The Conversation

Loss of muscle mass among elderly can lead to falls, and staying put during the pandemic doesn't help

Written by Roger Fielding, Lab Director and Senior Scientist, Tufts University

Falls are the No. 1 cause of accidental death among people 65 and older. A loss of muscle mass contributes. Real People Group via Getty Images

Older adults are at much higher risk of death from COVID-19 than their younger counterparts, but many also face another, less recognized health risk associated with the pandemic: loss of muscle mass. This...

How Bezos and Amazon changed the world

Written by Venkatesh Shankar, Coleman Chair Professor of Marketing and Director of Research, Texas A&M University

Jeff Bezos reshaped retail as CEO of Amazon.AP Photo/John Locher

Amazon announced Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO almost 27 years after he founded the company to sell books to customers over dial-up modems.

Amazon wasn’t the first bookstore to sell online, but it wanted to be “Earth’s biggest.” When it first launched, a...

How food banks help Americans who have trouble getting enough to eat

Written by David Himmelgreen, Professor of Anthropology, University of South Florida

Food banks are busier than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

Food banks, nonprofits that collect and distribute food to hunger relief organizations, have played an essential role in the distribution of emergency food relief throughout the United States for more than 50 years.

They have been more visible than ever before...

What is food insecurity?

Written by Caitlin Caspi, Professor of Public Health, University of Connecticut

U.S. reliance on food assistance is rising during the coronavirus pandemic as more people grapple with economic hardship.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Among the many striking images from the pandemic is an aerial photo showing cars in seemingly endless rows lined up at a food bank in San Antonio, Texas.

A jarring awareness of food insecurity in the...

The Biden administration can eliminate food insecurity in the United States – here's how

Written by Craig Gundersen, Professor of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Will President Biden achieve something no other president has: an end to food insecurity?Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Biden administration faces many challenges, some of which may prove to be intractable. But in one key area affecting tens of millions of Americans, it is well-positioned to attain a truly monumental achievement – the near...

Coronavirus variants, viral mutation and COVID-19 vaccines: The science you need to understand

Written by Richard Kuhn, Professor of Biological Sciences, Purdue University

The SARS-CoV-2 virus is mutating.Aitor Diago/Moment via Getty Images

The SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates fast. That’s a concern because these more transmissible variants of SARS-CoV-2 are now present in the U.S., U.K. and South Africa and other countries, and many people are wondering whether the current vaccines will protect the recipients from...

How Connecticut's schools have managed to maintain lunch distribution for kids who need it most during the COVID-19 pandemic

Written by Marlene B. Schwartz, Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Connecticut

When they moved instruction online, many schools began distributing grab-and-go lunches.AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Connecticut schools ensured that low-income students were still getting enough to eat after the pandemic first shuttered buildings in March because of a swift...

3 ways Black people say their white co-workers and managers can support them and be an antidote to systemic racism

Written by Jennifer R. Joe, Professor of Accounting, University of Delaware

People of color say they want office allies who offer honest feedback.10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images

President Joe Biden committed the U.S. government to racial equity by issuing four executive orders on Jan. 26 that seek to curb systemic racism. In the orders, he cited the killing of George Floyd in 2020, which sparked months of...

Strong political institutions can uphold democracy, even if people can't agree on politics

Written by Joseph Daniel Ura, Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

Pro-Trump rioters trying to enter Capitol building. A recent poll showed that up to one-fifth of Americans supported the assault on the Capitol.Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Americans’ trust in the federal government has declined steadily in the last half-century, polls show.

The 2020 presidential election did little to...

No, you are not addicted to your digital device, but you may have a habit you want to break

Written by Ian A. Anderson, Ph.D. Student, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Frequent social media use does not necessarily equate to addiction.Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Imagine that you’re a typical middle school student having dinner with your family. Your mother takes your smartphone away and puts it in a lock-box that won’t open for an hour.

Would you: (a) go ahead and eat dinner with your...