The Conversation

Research replication can determine how well science is working – but how do scientists replicate studies?

Written by Amanda Kay Montoya, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles

Some research teams work on replicating prior studies to assess the value of a body of work. AzmanL/E+ via Getty Images

Back in high school chemistry, I remember waiting with my bench partner for crystals to form on our stick in the cup of blue solution. Other groups around us jumped with joy when their crystals formed, but my group just waited....

Philly’s City Council turned down a new rental inspection program − studies show that might harm tenants’ health

Written by Gabriel L. Schwartz, Assistant Professor of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University

Tenants who complain to landlords about housing conditions can risk eviction.Photo Jeff Fusco/The Conversation U.S., CC BY-NC-ND

As Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s US$2 billion housing plan moves forward, heated debates continue about another set of municipal housing proposals that could transform Philadelphia tenants’ rights.

In...

Data can show if government programs work or not, but the Trump administration is suppressing the necessary information

Written by Sarah James, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Gonzaga University

Do government programs work? It's impossible to find out with no data.Andranik Hakobyan/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The U.S. has the highest rate of maternal mortality among developed nations. Since 1987, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has administered the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System to better understand when, where...

College ‘general education’ requirements help prepare students for citizenship − but critics say it’s learning time taken away from useful studies

Written by Kelly Ritter, Professor of Writing and Communication, Georgia Institute of Technology

Students learn about the arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics in general education.Olga Pankova/Moment via Getty Images

What do Americans think of when they hear the words “general education”?

By definition, general education covers introductory college courses in arts and humanities, social sciences, and...

Catholic clergy are speaking out on immigration − more than any other political issue except abortion

Written by Evan Stewart, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UMass Boston

Catholic bishops invited by Mark Seitz, center, the bishop of El Paso, Texas, lead a march in solidarity with migrants on March 24, 2025, in downtown El Paso.AP Photo/Andres Leighton

Catholic priests across the U.S. discuss immigration with their congregations more than leaders in many other faith traditions, according to our new research published...

Why drones and AI can’t quickly find missing flood victims, yet

Written by Robin R. Murphy, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University

The landscape in the aftermath of a flood makes it challenging to spot victims.AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

For search and rescue, AI is not more accurate than humans, but it is far faster.

Recent successes in applying computer vision and machine learning to drone imagery for rapidly determining building and road damage after hurricanes or shifting...

The golden oyster mushroom craze unleashed an invasive species – and a worrying new study shows it’s harming native fungi

Written by Aishwarya Veerabahu, Ph.D. Candidate in Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Golden oyster mushrooms can be cultivated, but they can also escape into the wild.DDukang/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Golden oyster mushrooms, with their sunny yellow caps and nutty flavor, have become wildly popular for being healthy, delicious and easy to grow at home from mushroom kits.

But this food craze has also unleashed an invasive species into...

What is peer review? The role anonymous experts play in scrutinizing research before it gets published

Written by Joshua Winowiecki, Assistant Professor of Nursing, Michigan State University

Reviewer 1: “This manuscript is a timely and important contribution to the field, with clear methodology and compelling results. I recommend publication with only minor revisions.”
Reviewer 2: “This manuscript is deeply flawed. The authors’ conclusions are not supported by data, and key literature is ignored. Major revisions...

University students feel ‘anxious, confused and distrustful’ about AI in the classroom and among their peers

Written by Elise Silva, Director of Policy Research at the Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security, University of Pittsburgh

Artificial intelligence has taken off on campus, changing relationships between students and professors and among students themselves.Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The advent of generative AI has elicited waves of frustration and worry across academia for all the reasons one might expect: Early studies are showing that artificial intelligence...

Examining mushrooms under microscopes can help engineers design stronger materials

Written by Mohamed Khalil Elhachimi, PhD Student in Mechanical Engineering, Binghamton University, State University of New York

White button mushrooms are one of the types studied to inform stronger materials. DigiPub/Moment via Getty Images

Pick up a button mushroom from the supermarket and it squishes easily between your fingers. Snap a woody bracket mushroom off a tree trunk and you’ll struggle to break it. Both extremes grow from the same microscopic building...