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The US birth rate keeps declining: 4 questions answered

  • Written by Marie Menke, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh
Many American women are having children later in life.Sopotnicki/Shutterstock.com

Over the last few decades, birth rates have decreased across the globe.

The United States is no exception. Aside from a few years in the mid-2000s, the number of births in the United States have been falling for the last three decades and have now reached their lowest...

Read more: The US birth rate keeps declining: 4 questions answered

Boomers have a drug problem, but not the kind you might think

  • Written by Laurie Archbald-Pannone, Associate Professor Medicine, Geriatrics, University of Virginia
Some boomers are on multiple medications. Combinations of those drugs could have serious side effects.Getty Images / Sporrer/Rupp

Baby boomers – that’s anyone born in the U.S. between 1946 and 1964 – are 20% of the population, more than 70 million Americans. Decades ago, many in that generation experimented with drugs that were...

Read more: Boomers have a drug problem, but not the kind you might think

What are viruses anyway, and why do they make us so sick? 5 questions answered

  • Written by Marilyn J. Roossinck, Professor of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, Pennsylvania State University
Patients infected with COVID-19 rest at a temporary hospital in Wuhan, China, Feb. 17, 2020.Getty Images/Xiao Yijiu

Editor’s Note: You may sometimes have felt like you “have come down with a virus,” meaning that you became sick from being exposed to something that could have been a virus. In fact, you have a virus –...

Read more: What are viruses anyway, and why do they make us so sick? 5 questions answered

Do I have to wear a jacket when it's cold outside?

  • Written by Carolyn Kaloostian, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, University of Southern California
It's an age-old battle between parents and kids.Alena Ozerova/Shutterstock.com

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.


Will I get sick if I go out in the cold without a jacket? – Ben P., age 4, South Orange, New Jersey


The...

Read more: Do I have to wear a jacket when it's cold outside?

Nevada debate highlights: The dance of women leaders and limited economic opportunity

  • Written by Lisa DeFrank-Cole, Professor of Leadership Studies, West Virginia University
Democratic presidential candidates (L-R): Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) on Feb. 19, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Getty Images/Mario Tama

Editor’s note: Six...

Read more: Nevada debate highlights: The dance of women leaders and limited economic opportunity

Weinstein trial begs a question: Why is the pain of women and minorities often ignored?

  • Written by Anne P. DePrince, Professor of Psychology, University of Denver
Harvey Weinstein leaves the court after prosecutors completed their closing argument in his rape trial on Feb. 14, 2020.AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

The trial of media mogul Harvey Weinstein is “a test of sympathies” – and Weinstein wants yours.

For months, he has presented his pain to us, granting a hospital-room interview to catalog...

Read more: Weinstein trial begs a question: Why is the pain of women and minorities often ignored?

Something Democrats and Republicans have in common: Exaggerated stereotypes about both parties

  • Written by Douglas J. Ahler, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Florida State University
Misconceptions abound on both sides of the aisle.Victor Moussa/Shutterstock.com

With animosity between party supporters already at an all-time high, buckle up for what promises to be one of the most contentious elections in modern U.S. history.

It’s becoming increasingly possible that the nation will have a choice between two extremes in...

Read more: Something Democrats and Republicans have in common: Exaggerated stereotypes about both parties

Growing up in a banking desert can hurt your credit for the rest of your life

  • Written by Tony Cookson, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Colorado Boulder
It's lonely out there.Winslow Productions via Getty Images

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

The Big Idea

A banking desert is an area without traditional financial institutions and services. They are common in rural areas because large financial institutions are reluctant to operate in less populated areas that are less...

Read more: Growing up in a banking desert can hurt your credit for the rest of your life

'Bee-washing' hurts bees and misleads consumers

  • Written by Lila Westreich, PhD Candidate, School of Environment and Forest Sciences, Seattle, Washington, University of Washington
Native bumblebees perform 'buzz pollination,' shaking flowers to release protein-rich pollen.A. Westreich, CC BY

Amid the worry over the loss of honeybees, a far quieter but just as devastating loss is occurring among lesser known native bee populations. Wild native bees are vital to pollinate plants. Their populations are declining due to a...

Read more: 'Bee-washing' hurts bees and misleads consumers

More Articles ...

  1. Animals large and small once covered North America's prairies – and in some places, they could again
  2. What liberals and conservatives get wrong about free expression on college campuses
  3. Craigslist turns 25 – a reminder that a more democratic version of the internet can still thrive
  4. Democratic candidates seek a big and unprecedented K-12 funding boost
  5. Even very young children can become prejudiced but schools can do something about it
  6. Naming the new coronavirus – why taking Wuhan out of the picture matters
  7. Conservative Islamic views are gaining ground in secular Bangladesh and curbing freedom of expression
  8. Fringe religious party gains power in crisis-stricken Peru
  9. Assisted dying is not the easy way out
  10. Trump supporters have little trust in societal institutions
  11. A military perspective on climate change could bridge the gap between believers and doubters
  12. Natural supplements can be dangerously contaminated, or not even have the specified ingredients
  13. Think the US is more polarized than ever? You don't know history
  14. Out-of-context photos are a powerful low-tech form of misinformation
  15. Trump's big bet on career and technical education
  16. AI algorithms intended to root out welfare fraud often end up punishing the poor instead
  17. Incomplete and inadequate: Information lacking for seniors looking for assisted living
  18. Well, impeachment didn't work – how else can Congress keep President Trump in check?
  19. Historic Iwo Jima footage shows individual Marines amid the larger battle
  20. America’s postwar fling with romance comics
  21. Minority patients benefit from having minority doctors, but that's a hard match to make
  22. Restoring the reputations of charities after scandals
  23. Transgender Americans are more likely to be unemployed and poor
  24. How to convince your loved ones to get the flu shot this year
  25. How did I get my own unique set of fingerprints?
  26. The power of a song in a strange land
  27. On the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, a look back at what was lost
  28. Galentine's Day has become a thing – why hasn't Malentine's Day?
  29. The secondhand smoke you're breathing may have come from another state
  30. When presidential campaigns end, what happens to the leftover money?
  31. Why so many architects are angered by 'Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again'
  32. Schools should heed calls to do lockdown drills without traumatizing kids instead of abolishing them
  33. Hackers could shut down satellites – or turn them into weapons
  34. Candidates say they want to build momentum with voters – but what is that actually worth?
  35. A 4-step maintenance plan to help keep your relationship going strong
  36. How the T-Mobile-Sprint merger will increase inequality
  37. How China does Valentine's Day
  38. Climate change impacts in Bangladesh show how geography, wealth and culture affect vulnerability
  39. Women in Arab countries find themselves torn between opportunity and tradition
  40. The silent threat of the coronavirus: America's dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals
  41. 'Stolen' elections open wounds that may never heal
  42. Hundreds of county jails detained immigrants for ICE
  43. Why sequencing the human genome failed to produce big breakthroughs in disease
  44. The opioid crisis is a big issue in New Hampshire – 5 questions answered on what voters want the candidates to do
  45. The history of 'coming out,' from secret gay code to popular political protest
  46. A college president's advice to college students of the future: Don't borrow
  47. Lynching preachers: How black pastors resisted Jim Crow and white pastors incited racial violence
  48. How a Native American coming-of-age ritual is making a comeback
  49. A Nazi drug's US resurgence: How meth is making a disturbing reappearance
  50. Potential gene therapy to combat cocaine addiction