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Biosphere 2’s latest mission: Learning how life first emerged on Earth – and how to make barren worlds habitable

  • Written by Scott Saleska, Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona
imageBiosphere 2 is a research facility located near Tucson, Ariz.Katja Schulz/Flickr, CC BY

From a distance, Biosphere 2 emerges from the cacti and creosote of the Sonoran desert like a gleaming oasis, a colony of glass and bright white structures. Despite being just outside Tucson, Arizona, it looks almost like a colony on another planet.

When one of...

Read more: Biosphere 2’s latest mission: Learning how life first emerged on Earth – and how to make barren...

Politicizing federal troops in US mirrors use of military in Latin America in the 1970s and ’80s

  • Written by Kristina Mani, Professor of Politics, Oberlin College and Conservatory
imageU.S. Marines guard the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles on June 22, 2025.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

In his second term as president, Donald Trump has deployed U.S. military forces in rarely used roles in domestic law enforcement.

Besides sending military troops to Los Angeles to counter protests over immigration raids, Trump sent the National...

Read more: Politicizing federal troops in US mirrors use of military in Latin America in the 1970s and ’80s

Some new drugs aren’t actually ‘new’ – pharmaceutical companies exploit patents and raise prices for patients, but data transparency can help protect innovation

  • Written by Lucy Xiaolu Wang, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics, UMass Amherst
imageWhen companies file hundreds of patents for a single drug, affordable versions can remain out of reach for years.pilli/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Pharmaceutical innovation saves lives. But not every “new” drug is truly new.

Patents are designed to reward breakthrough inventions by granting the inventors temporary monopoly rights to...

Read more: Some new drugs aren’t actually ‘new’ – pharmaceutical companies exploit patents and raise prices...

Mindfulness won’t burn calories, but it might help you stick with your health goals

  • Written by Masha Remskar, Psychologist and Postdoctoral Researcher in Behavioral Science, Arizona State University
imageMeditation exists on a spectrum, from mindful moments and bursts of mindfulness to building up to a formal meditative practice.d3sign/Moment via Getty Images

Most people know roughly what kind of lifestyle they should be living to stay healthy.

Think regular exercise, a balanced diet and sufficient sleep. Yet, despite all the hacks, trackers and...

Read more: Mindfulness won’t burn calories, but it might help you stick with your health goals

Trump’s targeting of ‘enemies’ like James Comey echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty tricks and perversion of justice under J. Edgar Hoover

  • Written by Betty Medsger, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, San Francisco State University
imageThe building in Media, Penn. where burglars in 1971 found evidence of decades of FBI abuses against citizens.Betty Medsger

As a candidate last year, Donald Trump promised retribution against his perceived enemies. As president, he is doing that.

At the Department of Justice, a “Weaponization Working Group” has a long list of...

Read more: Trump’s targeting of ‘enemies’ like James Comey echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance,...

Trump’s use of FBI to target ‘enemies’ echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty tricks and perversion of justice under J. Edgar Hoover

  • Written by Betty Medsger, Professor Emeritus of Journalism, San Francisco State University
imageThe building in Media, Penn. where burglars in 1971 found evidence of decades of FBI abuses against citizens.Betty Medsger

As a candidate last year, Donald Trump promised retribution against his perceived enemies. As president, he is doing that.

At the Department of Justice, a “Weaponization Working Group” has a long list of...

Read more: Trump’s use of FBI to target ‘enemies’ echoes FBI’s dark history of mass surveillance, dirty...

Even as Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves, TV networks remain more vulnerable to political pressure than ever before

  • Written by Sage Meredith Goodwin, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for American Political History and Technology, Purdue University
imageABC briefly suspended 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' after the host made controversial remarks about the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Turner

“Is there any way we can screw him?” asked President Richard M. Nixon.

“We’ve been trying to,” an aide replied, alluding to the White...

Read more: Even as Jimmy Kimmel returns to the airwaves, TV networks remain more vulnerable to political...

A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media – shaping the news and culture Americans watch and stream

  • Written by Pawel Popiel, Assistant Professor of Journalism, Washington State University
imageA proposed mega-merger would give the new company massive influence over film, television, streaming and the cloud infrastructure.bymuratdeniz/iStock Getty Images Plus

Following unprecedented threats from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, major affiliate station owners Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting pressured...

Read more: A Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger could give Trump even more influence over US media –...

Why can’t we feel the Earth moving?

  • Written by Nilakshi Veerabathina, Professor of Physics Instruction, University of Texas at Arlington
imageThe Earth's rotation makes the stars look like they're moving.Qu Yubao/Xinhua News Agency 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 can’t we feel the Earth moving? – Dave H., age 12, Atlanta

Right now,...

Read more: Why can’t we feel the Earth moving?

A Great Lakes oil pipeline faces 3 controversies with no speedy resolutions

  • Written by Mike Shriberg, Professor of Practice & Engagement, School for Environment & Sustainability; Director of the University of Michigan Water Center, University of Michigan
imageA section of Enbridge's Line 5 runs along the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac in Michigan.Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy via AP

For more than a decade, controversy over an oil pipeline that passes directly through a Native American reservation and then across a sensitive waterway that is also a key shipping lane has...

