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The Conversation

A tick detective wants to understand what drives tick abundance

  • Written by David Allen, Assistant Professor in Biology, Middlebury
Middlebury Assistant Professor David Allen prepares to inspect a piece of canvas dragged through the forest to collect ticks. Todd Balfour/Middlebury College

The Abstract features interesting research and the people behind it.


David Allen is an assistant professor in biology at Middlebury College who studies the ecology of ticks and tick-borne...

Read more: A tick detective wants to understand what drives tick abundance

What 1860 and 1968 can teach America about the 2020 presidential election

  • Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
People watch the second of two Democratic presidential primary debates at Shaw's Tavern in Washington, D.C., July 31, 2019. AP/Andrew Harnik

Fresh evidence of the nastiness and divisiveness of the 2020 presidential election emerges every day.

President Trump has let loose a storm of invective over Twitter about various African American public...

Read more: What 1860 and 1968 can teach America about the 2020 presidential election

French cannabis legalization debate ignores race, religion and the mass incarceration of Muslims

  • Written by David A Guba, Jr., History Faculty, Bard College
Evidence suggests that Muslim men in France have been disproportionately arrested and jailed for cannabis-related crimes since the drug became illegal in 1970.Francisco Osorio/flickr, CC BY-SA

Last summer in France, dozens of “CBD cafés” suddenly opened across the country.

Exploiting a legal loophole originally created for hemp...

Read more: French cannabis legalization debate ignores race, religion and the mass incarceration of Muslims

Mass shootings aren't growing more common – and evidence contradicts common stereotypes about the killers

  • Written by Christopher J. Ferguson, Professor of Psychology, Stetson University
Just like the memorials after a shooting, some myths are bound to appear.AP Photo/John Locher

When 22 people were killed in El Paso, Texas, and nine more were killed in Dayton, Ohio, roughly 12 hours later, responses to the tragedy included many of the same myths and stereotypes Americans have grown used to hearing in the wake of a mass shooting.

As...

Read more: Mass shootings aren't growing more common – and evidence contradicts common stereotypes about the...

Blood tests for Alzheimer’s: Two experts on why new studies are encouraging

  • Written by Todd Golde, Director, Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute Director, 1Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Professor, Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine University of Florida, University of Florida
Many older people and their families worry about a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.Nadya Chetah/Shutterstock.com

Many people who have problems with their memory, especially if they are elderly, worry that they have Alzheimer’s disease, which afflicts at least 5.5 million people in the U.S. and brings tremendous burdens to families as well....

Read more: Blood tests for Alzheimer’s: Two experts on why new studies are encouraging

The US-China trade war: 5 essential reads

  • Written by Nicole Zelniker, Editorial Researcher, The Conversation

The U.S. has placed tariffs on more than US$250 billion worth of Chinese goods and has threatened tariffs on another $300 billion.

China has retaliated, placing tariffs of their own on billions of dollars worth of U.S. goods, including alcohol, fruit and pork.

Experts call it a trade war.

These five stories from The Conversation archives will help...

Read more: The US-China trade war: 5 essential reads

How to grow human mini-livers in the lab to help solve liver disease

  • Written by Alejandro Soto-Gutiérrez, Associate Professor of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh
Obesity is one of the risk factors for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock.com

Creating a human liver in the lab may sound a little like the work of Dr. Frankenstein. But actually, it is far from it. In my lab we’ve figured out how to control the genes and functions of that lab-grown organ and are using this tool to...

Read more: How to grow human mini-livers in the lab to help solve liver disease

Drilling deeper wells is a band-aid solution to US groundwater woes

  • Written by Debra Perrone, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
Micha Berry of the city of Fresno, Calif., which relies heavily on groundwater for its drinking water supply, repairs a groundwater well pump in 2013. AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka

With memories of the wettest U.S. spring on record still fresh, it seems strange to hear that in many parts of the nation, groundwater supplies – the water stored...

Read more: Drilling deeper wells is a band-aid solution to US groundwater woes

Everything in Mecca gets 5 stars — and online reviews of other holy sites are wildly inflated, too

  • Written by Tom van Laer, Associate Professor of Narratology, University of Sydney
Like any other travelers, Muslim pilgrims review their hajj trips on sites like TripAdvisor — usually with extreme enthusiasm.AP Photo/Khalil Hamra

For the millions of Muslims preparing to gather in Saudi Arabia on Aug. 9 for the hajj, an obligatory pilgrimage to the Grand Mosque in Mecca, planning is a major part of the process.

