The Conversation

Blood in your veins is not blue – here's why it's always red

Written by Marisia Fikiet, Ph.D. Student in Chemistry, University at Albany, State University of New York

Is it always the same?Elnur/Shutterstock.com

Whenever you see blood outside your body, it looks red. Why?

Heme is the part of the hemoglobin molecule that latches onto oxygen and then releases it to tissues around the body.Waikwanlai, CC BY

Human blood is red because of the protein hemoglobin, which contains a red-colored compound called heme...

SpongeBob's Bikini Bottom is based on a real-life test site for nuclear weapons

Written by Holly M. Barker, Senior Lecturer, University of Washington

“Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?”

My anthropology class replied, “SpongeBob Squarepants.” Their thunderous response filled the auditorium.

Nearly 20 years ago, the underwater world of SpongeBob and his quirky, colorful friends debuted as a cartoon. The cultural icon is now a Broadway musical, up for 12 Tony awards.

My...

For NFL players, social media is key to winning PR battle over anthem protests

Written by Galen Clavio, Associate Professor of Sports Media; Director of the National Sports Journalism Center, Indiana University

The power of players extends well beyond on-field actions.AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

As the furor over NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem rekindles, the full power of the players themselves has not yet come into play. Presidential politics and U.S. culture wars combined to make the issue a dominant subplot of the 2017 NFL season. In...

What's behind Italy's crisis and why it matters

Written by Bruno Pellegrino, PhD Candidate in Business Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

Giuseppe Conte is Italy's newest prime minister. AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

Editor’s note: Italy managed to form a government after briefly slipping into political crisis, which sent markets around the world into a panic as investors fretted about the fate of the European Union. The crisis began on May 27 when the political party that won the...

Teenage depression: If a parent doesn't get treatment for a child, is that abuse?

Written by Michael Shapiro, Associate Professor, Psychiatry, University of Florida

Teenage depression is a serious and lonely illness, sometimes leading to suicide. fizkes/Shutterstock.com

Hospital visits for kids in the U.S. who have contemplated or thought about suicide have risen sharply.

As a child and adolescent psychiatrist, I am not surprised. For years, I ran a child psychiatric hospital, where we treat kids after they...

Why Puerto Rico’s death toll from Hurricane Maria is so much higher than officials thought

Written by Alexis R. Santos-Lozada, Assistant Teaching Professor in Sociology, Pennsylvania State University

Hurricane Maria’s destruction likely have led to thousands more deaths than originally estimated.Ramon Espinosa/AP

“If you don’t get away from those areas, you are going to die.” That statement concluded Puerto Rico Secretary of Public Safety Héctor Pesquera’s press conference before Hurricane Maria.

As of Dec....

Deportado dos veces, este hombre lucha para salvar a su familia

Written by Oscar Gil-Garcia, Assistant Professor, Binghamton University, State University of New York

La cerca de la frontera entre los Estados Unidos y México que separa Tijuana, México y San Diego, Calif.AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd

Durante más de una década documenté la deportación de un hombre, el impacto que tuvo en su familia y su eventual regreso a Estados Unidos.

Hice esto como parte de mis estudios de la...

Deportado dos veces, este hombre lucha para ayudar a la supervivencia de su familia

Written by Oscar Gil-Garcia, Assistant Professor, Binghamton University, State University of New York

La cerca de la frontera entre los Estados Unidos y México que separa Tijuana, México y San Diego, Calif.AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd

Durante más de una década documenté la deportación de un hombre, el impacto que tuvo en su familia y su eventual regreso a Estados Unidos.

Hice esto como parte de mis estudios de la...

Juul: Why a trendy e-cig is causing a social – and public health – commotion

Written by Amy Lauren Fairchild, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at the School of Public Health, Associate Vice President for Faculty and Academic Affairs at Texas A&M Health Science Center, Professor of Health Policy & Management, Texas A&M Universit

A woman exhaling after taking a hit from a Juul. vaping360.com/juul/juul-vapor-review/, CC BY-SA

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a campaign to discourage e-cigarette vaping. While it targeted all e-cigarette vaping, the campaign makes a powerful visual reference to Juul, a device that can be recharged in a computer...

Immigration agents X-raying migrants to determine age isn't just illegal, it's a misuse of science

Written by Elizabeth A. DiGangi, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Teeth and bones can tell something about age – but not someone's birthday.Journal of Forensic Dental Sciences, CC BY-NC-SA

A teenager’s father is murdered in Somalia, and the boy travels to the United States seeking asylum. Another teen’s father and brother are murdered by extremist groups in Afghanistan and he too makes his way...