The Conversation

Silent partners: Are earthworms creating pathways for invasive plants?

Written by Kathryn M. Flinn, Assistant Professor of Biology, Baldwin Wallace University

A National Park Service staffer applies herbicide to invasive honeysuckle along the Natchez Trace Parkway.NPS

Small but mighty, earthworms transform the soil of any ecosystem they inhabit. In farm fields, we appreciate the way they recycle nutrients and aerate soil. But in forests, earthworms’ services can be less welcome.

Glaciers removed...

Dear students, what you post can wreck your life

Written by Thao Nelson, Lecturer, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University

Antonio Guillem/shutterstock.com

Dear Student,

Harvard recently rescinded admission offers for some incoming freshmen who participated in a private Facebook group sharing offensive memes. The incident has sparked a lot of discussion: Was Harvard’s decision justified? What about the First Amendment? Do young people know the dangers of social...

Did Sessions and Trump conspire to obstruct justice?

Written by Clark D. Cunningham, W. Lee Burge Chair in Law & Ethics; Director, National Institute for Teaching Ethics & Professionalism, Georgia State University

Attorney General Jeff Sessions testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Did Attorney General Jeff Sessions conspire with President Donald Trump to fabricate a false story about why former FBI Director James Comey was fired?

If the answer is yes, it could be grounds for criminal prosecution of either Sessions...

Helping or hacking? Engineers and ethicists must work together on brain-computer interface technology

Written by Eran Klein, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Neurology at Oregon Health and Sciences University and Affiliate Assistant Professor of Philosophy, University of Washington

A subject plays a computer game as part of a neural security experiment at the University of Washington.Patrick Bennett, Author provided

In the 1995 film “Batman Forever,” the Riddler used 3-D television to secretly access viewers’ most personal thoughts in his hunt for Batman’s true identity. By 2011, the metrics company Nie...

Why the South still has such high HIV rates

Written by Thurka Sangaramoorthy, Professor of Anthropology, University of Maryland

Reggie Batiste with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Atlanta administers an HIV test. David Goldman/AP

Increased funding, targeted prevention efforts and better treatment have helped to slow down the HIV epidemic in the United States. The number of new HIV-positive cases has decreased significantly, according to the Centers for Disease Control...

The rise – and possible fall – of the graphing calculator

Written by Frederick Peck, Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences, The University of Montana

Graphing calculators – like the ones used in this seventh grade Dallas classroom – have become ubiquitous in U.S. education.AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

The first handheld graphing calculator, the Casio fx-7000G, appeared in 1985.

Since then, graphing calculators have become a common – and controversial – tool for learning...

Matchmaker, matchmaker, find me a school: College admissions in China

Written by Yan Chen, Professor of Information, University of Michigan

High school students in the United States work hard under great pressure to get into their chosen colleges. They must maintain high grades in challenging courses throughout high school, score well on ACT or SAT exams, painstakingly fill out applications – and then wait and hope.

It’s not easy, and it can be heartbreaking if...

Climate change is shrinking the Colorado River

Written by Brad Udall, Senior Research Scientist, Colorado Water Institute, Colorado State University

Lake Powell, photographed April 12, 2017. The white 'bathtub ring' at the cliff base indicates how much higher the lake reached at its peak, nearly 100 feet above the current level.Patti Weeks

The nation’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead on the Arizona/Nevada border and Lake Powell on the Arizona/Utah border, were brim full in the year...

What went wrong with the F-35, Lockheed Martin's Joint Strike Fighter?

Written by Michael P. Hughes, Professor of Finance, Francis Marion University

Everything to everyone – or is the F-35 a big expense for not much benefit?U.S. Air Force/Alex R. Lloyd

The F-35 was billed as a fighter jet that could do almost everything the U.S. military desired, serving the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy – and even Britain’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy – all in one aircraft design....

Cities can jump-start climate progress by plugging in their vehicles

Written by Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Rice University

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck, left, and Mayor Eric Garcetti pose next to an all-electric car in this 2015 photo. AP Photo/Nick Ut

President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the Paris climate agreement reaffirmed what was already clear: The federal government is no longer leading American efforts to shrink our carbon footprint. But...