The Conversation

Plastic pyrolysis − chemists explain a technique attempting to tackle plastic waste by bringing the heat

Written by Kevin A. Schug, Professor of Analytical Chemistry, University of Texas at Arlington

Large proportions of plastic waste don't get recycled. Westend61 via Getty Images Plus

In 1950, global plastic production was about 2 million tons. It’s now about 400 million tons – an increase of nearly 20,000%.

As a material, it has seemingly limitless potential. Plastic is inexpensive to produce while being lightweight and sturdy. Its...

Social movements constrained Trump in his first term – more than people realize

Written by Kevin A. Young, Associate Professor of History, UMass Amherst

Donald Trump’s first term as president saw some of the largest mass protests seen in the U.S. in over 50 years, from the 2017 Women’s March to the 2020 protests after George Floyd’s murder.

Things feel different this time around. Critics seem quieter. Some point to fear of retribution. But there’s also a sense that the...

Water cooperation is essential when countries share lakes and rivers – yet it’s been deteriorating in many places, with serious consequences

Written by Susanne Schmeier, Associate Professor of Water Law and Diplomacy, IHE Delft

Lake Chad once provided adequate livelihoods for 20 million people in Africa, but it lost 90% of its surface area in 30 years.AP Photo/Christophe Ena

Just over half the world’s population shares a river or lake basin with at least one other country. To sustainably manage those water resources for the health of people, ecosystems and...

Spanish speakers in Philadelphia break traditional rules of formal and informal speech in signs around town

Written by Daniel Guarin, Adjunct professor, Temple University

Spanish-language signs in Philadelphia contradict the grammar lessons most of us were taught.Daniel Guarin Buitrago, CC BY-ND

I’ve discovered something fascinating about how Spanish speakers in Philadelphia address each other and communicate through public signs.

The discovery is part of my research on language patterns in Philadelphia –...

Beatings, overcrowding and food deprivation: US deportees face distressing human rights conditions in El Salvador’s mega-prison

Written by Mneesha Gellman, Associate Professor of Political Science, Emerson College

Shackled and bent over – some of the 250-plus deportees arriving in El Salvador.El Salvador Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele framed his offer to house “dangerous American criminals” and “criminals from any country” as a win-win for all.

The fee for transferring detainees...

Trump is using the Alien Enemies Act to deport immigrants – but the 18th-century law has been invoked only during times of war

Written by Daniel Tichenor, Professor of Political Science, University of Oregon

Prison guards transfer alleged Venezuelan gang members to a detention center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 16, 2025. El Salvador presidential press office via AP

As President Donald Trump often promised during his 2024 presidential campaign, on March 15, 2025, he invoked an obscure 18th-century law called the Alien Enemies Act to justify...

Cells lining your skin and organs can generate electricity when injured − potentially opening new doors to treating wounds

Written by Sun-Min Yu, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Polymer Science and Engineering, UMass Amherst

Your skin cells can generate electricity when wounded.Torsten Wittmann, University of California, San Francisco/NIH via Flickr, CC BY-NC

Your cells constantly generate and conduct electricity that runs through your body to perform various functions. One such example of this bioelectricity is the nerve signals that power thoughts in your brain....

Researchers created sound that can bend itself through space, reaching only your ear in a crowd

Written by Jiaxin Zhong, Postdoctoral Researcher in Acoustics, Penn State

For your ears only.Cinefootage Visuals/iStock via Getty Images Plus

What if you could listen to music or a podcast without headphones or earbuds and without disturbing anyone around you? Or have a private conversation in public without other people hearing you?

Our newly published research introduces a way to create audible enclaves –...

Washington Post’s turnaround on its opinion pages is returning journalism to its partisan roots − but without the principles

Written by Joseph Jones, Assistant Professor of Media Ethics and Law at Reed College of Media, West Virginia University

Owner Jeff Bezos has made big changes to The Washington Post's editorial pages.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos, the world’s third-richest person and owner of The Washington Post, announced in February 2025 significant changes to the editorial pages of his Pulitzer-Prize winning newspaper.

The editorial section, also called the opinion...

What is the rules-based order? How this global system has shifted from ‘liberal’ origins − and where it could be heading next

Written by Andrew Latham, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College

Global order? Put a pin in it.Getty Images

The phrase “international rules-based order” has long been a fixture in global politics.

Western leaders often use it to describe a framework of rules, norms and institutions designed to guide state behavior. Advocates argue that this framework has provided the foundation for decades of...