The Conversation

Why is there so little research on guns in the US? 6 questions answered

Written by Lacey Wallace, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University

A lack of federal funds stymies gun violence researchers.Alan English CPA, CC BY-NC

On Valentine’s Day, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He killed 17 students and teachers and injured at least a dozen others. The Parkland shooting is currently the ninth deadliest single-day...

To slow climate change, the US needs to address nuclear power's dismal economics

Written by Tim Profeta, Director, Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Associate Professor of Practice, Duke University

Construction at Plant Vogtle, Georgia, Dec. 1, 2014.USNRC, CC BY

In late December 2017, the Georgia Public Service Commission faced a major decision: whether to cancel construction of two nuclear power reactors at Plant Vogtle, near Waynesboro, which had been plagued by delays and escalating costs.

Earlier in the year, utilities in South Carolina ab...

What cybersecurity investigators can learn from airplane crashes

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

Detailed digital forensics could help make everyone safer online.Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

While some countries struggle with safety, U.S. airplane travel has lately had a remarkable safety record. In fact, from 2014 through 2017, there were no fatal commercial airline crashes in the U.S.

But those years were fraught with other kinds of...

The way humans point isn't as universal as you might think

Written by Kensy Cooperrider, Postdoctoral Scholar in Psychology, University of Chicago

The universal sign for 'Look over there!' isn't so common in some cultures.Helena Ohman/Shutterstock.com

Octopuses have long arms and plenty of smarts, but they don’t point. Nor do chimps, gorillas or other apes, at least not in the wild.

Humans, on the other hand, are prodigious pointers. Infants use the gesture before they can talk, often...

Trump's protectionism continues long history of US rejection of free trade

Written by Giulio Gallarotti, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Trump has made pushing protectionism since the campaign.AP Photo/Chris Carlson

Free traders have vilified President Donald Trump as a pernicious protectionist because of policies such as hiking tariffs, abandoning the Trans-Pacific Partnership and saying he’s prepared to walk away from the North American Free Trade Agreement.

They fear his...

Why is there a norovirus outbreak at the Winter Olympics? 4 questions answered

Written by Kartikeya Cherabuddi, Physician, University of Florida

A digitally colorized cluster of norovirus virions.CDC/ Charles D. Humphrey

Editor’s note: At the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, there have been more than 200 confirmed cases – mostly security and games personnel, but also two athletes. We asked Kartikeya Cherabuddi, an infectious disease expert at the University of...

5 questions to ask your aging parents' doctors

Written by Sharona Hoffman, Professor of Health Law and Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University

Doctors' visits can be overwhelming for older people.Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

The population of seniors, or people age 65 or over, in the United States neared 48 million last year and is steadily growing. Consequently, millions of adult children find themselves taking care of their parents’ medical needs. This can be a daunting task...

Alcohol probably makes it harder to stop sexual violence – so why aren't colleges talking about it?

Written by Dominic Parrott, Professor of Psychology, Georgia State University

At least half of campus sexual assaults involve alcohol use.Burst/pexels.com, CC BY-SA

Several years ago, one of us (Dominic) was consulting with university administration on their sexual violence prevention program.

All colleges and universities that receive Title IX funding are federally mandated to offer intervention programs, where bystanders...

Parents need to start talking to their tweens about the risks of porn

Written by Gail Dines, Professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, Wheelock College

Most parents are unaware just how easily available 'hardcore' porn has become.Chepko Danil Vitalevich/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: This article includes references to graphic sexual content that may be inappropriate for some readers.

Today teenagers are viewing far more pornography than their parents realize. And the porn they’re...

As the Trump administration retreats on climate change, US cities are moving forward

Written by Katherine Levine Einstein, Assistant Professor, Political Science, Boston University

Cars sit in flood water from Boston Harbor on Long Wharf during a coastal storm on Jan. 4, 2018. AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Despite almost universal scientific consensus that climate change poses a growing threat, President Donald Trump’s recent infrastructure plan makes no mention of the need to build resilience to rising global temperatures....