The Conversation

How parents can help their freshman teens cope with stress

Written by Chris Palmer, Professor of Film and Media Arts, American University School of Communication

Starting a new school can be stressful. But as a parent, you can help.Kamira/Shutterstock.com

Entering high school can be an exciting experience, but for some teenagers it can also be scary, intimidating and confusing.

According to one study, approximately half of all high school students feel a great deal of stress on a daily basis. As author and...

Trump's threat to withdraw from NAFTA may hit a hurdle: The US Constitution

Written by Tim Meyer, Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University

The Constitution may burst Trump's threat to withdraw from NAFTA. AP Photo/Mel Evans

On Aug. 16, representatives of the U.S., Canada and Mexico formally begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), an accord that has governed matters of trade and security on the continent for 23 years.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly...

Bait and switch: Anchovies eat plastic because it smells like prey

Written by Matthew Savoca, Postdoctoral fellow, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Plastic trash on San Francisco's Ocean Beach.Kevin Krejci, CC BY-SA

As you bite down into a delicious piece of fish, you probably don’t think about what the fish itself ate – but perhaps you should. Over 50 species of fish have been found to consume plastic trash at sea. This is bad news, not only for fish but potentially for humans who...

Does biology explain why men outnumber women in tech?

Written by Alice H. Eagly, Professor of Psychology; Faculty Fellow Institute for Policy Research; Professor of Management and Organizations, Northwestern University

Who's missing from this picture?Lawrence Sinclair, CC BY-NC-ND

It’s no secret that Silicon Valley employs many more men than women in tech jobs. What’s much harder to agree on is why.

The recent anti-diversity memo by a now former Google engineer has pushed this topic into the spotlight. The writer argued there are ways to explain the...

Lest we forget: Children are watching this racism, violence and our reactions

Written by Nia Heard-Garris, Instructor, Division of Academic General Pediatrics, Mary Ann & J. Milburn Smith Child Health Research Program; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg Sch

Cara McClure of Birmingham, Alabama cries Sunday in Charlottesville, Virginia at a solidarity meeting.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

I find myself in this place again. I am numb. I feel empty. I almost have no words.

The saddest part about this? I wrote these exact words little more than a year ago.

And now, here I am again, feeling the same feelings I...

The hidden stories of medical experimentation on Caribbean slave plantations

Written by Londa Schiebinger, Professor of History of Science, Stanford University

'The Plantation,' oil on wood, ca. 1825.The Metropolitan Museum of Art, CC BY

In the natural course of events, humans fall sick and die. Patients hope for miraculous remedies to restore their health.

We all want our medicines to work for us in wondrous ways. But how are human subjects chosen for experiments? Who bears the burden of risk? What...

The legal threat to diversity on campus

Written by Liliana M. Garces, Associate Professor of Education, University of Texas at Austin

Could legal intimidation threaten race-conscious admissions in the U.S.?AP Photo/Susan Walsh

Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that colleges and universities can use race as one factor among many in making admissions decisions. The court determined that such policies helped further an institution’s mission to attain the educational...

Are men seen as 'more American' than women?

Written by Laura Van Berkel, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Cologne

Protesters hold signs at the Chicago Women's March in January 2017.John W. Iwanski, CC BY-NC

Women make up 50.8 percent of the U.S. population and have equal voting rights, yet are politically underrepresented. The country has never had a female president or vice president. Only 3.5 percent of Supreme Court justices have been women, and women make...

Why the US shouldn't start a trade war with China

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

The U.S. is slapping tariffs on China-made aluminum, which could lead to a trade war.AP Photo/Paul Sakuma

The U.S. and China seem to be on the verge of a costly trade war.

Most recently, the Trump administration announced that Chinese shipments of aluminum foil will now face a hefty import tax, a decision that is intended to offset what the...

Total eclipse, partial failure: Scientific expeditions don't always go as planned

Written by Barbara Ryden, Professor of Astronomy, The Ohio State University

Have telescopes, will travel: English astronomers await an 1871 eclipse in India. The Illustrated London News, 1872

For centuries, astronomers have realized that total solar eclipses offer a valuable scientific opportunity. During what’s called totality, the opaque moon completely hides the bright photosphere of the sun – its thin...