The Conversation

Extraterrestrial life may look nothing like life on Earth − so astrobiologists are coming up with a framework to study how complex systems evolve

Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

Evolution, the process of change, governs life on Earth − and potentially different forms of life in other places. Just_Super/E+ via Getty Images

We have only one example of biology forming in the universe – life on Earth. But what if life can form in other ways? How do you look for alien life when you don’t know what alien life...

Protests, sectarian violence and a growing spat with India: Bangladesh’s new leaders are beset with challenges to its democracy

Written by Manoj Misra, Associate Professor of Sociology, Western Connecticut State University

When student-led, anti-government protests in Bangladesh snowballed into the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s 15-year-long autocratic rule in August 2024, many in the South Asian nation hoped it signaled better times ahead.

Four months on, things are not going to plan. The initial surge of public jubilation has given way to pessimism. The interim...

What is the ‘way of the warrior’? Students investigate the arts of war and peace in this course about virtue and the ethics of violence

Written by Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo, Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government, Hamilton College

A painting by Yoshifusa Utagawa shows the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi, left, fighting Sasaki Kojiro.Artelino via Wikimedia Commons

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

The Way of the Warrior

What prompted the idea for the course?

I am a lifelong...

Love it or hate it, nonliteral ‘literally’ is here to stay: Here’s why English will survive

Written by Valerie M. Fridland, Professor of Linguistics, University of Nevada, Reno

Did your head literally explode? No, but you can say it did.John Lund/Stone via Getty Images

Few words so rile language purists as the use of the adverb “literally” in a figurative sense, as in, “That movie literally blew my mind.”

But as a linguist who studies how English has changed over the centuries, I can promise...

Adults grow new brain cells – and these neurons are key to learning by listening

Written by Aswathy Ammothumkandy, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Southern California

Regenerating neurons may be one way to improve cognition.stanislavgusev/RooM via Getty Images

Your brain can still make new neurons when you’re an adult. But how does the rare birth of these new neurons contribute to cognitive function?

Neurons are the cells that govern brain function, and you are born with most of the neurons you will ever...

White and Black activists worked strategically in parallel in Detroit 50 years ago, fighting for civil rights

Written by Say Burgin, Assistant Professor of History, Dickinson College

A member of the Michigan National Guard stands at the ready as firemen battle a blaze in Detroit in July 1967. AP Photo

Since the murder of George Floyd in 2020, some white people have been wondering how they can work with Black people to fight racial inequality.

As a history professor who studies social movements, I know this is not a new...

What is a self-coup? South Korea president’s attempt ended in failure − a notable exception in a growing global trend

Written by John Joseph Chin, Assistant Teaching Professor of Strategy and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University

South Korean soldiers try to get into the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 3, 2024.Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images

Something unexpected – but hardly unprecedented – happened in South Korea on Dec. 3, 2024. With little warning, President Yoon Suk Yeol declared emergency martial law, citing the threat from “pro-North Korean anti-state...

Some black holes at the centers of galaxies have a buddy − but detecting these binary pairs isn’t easy

Written by Marco Ajello, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Clemson University

Some black holes, bound by gravity, rotate around each other, as shown in this simulated image. Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes Lensing (SXS), CC BY-SA

Every galaxy has a supermassive black hole at its center, much like every egg has a yolk. But sometimes, hens lay eggs with two yolks. In a similar way, astrophysicists like us who study supermassive...

Long-standing American principle of birthright citizenship under attack from Trump allies

Written by Carol Nackenoff, Richter Professor Emerita of Political Science, Swarthmore College

Children born on U.S. soil automatically have U.S. citizenship, regardless of who their parents are.RichLegg/E+ via Getty Images

As President-elect Donald J. Trump prepares to implement sweeping policy changes affecting American immigration and immigrants, one of the issues under scrutiny by his allies appears to be birthright citizenship –...

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Written by Kerry E. Kaylegian, Associate Research Professor of Food Science, Penn State

Pasteurizing milk kills disease-causing pathogens that dairy cattle pick up in fields and barns.steverts, iStock /Getty Images Plus

As the H5N1 avian flu virus continues to spread in poultry flocks and dairy cattle, consumers may worry about whether the U.S. milk supply is safe to drink. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the...