The Conversation

Plastic pipes are polluting drinking water systems after wildfires – it's a risk in urban fires, too

Written by Andrew J. Whelton, Associate Professor of Civil, Environmental & Ecological Engineering, Purdue University

Heat-damaged plastic pipes can continue to leach chemicals into water over time.Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

When wildfires swept through the hills near Santa Cruz, California, in 2020, they released toxic chemicals into the water supplies of at least two communities. One sample found benzene, a carcinogen, at 40 times the state’s drinking...

Pardon me? An ethicist's guide to what is proper when it comes to presidential pardons

Written by Scott Davidson, Professor of Philosophy, West Virginia University

Who else will Trump save from the chop before leaving office?AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Questions surrounding President Trump’s use of the pardon power began almost as soon as he entered office in 2017 and will continue undoubtedly through his final days in power. To date, Trump has issued 29 pardons during his presidency – compared to 212...

On the first day of Christmas...teachers got a legal headache over blurring the line between church and state

Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree...do you violate the establishment clause?Jack Riddle/The Denver Post via Getty Images

During a school year disrupted by pandemic-related closures, students across the U.S. will soon be absent for a scheduled reason: the annual Christmas break.

In New York City, the U.S.‘s largest school district, children...

Who is doing all those COVID-19 tests? Why you should care about medical laboratory professionals

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

A laboratory technician wearing full personal protective equipment handles live samples taken from people tested for the coronavirus.ANDREW MILLIGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Who do you think performs your medical laboratory tests for COVID-19 or any other test? If you answered “my doctor” or “my nurse” or a robot, you would...

A hospital that prescribes free nutritious food to families who need more than medical care

Written by Diana Cuy Castellanos, Assistant Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition, University of Dayton

Eating a healthful diet helps keep people healthy.rustam shaimov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Being food-insecure – unable to get enough nutritious food to meet your needs – can take a toll on your health. So Dayton Children’s Hospital has begun to screen its patients and their families for this problem and refer them to what...

Puerto Rico wants statehood – but only Congress can make it the 51st state in the United States

Written by Rashid Carlos Jamil Marcano Rivera, Ph.D. Candidate in Political Science, Indiana University

As an unincorporated U.S. territory, Puerto Rico has fewer constitutional and political rights than a state.ankmsn/Getty

Puerto Ricans requested statehood on Nov. 3, 2020, with 52.3% of voters asking to change the island’s status from unincorporated territory to U.S. state.

This is the sixth time statehood has been on the ballot since Puerto...

Why getting back to 'normal' doesn't have to involve police in schools

Written by Stanley S. Litow, Visting Professor of the Pratice, Public Policy, Duke University

Roughly half of public schools have a police presence.Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Since COVID-19 forced many of America’s schools to teach kids remotely, parents and elected officials have been rightly concerned about when things will get back to normal.

But there are certain aspects of education where a return to a...

W.E.B. Du Bois embraced science to fight racism as editor of NAACP's magazine The Crisis

Written by Jordan Besek, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University at Buffalo

W.E.B. Du Bois in his office at The Crisis in New York City, 1925.W. E. B. Du Bois Papers (MS 312). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, CC BY-ND

The NAACP – the most prominent interracial civil rights organization in American history – published the first issue of The Crisis, its...

Taking fish out of fish feed can make aquaculture a more sustainable food source

Written by Pallab Sarker, Associate Research Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Farmed red tilapia, Thai Mueang, Thailand.Kittichai Boonpong / EyeEm via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Aquaculture, or fish farming, is the world’s fastest-growing food production sector. But the key ingredients in commercial fish feed – fishmeal and fish oil – come...

Mermaids aren't real – but they've fascinated people around the world for ages

Written by Peter Goggin, Associate Professor of English, Arizona State University

Superstition or wishful thinking could trick you into thinking you saw one of these mythical creatures.AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez

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.

Are mermaids real? – Verona, age 9, Owensboro,...