The Conversation

Do photons wear out? An astrophysicist explains light’s ability to travel vast cosmic distances without losing energy

Written by Jarred Roberts, Project Scientist, University of California, San Diego

Light, whether from a star or your flashlight, travels at 186,000 miles per second.Artur Debat/Moment via Getty Images

My telescope, set up for astrophotography in my light-polluted San Diego backyard, was pointed at a galaxy unfathomably far from Earth. My wife, Cristina, walked up just as the first space photo streamed to my tablet. It sparkled...

An 18th-century rebellion for liberty, equality and freedom − not in France or the United States, but Ireland

Written by Joseph Patrick Kelly, Professor of Literature and Director of Irish and Irish American Studies, College of Charleston

A sculpture in Wexford, Ireland, by Eamonn O'Doherty, called 'Fuascailt,' commemorates the 1798 rebellion.Niall Carson/PA Images via Getty Images

Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.

It was the signal meant to ignite revolution across all Ireland.

At the...

Teens of any age who drink alcohol with their parents’ permission drink more as young adults, new research shows

Written by Bernard Pereda, Doctoral Student in Psychoolgy, University at Buffalo

Parents play an important role in teaching their children about alcohol.StockPlanets/E+ via Getty Images

Children and teenagers of any age who sip or taste alcohol with their parents’ permission are more likely to engage in risky drinking in young adulthood. That was the finding of a new study my colleagues and I published in the journal...

How 3D printing is personalizing health care

Written by Anne Schmitz, Associate Professor of Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Stout

A girl, wearing her prosthetic hands, walks to school in Uruguay.AP Photo/Matilde Campodonico

Three-dimensional printing is transforming medical care, letting the health care field shift from mass-produced solutions to customized treatments tailored to each patient’s needs. For instance, researchers are developing 3D-printed prosthetic hands s...

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse

Written by Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Missouri University of Science and Technology

An electron microscope image, colorized, shows different structures of pollen grains, including sunflower, morning glory and primrose. Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility

If you are sneezing this spring, you are not alone. Every year, plants release billions of pollen grains into the air, specks of male reproductive material that many of us...

Governors are leading the fight against climate change and deforestation around the world, filling a void left by presidents

Written by Mary Nichols, Distinguished Counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles

Forests like the Amazon play vital roles in balancing the environment, from storing carbon to releasing oxygen. Silvestre Garcia-IntuitivoFilms/Stone/Getty Images

When the annual U.N. climate conference descends on the small Brazilian rainforest city of Belém in November 2025, it will be tempting to focus on the drama and disunity among...

Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests − Nigeria shows the human costs

Written by Kathryn Rhine, Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A large number of children are born with HIV in Nigeria.Kristian Buus/Corbis News via Getty Images

A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5 million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and ultima...

Tomato trade dispute between the US and Mexico is boiling over again – with 21% tariffs due in July

Written by Andrew Muhammad, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

The country of origin – Mexico – is noted on the label of a package of Campari tomatoes for sale in the produce section of a Safeway grocery store on March 4, 2025, in Denver.AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Although technically they’re a fruit, tomatoes are one of the most-consumed vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of...

Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how

Written by Colleen Tolan, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Center for Women in Business, Rutgers University

Dialogue can make a difference.Pixelfit/E+/Getty Images

Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans believe women are thriving, over half believe men’s progress has stalled or even reversed.

To make matters more complex, recent research has...

Trump’s lifting of Syria sanctions is a win for Turkey, too – pointing to outsized role middle powers can play in regional affairs

Written by Hyeran Jo, Associate Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meet in Turkey on April 11, 2025. TUR Presidency/ Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025, that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria. The turnaround was a huge victory for the...