The Conversation

Mine waste dams threaten the environment, even when they don't fail

Written by Christopher Sergeant, Research Scientist, Flathead Lake Biological Station, The University of Montana

The January 2019 collapse of a dam in Brumadinho, Brazil, sent mining tailings and mud over the landscape for miles, destroying this bridge and killing 300 people. Andre Penner/AP

Scars from large mining operations are permanently etched across the landscapes of the world. The environmental damage and human health hazards that these activities...

Blacks are at higher risk for Alzheimer's, but why?

Written by Renã A.S. Robinson, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University

Blacks have twice the incidence rates for Alzheimer's as whites.Getty Images / Science Photo Library

Blacks are at higher risk for several health conditions in the U.S. This is true for heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and stroke, which are often chronic diseases. And it is also for Alzheimer’s disease, in which blacks have two...

Albania's plan against disinformation lets Facebook and powerful politicians off the hook

Written by Elidor Mehilli, Associate Professor of History, Hunter College

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama uses social media as a way to reach constituents directly.Zhang Liyun/Xinhua via Getty

A new set of laws in Albania empowers a government agency to review citizen complaints about online news websites. If a site is found to have published untrue information, official regulators can fine the site’s owners and...

Trump White House goes 300+ days without a press briefing – why that's unprecedented

Written by Charles Bierbauer, Distinguished Professor and Dean Emeritus, University of South Carolina

The White House logo is displayed in the press briefing room of the White House in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 31, 2020. Getty/Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP

Journalists learn to adapt to current conditions, be they storms or tantrums, vagaries of nature or whims of officials. White House correspondents these days should be well past their withdrawal...

By filing for bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts may compensate more survivors of sexual abuse

Written by Pamela Foohey, Associate Professor of Law, Indiana University

Thousands of Americans, including James Kretschmer, say they experienced sexual abuse as Boy Scouts.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

The Boy Scouts of America has filed for bankruptcy to figure out how to fairly compensate thousands of survivors of alleged sexual abuse who accuse the Scouts of neglecting to protect them.

Revelations regarding decades of...

The ancient Greeks had alternative facts too – they were just more chill about it

Written by Joel Christensen, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Brandeis University

Understandings of truth may be found in the Muses' words.Jacopo Tintoretto's The Muses/Wikpedia

In an age of deepfakes and alternative facts, it can be tricky getting at the truth. But persuading others – or even yourself – what is true is not a challenge unique to the modern era. Even the ancient Greeks had to confront different...

As US and Taliban plan to sign accord, Afghanistan must prepare for peace

Written by Elizabeth B. Hessami, Faculty Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University

Taliban fighters surrender their weapons in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2020. Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images

After a week-long truce signed Feb. 22 between the United States and the Taliban appears to have held, a peace deal may finally end Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict.

The accord, slated for signing...

After US and Taliban sign accord, Afghanistan must prepare for peace

Written by Elizabeth B. Hessami, Faculty Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban co-founder Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar sign an agreement ending the US's 18-year war in Afghanistan, Doha, Feb. 29, 2020. GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

The United States has signed a peace deal with the Taliban, an armed insurgency promoting an...

US-Taliban truce begins, feeding hope of a peaceful, more prosperous Afghanistan

Written by Elizabeth B. Hessami, Faculty Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University

Taliban fighters surrender their weapons in Jalalabad, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Feb. 8, 2020. Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua via Getty Images

If a seven-day truce between the United States and the Taliban holds until Feb. 28, 2020, Afghanistan’s decades-long conflict may finally end. A peace deal could be signed as soon as Feb. 29, according...

Paying all blood donors might not be worth it

Written by Gretchen Chapman, Professor of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University

The rewards for doing this usually aren't monetary.Glenn Koenig/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The Abstract features interesting research and the people behind it.

Gretchen Chapman is a decision scientist who explores what makes it more likely that people will get vaccinated or engage in other behaviors that are good for public health. We asked...