The Conversation

Can scientists learn to make 'nature forecasts' just as we forecast the weather?

Written by Michael Dietze, Associate Professor of Earth and Environment, Boston University

Images created by NASA with satellite data helped the U.S. Department of Agriculture analyze outbreak patterns for southern pine beetles in Alabama, in spring 2016.NASA

Imagine that spring has finally arrived and you’re planning your weekend. The weather forecast looks great. You could go to the beach – but what if it’s closed...

Talent doesn't explain the success of the Patriots and Eagles

Written by Kyle Emich, Assistant Professor of Management, University of Delaware

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks to players during a game against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 17, 2017.AP Photo/Butch Dill

The New England Patriots lost their best wide receiver to an ACL tear before the season started. Two months later, Patriots defensive captain and Pro Bowl linebacker Dont'a Hightower tore his pectoral muscle, ending...

California's other drought: A major earthquake is overdue

Written by Richard Aster, Professor of Geophysics, Colorado State University

Fires break out across San Francisco after the April 18, 1906 earthquake.USGS

California earthquakes are a geologic inevitability. The state straddles the North American and Pacific tectonic plates and is crisscrossed by the San Andreas and other active fault systems. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck off Alaska’s Kodiak Island on Jan....

The art of the public apology

Written by Ashraf Rushdy, Benjamin Waite Professor of the English Language, Wesleyan University

What does it mean when public figures say sorry?AP Photo/Paul Sancya

Just prior to his sentencing, former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar formally apologized to the more than 160 women whom he’d sexually abused. He joins a growing list. Over the past few months, many public personalities accused of sexual assault have apologized in...

The hidden history of black nationalist women's political activism

Written by Keisha N. Blain, Assistant Professor of History, University of Pittsburgh

Amy Jacques Garvey with her husband, Marcus

Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the historical contributions of black people in the United States. Too often, however, this history focuses on black men, sidelining black women and diminishing their contributions.

This is true in mainstream narratives of black nationalist movements in...

Nassar's abuse reflects more than 50 years of men's power over female athletes

Written by Anne Blaschke, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross

“You’ve got a lucky boyfriend.” These were the words the physician’s assistant conducting my gynecological exam in 1998 uttered as he suggestively smiled down at me over my paper gown. I lay on the exam table, 20 years old, wondering what to say back. Feeling angry, embarrassed and violated, I called my mom afterward. We...

Here's how workers would spend the corporate tax cut – if they had a voice

Written by Thomas Kochan, Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management

Having a bullhorn is nice, but workers need more to elevate their voices.AP Photo/David Goldman)

Over 200 CEOs have said they will raise wages or give bonuses as a result of the large corporate income tax cut passed late last year by Congress.

Some view their plans as simply a public relations move, others as a response to tighter labor markets or...

Promising male birth control pill has its origin in an arrow poison

Written by Gunda Georg, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Director of the Institute for Therapeutics Discovery and Development, University of Minnesota

Will blue packets replace pink ones soon?Aleksandra Berzhets/Shutterstock.com

After decades of research, development of a male birth control may now be one step closer. My colleagues and I are working on a promising lead for a male birth control pill based on ouabain – a plant extract that African warriors and hunters traditionally used as a...

Why ignoring mental health needs of young Syrian refugees could harm us all

Written by M. Zaher Sahloul, Associate Clinical Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago

A Syrian child drew a picture of helicopters dropping bombs and children dying as a result. The surviving children are crying, while the deceased ones have smiles on their faces. Zaher Sahloud, CC BY-SA

When a seven-year-old student in eastern Aleppo was asked at the peak of the bombardment campaign by the Assad regime in 2015 to draw a picture, he...

Why it's too soon for Davos billionaires to toast Trump's 'pro-business' policies

Written by Charles Hankla, Associate Professor of Political Science, Georgia State University

SAP CEO Bill McDermott and Siemens chief Joe Kaeser flank Trump as they praise him for his tax cut.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The moguls of global business, who met recently in Davos for the World Economic Forum, may not like Donald Trump’s style. But, if a series of reports by The New York Times and other outlets are to be believed, Trump’s...