Read more: A Great Lakes oil pipeline faces 3 controversies with no speedy resolutions

More Articles ...

  1. How Squishmallow collecting helped me cope with grief, make new enemies and find ‘villains’ worth studying
  2. TikTok sale puts app’s algorithm in the spotlight – a social media expert explains how the For You Page works and what changes are in store
  3. Vaccine mandates misinformation: 2 experts explain the true role of slavery and racism in the history of public health policy – and the growing threat ignorance poses today
  4. How Philly anarcho-punks blended music, noise and social justice in the 1990s and 2000s
  5. Why are there so many protests? The US public is highly polarized, and that drives people to act
  6. Why Jimmy Kimmel’s First Amendment rights weren’t violated – but ABC’s would be protected if it stood up to the FCC and Trump
  7. Palestinian statehood is winning major new supporters at UN – but symbolic action won’t make it happen
  8. UK and other Western nations recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN meetings – but symbolic action won’t make statehood happen
  9. UK, France and other Western nations recognize Palestinian state ahead of UN meetings – but symbolic action won’t make statehood happen
  10. Hepatitis B shot for newborns has nearly eliminated childhood infections with this virus in the US
  11. Naming and categorizing objects is part of how young kids develop executive function skills – new research
  12. Suicide-by-chatbot puts Big Tech in the product liability hot seat
  13. Antisemitism on campus is a real problem − but headlines and government-proposed solutions don’t match the experience of most Jewish students
  14. New website tracks how Pennsylvania’s $2.2B in opioid settlement funds is being spent
  15. The president as partisan warrior: Trump’s rejection of traditional presidential statesmanship
  16. More Americans meet criteria for high blood pressure under new guidelines
  17. Nuclear in your backyard? Tiny reactors could one day power towns and campuses – but community input will be key
  18. US touts collaborative plan to tackle Mexico’s drug cartels – but initiative is met with denial and mistrust south of the border
  19. Sourdough and submission in the name of God: How tradwife content fuses femininity with anti-feminist ideas
  20. How the spiritual sound of the shofar shapes the Jewish new year – a Jewish studies scholar explains
  21. A walk across Alaska’s Arctic sea ice brings to life the losses that appear in climate data
  22. Scams and frauds: Here are the tactics criminals use on you in the age of AI and cryptocurrencies
  23. 4 decades after the landmark book ‘Alone in a Crowd,’ women in the trades still battle bias – a professor-turned-welder reflects
  24. Pneumonia vaccines for adults are now recommended starting at age 50 – a geriatrician explains the change
  25. Trump administration is threatening liberal foundations and nonprofits after Kirk’s death – but proving wrongdoing by any of them would be very hard
  26. Why Florida’s plan to end vaccine mandates will likely spread to other conservative states
  27. A cold shock to ease the burn − how brief stress can help your brain reframe a tough workout
  28. Bolsonaro conviction breaks Brazil’s record of handing impunity to coup plotters and may protect its democracy from military interference
  29. For birds, flocks promise safety – especially if you’re faster than your neighbor
  30. Fed rate cut is attempt to prevent recession without sending prices soaring
  31. Vaccine death and side effects database relies on unverified reports – and Trump officials and right-wing media are applying it out of context
  32. Right-wing extremist violence is more frequent and more deadly than left-wing violence − what the data shows
  33. Can violent extremists be deradicalized? I spoke with 24 former terrorists in Indonesia to find out
  34. Mars rovers serve as scientists’ eyes and ears from millions of miles away – here are the tools Perseverance used to spot a potential sign of ancient life
  35. Muslim men have often been portrayed as ‘terrorists’ or ‘fanatics’ on TV shows, but Muslim-led storytelling is trying to change that narrative
  36. Would you eat a grasshopper? In Oaxaca, it’s been a tasty tradition for thousands of years
  37. Federal judge overturns part of Florida’s book ban law, drawing on nearly 100 years of precedent protecting First Amendment access to ideas
  38. Why do big oil companies invest in green energy?
  39. Harvard, like all Americans, can’t be punished by the government for speaking freely – and a federal court decision upholds decades of precedents saying so
  40. Your immune system attacks drugs like it does viruses – paradoxically offering a way to improve cancer treatment
  41. Calling deaths ‘preventable’ can obscure barriers to health care access and shift blame to individuals
  42. US women narrowed the pay gap with men by having fewer kids
  43. Does anyone go to prison for federal mortgage fraud? Not many, the numbers suggest
  44. Fed, under pressure to cut rates, tries to balance labor market and inflation – while avoiding dreaded stagflation
  45. Ukraine is starting to think about memorials – a tricky task during an ongoing war
  46. How a corpse plant makes its terrible smell − it has a strategy, and its female flowers do most of the work
  47. 5 ways students can think about learning so that they can learn more − and how their teachers can help
  48. After Charlie Kirk’s murder, the US might seem hopelessly divided – is there any way forward?
  49. Molecular ‘fossils’ offer microscopic clues to the origins of life – but they take care to interpret
  50. Identifying as a ‘STEM person’ makes you more likely to pursue a STEM job – and caregivers may unknowingly shape kids’ self-identity