The Conversation

Tooth fairy study reveals children near lead smelters are exposed to dangerous lead in the womb

Written by Jill Johnston, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California

A worker recycling lead in a lead acid battery recovery facility.National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

The environmental tragedy in Flint, Michigan, in which drinking water contaminated with lead raised fears of potential health effects for exposed children, revealed the failure of a regulatory system to protect residents from lead...

Boredom in the mating market: Guppies demonstrate why it’s good to stand out

Written by Mitchel Daniel, Postdoctoral Fellow in Ecology and Evolution, Florida State University

A male guppy looks good when he looks different.Mitchel Daniel, CC BY-ND

If you’re looking for love, it pays to stand out from the crowd. Or at least that’s how it works in some parts of the animal kingdom. Scientists have found that in several species – green swordtail fish, Trinidadian guppies, fruit flies, Poecilia parae fish...

Sunscreen wouldn't have saved Bob Marley from melanoma, and it won't help other dark-skinned people

Written by Adewole S. Adamson, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (Division of Dermatology), University of Texas at Austin

An image of Bob Marley at a Bob Marley Exhibit in Miami Oct. 16, 2013. Lynne Slakdy/AP Photo

Melanoma is a potentially deadly form of skin cancer linked to overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. Sunscreen can block UV rays and therefore reduce the risk of sun burns, which ultimately reduces the risk of developing melanoma. Thus, the...

Is the brain parasite _Toxoplasma_ manipulating your behavior, or is your immune system to blame?

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Indiana University

The parasite _Toxoplasma gondii_ only reproduces sexually in cats.fotovapl/Shutterstock.com, CC BY-SA

We’re not the same when we get sick. Whether it is sneezing when we get a cold, or ferociously biting people when we get rabies, germs change our behavior.

That’s because germs need to transmit from one host to another. Consequently,...

Long considered a high honor, the valedictorian tradition faces an uncertain future

Written by John R. Thelin, University Research Professor, University of Kentucky

More and more schools are doing away with the valedictorian honor.Joseph Sohm from www.shutterstock.com

As college and high school graduations take place, thousands of select students will step to podiums to deliver their graduating class’s farewell remarks at commencement ceremonies throughout the United States.

These students – usually...

The electric vehicle revolution will come from China, not the US

Written by Jack Barkenbus, Visiting Scholar, Vanderbilt Institute for Energy & Environment, Vanderbilt University

A Chinese hybrid-electric SUV made by BYD.Jengtingchen/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

The electric vehicle revolution is coming, but it won’t be driven by the U.S. Instead, China will be at the forefront.

My research on EVs, dating back a decade, convinces me that this global transformation in mobility, from petroleum-fueled vehicles to electric...

How is climate change affecting fishes? There are clues inside their ears

Written by Karin Limburg, Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

Climate change could further stress species such as Atlantic cod that already are threatened by overfishing.Vladimir Wrangel/Shutterstock

Climate change affects all life on Earth, but it poses unique challenges for aquatic species. For example, as water warms it holds less dissolved oxygen than cooler water. As a result, the world’s oceans,...

Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize? Japan's nomination is part of a strategic plan

Written by Chris G. Pope, Researcher, Kyoto Women's University

Japan wants talks with North Korea, and its prime minister thinks Donald Trump can help.

On May 3, North Korea, a nuclear power, launched short-range missiles off its east coast, uncomfortably close to neighboring Japan. It is not the first time North Korea has shot ballistic missiles over, near or into Japanese territory in recent years.

After the...

When Americans go to the polls, they look to the past – not the future

Written by J. Edwin Benton, Professor of Political Science and Public Administration, University of South Florida

Where will Americans want to go in 2020?C Z/shutterstock.com

There’s one question that almost every American voter asks him- or herself when casting their vote for president.

Has the incumbent’s – or the incumbent party’s – past performance in office been sufficient to merit another term?

Unlike voters in many other...

China-US trade war heats up: 3 reasons it won't cool down anytime soon

Written by Greg Wright, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of California, Merced

The truce in the U.S.-China trade war is in tatters.

China said on May 13 that it will impose new tariffs on a range of American goods in retaliation for President Donald Trump’s decision to raise duties on US$200 billion in Chinese imports.

Although trade talks may continue, for now the trade war that Trump began in January 2018 is back on,...