Back in...

Read more: Everything in Mecca gets 5 stars — and online reviews of other holy sites are wildly inflated, too

The facts on the US children and teens killed by firearms

  • Written by Marc A Zimmerman, Professor of Public Health, University of Michigan
Injuries from firearms are a leading cause of death for American children and teens.Whytock/Shutterstock.com

Injury is the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents, accounting for over 60% of all deaths in this group.

Many of these deaths occur during fun, everyday activities, like swimming in the backyard pool or during a family car...

Read more: The facts on the US children and teens killed by firearms

More Articles ...

  1. The 'warspeak' permeating everyday language puts us all in the trenches
  2. Guns and mental illness: A psychiatrist explains the complexities
  3. From across the globe to El Paso, changes in the language of the far-right explain its current violence
  4. Space travel might fry your brain, causing permanent learning and memory problems
  5. Astronauts' brains are subject to long-lasting damage due to low dose space radiation
  6. Police are more likely to kill men and women of color
  7. Stop blaming video games for mass killings
  8. How the University of Alaska – and other public U.S. universities – now struggle for funding
  9. This tax credit wasn't meant to help with housing, but that's exactly what it's doing
  10. Will Trump’s trade war with China ever end?
  11. Human breast milk may help babies tell time via circadian signals from mom
  12. Why do so many working class Americans feel politics is pointless?
  13. Understanding Christians' climate views can lead to better conversations about the environment
  14. Boost in high school students taking advanced computer science could change the face of tech
  15. Could a national buyback program reduce gun violence in America?
  16. Could a national gun buyback program reduce the 393 million guns on America's streets?
  17. Scammers don't cheat because they need the money — they cheat because they're cheaters
  18. Puerto Ricans unite against Rosselló – and more than a decade of cultural trauma
  19. There's a dark political history to language that strips people of their dignity
  20. The White House is upending decades of protocol for policy-making
  21. An ambitious plan to stop the rise of superbugs
  22. Are shared e-scooters good for the planet? Only if they replace car trips
  23. Grudges come naturally to kids – gratitude must be taught
  24. As Herman Melville turns 200, his works have never been more relevant
  25. Why science needs the humanities to solve climate change
  26. The Muslim Hajj: A spiritual pilgrimage with political overtones
  27. Why isn't Stacey Abrams running? Because African Americans lose to incumbent governors and senators
  28. Why the 'brain-eating' amoeba found in freshwater lakes – while rare – is so deadly
  29. Conspiracy theories and fear of needles contribute to vaccine hesitancy for many parents
  30. Fed rate cut bails out Trump for policies that are slowing the economy
  31. If Germany atoned for the Holocaust, the US can pay reparations for slavery
  32. What’s the scoop on kids and dirt? Get enough to help, but not enough to hurt, a doctor advises
  33. Black bears adapt to life near humans by burning the midnight oil
  34. Political polarization is about feelings, not facts
  35. School spankings are banned just about everywhere around the world except in US
  36. All public universities get private money, but some get much more than the rest
  37. Yes, flesh-eating bacteria are in the warm coastal waters – but it doesn't mean you'll get sick
  38. How organized labor can reverse decades of decline
  39. More Central American migrants take shelter in churches, recalling 1980s sanctuary movement
  40. The rhetorical trick Trump used on the 'Squad' and how it could affect the vote
  41. Opioid epidemic may have cost states at least $130 billion in treatment and related expenses – and that's just the tip of the iceberg
  42. Curious Kids: How are cats declawed, and is it painful?
  43. Budgeting for charity: A new way for the government to encourage giving
  44. The difference between 'left' and 'liberal' – and why voters need to know
  45. How did the presidential campaign get to be so long?
  46. How ICE enforcement has changed under the Trump administration
  47. Why Facebook's new 'privacy cop' is doomed to fail
  48. Why Trump's stoking of white racial resentment is effective – but makes all working-class Americans worse off
  49. Restricting SNAP benefits could hurt millions of Americans – and local communities
  50. Curious Kids: How does the stuff in a fire extinguisher stop a fire?