immigrants in Florida – even US citizens – are less likely to seek health care after passage of anti-immigrant laws

Written by Elizabeth Aranda, Professor of Sociology, University of South Florida

For decades, many U.S. immigrants have received subpar health care, and asking about immigration status can make those disparities worse.Maskot via Getty Images

Since arriving in the United States four years ago, Alex has worked at a primary care office. He has witnessed firsthand how difficult it was for immigrants to access preventive care.

When...

Colliding plasma ejections from the Sun generate huge geomagnetic storms − studying them will help scientists monitor future space weather

Written by Shirsh Lata Soni, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan

The Sun periodically ejects huge bubbles of plasma from its surface that contain an intense magnetic field. These events are called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs. When two of these ejections collide, they can generate powerful geomagnetic storms that can lead to beautiful auroras but may disrupt satellites and GPS back on Earth.

On May 10, 2024,...

Making sex deadly for insects could control pests that carry disease and harm crops

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University

In the toxic male technique, genetically engineered male insects would implant semen containing toxic venom into the female insects during mating.Madugrero/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Insects do a lot more harm than ruining picnics. Some insects spread devastating diseases, while others cause staggering economic losses in agriculture. To control...

From ancient emperors to modern presidents, leaders have used libraries to cement their legacies

Written by Myrsini Mamoli, Lecturer of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

The Library of Celsus was a famous landmark in its time – and today.Myrsini Mamoli

Here in Atlanta, the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum has been part of my daily life for years. Parks and trails surrounding the center connect my neighborhood to the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park downtown and everything in between....

How allies have helped the US gain independence, defend freedom and keep the peace – even as the US did the same for our friends

Written by Donald Heflin, Executive Director of the Edward R. Murrow Center and Senior Fellow of Diplomatic Practice, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

French Gen. Jean de Rochambeau and American Gen. George Washington giving the last orders in October 1781 for the battle at Yorktown, where the British defeat ended the War of Independence.'Siege of Yorktown' painting, Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images.

Make Canada angry. Make Mexico angry. Make the members of NATO angry.

During the...

A fiscal crisis is looming for many US cities

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Houston residents at a flooded park after the passage of Hurricane Beryl, July 8, 2024.Mark Felix/AFP via Getty Images

Five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many U.S. cities are still adjusting to a new normal, with more people working remotely and less economic activity in city centers. Other factors, such as underfunded pension...

Trump’s threats on Greenland, Gaza, Ukraine and Panama revive old-school US imperialism of dominating other nations by force, after decades of nuclear deterrence

Written by Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Imperialist rhetoric is becoming a mark of President Donald Trump’s second term. From asserting that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip, Greenland and the Panama Canal to apparently siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine, Trump’s comments suggest a return to an old imperialist style of forcing foreign lands under...

Trump’s move to closer ties with Russia does not mean betrayal of Ukraine, yet – in his first term, Trump was pretty tough on Putin

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, University of South Florida

Traditional Russian wooden nesting dolls depict U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a gift shop in Moscow on Feb. 13, 2025. Tatyana Makeyeva/AFP via Getty Images

The United States’ steadfast allegiance to Ukraine during that country’s three-year war against Russia appears to be quickly disintegrating...

p53 is both your genome’s guardian and weakness against cancer – scientists are trying to repair or replace it when it goes awry

Written by Prosper Obed Chukwuemeka, Ph.D. Candidate in Integrative Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh

To stop tumors from forming, p53 can trigger programmed cell death.Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Cancer arises when your cells grow uncontrollably and refuse to die when they should. Normally, your body is equipped with regulatory processes to prevent this chaos. One such mechanism involves a protein called p53. Often dubbed...