The Conversation

What colleges must do to promote mental health for graduate students

Written by Meghan Duffy, Professor, University of Michigan

Many graduate students report psychological distress, but the fear of stigma and other factors often dissuade them from seeking help. Dirima/www.shutterstock.com

Sara did not expect much to come from her visit to the university’s counseling center, but she was concerned enough about the dark thoughts she’d been having that she decided...

Ancient arts are inspiring modern electronics

Written by Shenqiang Ren, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

A stretchable electronic device whose design is inspired by the cut-paper art called kirigami.Doug Levere/University at Buffalo, CC BY-ND

After a few decades of electronics developing at a dizzying pace – from personal computers and flip phones to wearable devices, smartphones and tablets – there are signs technological breakthroughs...

Why 'Nigerian Prince' scams continue to dupe us

Written by Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox College

These scammers don't exploit technological vulnerabilities – they exploit human ones.Alexandr III

With cryptocurrency fraud and IRS scams making headlines, I had thought Nigerian email schemes were a thing of the past, akin to the bygone days when a scammer might offer to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

So I was surprised to recently come across...

It's harder than you might expect for charities to give back tainted money

Written by Terri Lynn Helge, Professor of Law, Texas A&M University

Anti-opioid protest at the Harvard Art Museums, which the Sackler family has supported with charitable gifts.Jon Shaffer, CC BY-SA

The activist group Prescription Addiction Intervention Now, or PAIN, is organizing protests across the country at museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Sackler wing in New York City, Washington’s...

Here's what we know about CRISPR safety – and reports of 'genome vandalism'

Written by Jianhua Luo, Professor of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh

A standee of the movie 'Rampage' at a theater in Bangkok, Thailand. Scientists in the film used CRISPR to create a monster.By Sarunyu L/shutterstock.com

A movie just recently released called “Rampage” features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson using a genetic engineering technology called CRISPR, to transform a gorilla, among other...

Does Monsanto's Roundup cause cancer? Trial highlights the difficulty of proving a link

Written by Richard G. "Bugs" Stevens, Professor, School of Medicine, University of Connecticut

Guilty or innocent?Mike Mozart, CC BY

Does glyphosate, the active ingredient in the widely used weedkiller Roundup, cause non-Hodgkin lymphoma? This question is at issue now in a lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court. Hundreds more claims have been cleared to proceed in a federal multi-district lawsuit.

Much of this litigation is based on a 2015...

Trump administration and California are on collision course over vehicle emissions rules

Written by Meredith Hankins, Shapiro Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy, University of California, Los Angeles

California and the Trump administration are going different directions on mileage standards.AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

The Trump administration on Aug. 2 formally announced a proposal to freeze fuel economy standards and tailpipe emission standards for new cars. In addition, it is proposing to revoke California’s authority to set more...

¿Por qué duelen tanto las cortadas con papel?

Written by Gabriel Neal, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Texas A&M University

Un niño que sufrió una cortada con papel.Suzanne Tucker/Shutterstock.com

Piense, por un instante, en lo que significa una cortada con papel.

Por lo general, ocurre de manera repentina e inesperada y cuando ya has llegado a ese punto de una labor que había estado aplazando. Rememore la sensación de alivio que...

Lawyers defending immigrant children in detention are relying on a court case from the 80s

Written by Kevin Johnson, Dean and Professor of Public Interest Law and Chicana/o Studies, University of California, Davis

An immigrant child looks out from a U.S. Border Patrol bus.AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File

The Trump administration’s immigration policies have brought an old court case back to life in defense of immigrant children at the border, often referred to as “the Flores settlement.”

The case, which was filed in 1985 and settled in 1997,...

Will the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade? And if it does, what happens to abortion rights?

Written by B. Jessie Hill, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Judge Ben C. Green Professor of Law, Case Western Reserve University

For people who care about abortion rights, these are worrying times.

Of course, pro-choice advocates began losing sleep the minute Donald Trump was elected. During the 2016 presidential election, Trump claimed that Roe v. Wade – the 1973 landmark decision establishing that women have a constitutional right to access abortion – would...