The Conversation

Monsanto wins $7.7b lawsuit in Brazil – but farmers' fight to stop its ‘amoral’ royalty system will continue

Written by Karine Eliane Peschard, Anthropologist and Research Associate, Graduate Institute – Institut de hautes études internationales et du développement (IHEID)

Soybean farmers in Brazil sued Monsanto for a royalty collection system that they say violates their planting rights. A soybean harvest in Mato Grosso, Brazil, March 27, 2012. AP Photo/Andre Penner, File)

A Brazilian appeals court has decided in favor of Monsanto, the global agribusiness conglomerate, in a landmark class-action lawsuit filed by...

How much of a difference does the number of kids in a classroom make?

Written by Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Professor of Education and Social Policy; Director of the Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University

Chicago's teachers say they are seeking a better deal for their students too.AP Photo/Teresa Crawford

Chicago’s teachers are on a strike that has suspended instruction for the city’s public school students since Oct. 17.

Educators in the nation’s third-largest school district want higher pay and improved benefits. But they also...

Impeachment resolution: 3 reasons the House voted even though the Constitution doesn't require it

Written by Jennifer Selin, Kinder Institute Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-Columbia

The Capitol on the morning after Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution to affirm the impeachment investigation.AP/J. Scott Applewhite

For something with such important consequences, the Constitution is surprisingly vague when it comes to impeachment.

Most of the language in the...

Could Congress reverse Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria?

Written by Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology

U.S. forces are still in Syria, but their role has changed substantially in recent weeks.AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad

The political and humanitarian outcry condemning President Donald Trump’s decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria came soon after he made the announcement.

Trump’s actions paved the way for Turkish troops to attack...

Why the Fed has no choice but to keep cutting interest rates – if it wants to avoid a financial crisis

Written by Andreas Kern, Associate Teaching Professor, Georgetown University

This is what a financial crisis looks like on Wall Street.AP Photo/Richard Drew

The U.S. Federal Reserve is stuck between an apparently booming economy and a financial crisis that might be right around the corner.

That’s why its decision to cut interest rates by another quarter point on Oct. 30 – its third reduction in as many months &nda...

What a boycott that never happened can reveal about blame, consumer psychology and the free-market system

Written by Brandon Reich, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Portland State University

United Airlines officials testify after United physically forced a customer off a Chicago flight.Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Imagine that a passenger is asked to leave an overbooked flight. When the passenger refuses, saying he is needed for important work, he is physically assaulted and dragged off the flight.

Imagine that the American public directed...

Super-soldier T-cells fight cancer better after a transformational DNA delivery

Written by Andy Tay, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University

Delivering DNA to immune cells is the trickiest part of developing new gene-based therapies.SAK Design/SHutterstock.com

I enjoy online shopping. However, I often find myself fussing about the delivery options during checkout. This is because not all delivery services are equally efficient and stress-free.

This personal experience has also inspired...

Meditation apps might calm you -- but miss the point of Buddhist mindfulness

Written by Gregory Grieve, Head and Professor, Religious Studies Department, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

The market has been flooded with apps related to Buddhism and most of them claim to teach meditation.akiragiulia (pixabay.com)

In today’s stressful world, mindfulness – a type of popular spirituality that strives to focus on the present moment – promises to soothe away the anxiety and stress of modern life. The Internet is full of...

Will killing Al-Baghdadi give Trump a boost in the polls? Probably, but it won't last

Written by John A. Tures, Professor of Political Science, LaGrange College

After former Islamic State Group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a U.S military action, speculation began on whether or not President Donald Trump would get a boost in public opinion surveys as a result.

My political science research with my students shows that presidents do enjoy a short-term poll boost after foreign policy raids and...

Democrat or Republican, Americans are angry, frustrated and overwhelmed

Written by María Celeste Wagner, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of Pennsylvania

More Americans say they now avoid the news altogether.Christo/Shutterstock.com

As the country looks ahead to President Donald Trump’s possible impeachment proceedings, as social scientists, we anticipate that not only will the Americans’ opinions be polarized, but so will their emotions.

Based on our research, we believe that...