The Conversation

Is the developed world we've created giving us cancer?

Written by Chelsey Kivland, Professor of Anthropology, Dartmouth College

Scientists know that many toxins, such as those found in cigarettes, cause most lung cancers, whose cells are depicted here. But isolating causes for other cancers is an ongoing effort.Raj Creationzs/Shutterstock

I had assumed that the small lump in my breast was a blocked milk duct from nursing my seven-month-old son. The news that I had stage 2...

Why taking down Confederate memorials is only a first step

Written by Joshua F.J. Inwood, Associate Professor of Geography Senior Research Associate in the Rock Ethics Institute, Pennsylvania State University

A statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee is removed on Friday, May 19, 2017, from Lee Circle in New Orleans.AP Photo/Scott Threlkeld

Recently the city of New Orleans removed several Confederate monuments from a prominent, downtown location. The decision to remove these memorials has touched off a debate throughout several other major U.S....

Trump to Europe: You're on your own

Written by James Goldgeier, Dean of the School of International Service, American University School of International Service

Merkel consider her options after meeting with Trump on May 26, 2017, in Italy. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

During his recent trip to Europe for meetings at NATO Headquarters in Brussels and with the Group of Seven in Italy, Donald Trump delivered on his campaign promise to disrupt business as usual. In the process, he is undoing U.S. policies undertaken...

Does changing style of hair or dress help black people avoid stigma?

Written by David Crockett, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of South Carolina

On the eve of the NBA Finals, superstar LeBron James found the “N-word” spray painted on his home. Not even James, with all his wealth, fame and success, is exempt from being attacked with classic racist slurs.

In the United States, blackness is stamped with centuries-old images and ideas that assign it to perpetual “last place.&rd...

Scandals at Uber and Fox show dangers of letting macho cultures run wild

Written by Bert Spector, Associate Professor of International Business and Strategy at the D'Amore-McKim School of Business, Northeastern University

Macho men?AP Photo

Most of us have probably seen the video of Uber founder and CEO Travis Kalanick scolding one of his own drivers, cursing and lamenting that “some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit.”

Fox News, meanwhile, continues to reel from a cascade of sexual harassment allegations and charges that...

As patients turn to medical crowdfunding, concerns emerge about privacy

Written by Jeremy Snyder, Associate Professor, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Many people are crowdfunding to be able to meet the high costs of health care. Images Money, CC BY

Facebook recently announced that it is getting more involved in the personal crowdfunding business. Individual users will have the option of placing a “donate” button on their posts to raise funds for six categories of causes that include...

As scientists train the immune system to fight cancer, others look to combat costs

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

Poison, radiation or surgery.

For decades now, these have been the only weapons available in the war against cancer. But everyone who has known cancer up close – patients, their loved ones and physicians – has longed for a better way.

Immunotherapy is emerging as the so-called fourth pillar of cancer therapy, alongside chemotherapy,...

How can we better protect crowds from terrorism?

Written by Robert Friedmann, Founding Director, Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE) and Professor Emeritus of Criminal Justice, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University

It's almost impossible to adequately protect soft targets like public gatherings. 'Crowd' via www.shutterstock.com

If it seems like every week, there’s another terrorist attack – well, you’re not wrong. According to one crowdsourcing map, there have been over 500 attacks around the world since the start of 2017, with over 3,500...

Should we put juveniles away for life? Meet the teen who sparked a debate

Written by Dan Birman, Professor of Professional Practice, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

Cyntoia after guilty verdictBirman Productions, CC BY

Inside the Juvenile Justice Center in Nashville, Tennessee is a steel door fitted with a high-security system. Push a button and the door unlocks, revealing another steel door with a slot for IDs. When that door buzzes, I walk through with video gear. I’m searched, as is the gear. An hour...

How math education can catch up to the 21st century

Written by Mary E. Pilgrim, Assistant Professor of Mathematics Education, Colorado State University

A student in Cape Coast solves a math problem.World Bank/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

In 1939, the fictional professor J. Abner Pediwell published a curious book called “The Saber-Tooth Curriculum.”

Through a series of satirical lectures, Pediwell (or the actual author, education professor Harold R. W. Benjamin) describes a Paleolithic curriculum...