The Conversation

End of the gig economy? Don't read too much into a California court ruling

Written by Elizabeth C. Tippett, Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Oregon

Uber and Lyft drivers shouldn't celebrate just yet. AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

A recent California Supreme Court ruling is being hailed as a “game changer” for the gig economy.

That’s because the court adopted a more streamlined test for deciding whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. Gig economy companies,...

Meet the ocean creatures that use a mesh of mucus to catch their food

Written by Kelly Sutherland, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Oregon

A pelagic snail ensnares food with with a mucous web.Linda Ianniello https://lindaiphotography.com, CC BY

All animals must eat to survive. If you’ve heard the term “grazer” before, it may bring to mind familiar farm animals, such as cows or sheep munching on pastureland. But the ocean has its own suite of grazers, with very...

Could bats guide humans to clean drinking water in places where it's scarce?

Written by Theresa Laverty, Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University

Long-eared Myotis bat (_Myotis septentrionalis_), photographed in Arizona.Srikanth Vk, CC BY

Desert life depends on reliable access to water. In Namibia’s stark Namib Desert, where I spent 18 months doing research for my Ph.D., wildlife concentrates around natural springs. Increasingly, animals there also rely on man-made ponds intended for...

Are public objections to wind farms overblown?

Written by Jeremy Firestone, Professor, and Director of the Center for Carbon-free Power Integration (CCPI), University of Delaware

Wind turbines are becoming as American as haybales.MattJP, CC BY-SA

While most surveys suggest that the public generally supports wind and solar power, opposition from local communities and residents sometimes blocks or delays specific new projects.

Consider the ill-fated Cape Wind offshore project, which was slated to be powering Cape Cod by now....

Feminist activists today should still look to 'Our Bodies, Ourselves'

Written by Sara Hayden, Professor of Communication Studies, The University of Montana

Nancy Miriam Hawley, founder of the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, Inc., with different editions of 'Our Bodies, Ourselves' at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.Bizuayehu Tesfaye/AP Photo

In April 2018, the Our Bodies, Ourselves collective, the group responsible for publishing the book of the same name, decided to stop offering new...

Anti-war protests 50 years ago helped mold the modern Christian right

Written by David Mislin, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University

William Sloane Coffin Jr., followed by his sister, arrives at federal building in Boston on May 20, 1968.AP Photo

In May of 1968, a high-profile trial began in Boston that dramatically illustrated a larger phenomenon fueling the rise of conservative Christianity in the United States.

Five men had been charged with conspiracy for encouraging...

Bacteria may be powerful weapon against antibiotic resistance

Written by Terence Crofts, Post Doctoral Trainee of Molecular Microbiology, Washington University in St Louis

Bacteria in the dish on the left are sensitive to antibiotics in the paper discs. The ones on the right are resistant to four of the seven antibiotics.Dr. Graham Beards, CC BY-SA

When I was a child, my parents gave me a sweet pink syrup to destroy the bacteria causing my sore throat. That memory is a testament to the power of antibiotics. But,...

In Brazil, patients risk everything for the 'right to beauty'

Written by Alvaro Jarrin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, College of the Holy Cross

A plastic surgery-themed magazine is displayed in a Brazil storefront.hollywoodsmile310, CC BY-NC-ND

In the U.S., if you want a face lift or a tummy tuck, it’s generally assumed that you’ll be paying out of pocket. Insurance will tend to cover plastic surgery only when the surgery is deemed “medically necessary” and not...

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer ends mission after 'listening' to the universe

Written by Silas Laycock, Professor of Astronomy, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Top-down artist depiction of a tiny black hole and a pileup of gas and matter swirling toward the center.NASA

On May 1, NASA’s Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer spacecraft reentered and burned up in Earth’s atmosphere. Although not as well-known to the public as Hubble and Chandra, RXTE ranks among NASA’s most successful astrophysics...

Elements from the stars: The unexpected discovery that upended astrophysics 66 years ago

Written by Artemis Spyrou, Associate Professor of Nuclear Physics, Michigan State University

New heavy nuclei are constantly generated in stars and other astronomical bodies.Erin O’Donnell, CC BY-ND

Nearly 70 years ago, astronomer Paul Merrill was watching the sky through a telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena, California. As he observed the light coming from a distant star, he saw signatures of the element technetium.

Thi...