The Conversation

US life expectancy just dropped for the second year in a row. Let's stop the trend now

Written by David Bishai, Professor of Health Economics, Johns Hopkins University

Deaths from opioid, suicide and other public health threats could have been avoided.Syda Productions/shutterstock.com

U.S. gross domestic product is at an all-time high. U.S. life expectancy is not.

Life expectancy has fallen for the second time in two years – from a high of 78.9 years in 2014 to 78.6 years in 2016. It fell for men and...

Shades of green: What gig economy workers can learn from the success of romance writers

Written by Chris Larson, Assistant Professor of Journalism, University of Colorado

When “Fifty Shades Freed” opens in theaters on Feb. 9, fans will no doubt flock to see bad boy Christian Grey (played by Jamie Dornan) bested by naughty-but-nice heroine Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson).

A less racy but equally thrilling story, my research shows, is how romance writers are getting ahead in the digital era.

While...

How robot math and smartphones led researchers to a drug discovery breakthrough

Written by Ian Haydon, Doctoral Student in Biochemistry, University of Washington

Moving a robot is like manipulating a molecule.Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock.com

Robotic movement can be awkward.

For us humans, a healthy brain handles all the minute details of bodily motion without demanding conscious attention. Not so for brainless robots – in fact, calculating robotic movement is its own scientific subfield.

My colleagues...

Deadly California mudslides show the need for maps and zoning that better reflect landslide risk

Written by David R. Montgomery, Professor of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington

Search and rescue personnel scan a home in the aftermath of a mudslide, Jan. 13, 2018, in Montecito, California.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Scenic hill slopes can be inspiring – or deadly, as we are seeing after the disastrous debris flows that have ravaged the community of Montecito, California in the wake of heavy rains on Tuesday, Jan. 9,...

New study reveals why some people are more creative than others

Written by Roger Beaty, Postdoctoral Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience, Harvard University

The answer has long eluded scientists.agsandrew/Shutterstock.com

Creativity is often defined as the ability to come up with new and useful ideas. Like intelligence, it can be considered a trait that everyone – not just creative “geniuses” like Picasso and Steve Jobs – possesses in some capacity.

It’s not just your...

Closure of DC public charter school offers important lessons for Secretary DeVos and school choice debate

Written by Claire Smrekar, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt University

First lady Melania Trump, Queen Rania of Jordan and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos talk with students at the Excel Academy Public Charter School last April. Principal Dana Bogle, on left.AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and first lady Melania Trump visited Excel Academy Public Charter School last spring, DeVos...

What we can learn from closure of charter school that DeVos praised as 'shining example'

Written by Claire Smrekar, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt University

When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and first lady Melania Trump visited Excel Academy Public Charter School last spring, DeVos...

Donald Trump doesn't understand Haiti, immigration or American history

Written by Chantalle F. Verna, Associate Professor of History and International Relations, Florida International University

After Haiti signed its Declaration of Independence from France, in 1804, the U.S. started a 60-year political and economic embargo that hobbled the young nation's growth.Wikimedia

Donald Trump’s denigrating comments about Haiti during a recent congressional meeting shocked people around the globe, but given his track record of disrespecting...

What activists today can learn from MLK, the ‘conservative militant'

Written by Christopher Beem, Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute of Democracy, Pennsylvania State University

A protestor holds a sign with a quote from civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at the South Carolina Statehouse.AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins

In the turbulent days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration, activists launched resistance movements: Greenpeace activists climbed a large construction crane near the White House and unfurled...

Craft beer is becoming the wine of New England by redefining 'terroir'

Written by Daina Cheyenne Harvey, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross

Pouring Saison, a classic Belgian farmhouse-style ale, at Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine.Allagash Brewing, CC BY

The U.S. craft beer industry is exploding. Although two companies – Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors – have produced more than 75 percent of all beer consumed in the United States for decades, America now has more...