The Conversation

What really works to keep coronavirus away? 4 questions answered by a public health professional

Written by Brian Labus, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Duane Clark works to sanitize surfaces at the Avenue X subway station in New York City on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.AP Photo/Kevin Hagen

Editor’s note: The World Health Organization has declared that COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has a higher fatality rate than the flu. As of March 4, 2020, nine deaths have been reported...

Vaccines without needles – new shelf-stable film could revolutionize how medicines are distributed worldwide

Written by Maria Croyle, Professor of Pharmaceutics, University of Texas at Austin

Films that dissolve rapidly when placed under the tongue or high in the cheek will make vaccines cheaper and more reliable.Stephen C. Schafer, CC BY-ND

The race is on to identify an effective vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. Once discovered, the next challenge will be manufacturing and distributing it around the world.

My research group has...

Super Tuesday results show how Latino voters, moderate Democrats and Trump supporters are shaping the election

Written by Katie A. Cahill, Associate Director, Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy, University of Tennessee

Voting machine operator David Schaefer, right, helps voter Kaitron Gordon with her ballot on Tennessee's Super Tuesday primary in Nashville after deadly overnight tornadoes delayed the start of voting. AP/Mark Humphrey

Editor’s note: From tiny Vermont villages to the tornado-damaged city of Nashville to California’s sprawling suburbs,...

Spring is arriving earlier across the US, and that's not always good news

Written by Theresa Crimmins, Director, USA National Phenology Network, University of Arizona

Yellow trout lily flowers nearly a week earlier now than in previous decades in the Appalachian Mountains.Katja Schulz/Wikipedia, CC BY

Across much of the United States, a warming climate has advanced the arrival of spring. This year is no exception. In parts of the Southeast, spring has arrived weeks earlier than normal and may turn out to be the w...

The Fed's 'surprise' interest rate cut: 5 questions answered

Written by Jonathan T. Fluharty-Jaidee, Assistant Department Chair and Professor of Finance, West Virginia University

The rate cut didn't calm investor nerves. AP Photo/Richard Drew

Editor’s note: The Federal Reserve unexpectedly cut interest rates by half a percentage point on March 2 to calm investors worried the unfolding coronavirus outbreak will slow economic growth. After the surprise move – the first since the 2008 financial crisis –...

There’s no easy exit for the US in Afghanistan

Written by Madhav Joshi, Research Associate Professor & Associate Director, Peace Accords Matrix (PAM), University of Notre Dame

New Afghan National Army recruits march during their February graduation ceremony.AP Photo/Rahmat Gul

After 18 months of negotiations, the U.S. and the Taliban signed a peace deal on Feb. 29. It is expected that the deal will provide a plan for a comprehensive Afghan peace process.

The deal addresses the security of foreign troops; the...

A simple way to promote HPV vaccination among Asian American women: Storytelling

Written by Minjin Kim, Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Massachusetts Medical School

Rates of HPV screenings and vaccinations remain low for some subgroups of Asian American women.Getty Images / Peter Dazeley

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders – what demographers call AAPIs – are the nation’s fastest-growing minority. Close to 20 million now live in the U.S. But you wouldn’t know it from our public health...

Why so many epidemics originate in Asia and Africa – and why we can expect more

Written by Suresh V Kuchipudi, Clinical Professor and Associate Director of Animal Diagnostic Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University

On Feb. 18, 2020, in Seoul, South Korea, people wearing face masks pass an electric screen warning about COVID-19. AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon

The coronavirus disease, known as COVID-19, is a frightening reminder of the imminent global threat posed by emerging infectious diseases. Although epidemics have arisen during all of human history, they now...

Why colleges should think twice before punishing student protesters

Written by Jerusha Osberg Conner, Associate Professor of Education, Villanova University

Student activists are calling attention to a wide range of issues on campus.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

For much of the 2019-2020 academic year, Syracuse University has been besieged by student protests over how the school handled of a series of racist incidents on campus.

In the latest protest, Syracuse student activists have occupied the campus...

What schools can do to reduce the risk that teachers and other educators will sexually abuse children

Written by David Finkelhor, Professor of Sociology, University of New Hampshire

No one knows how widespread this problem is.WSW1985/Shutterstock.com

There’s no shortage of reports about American teachers and other school staff getting arrested for allegedly sexually abusing one or more children.

For example, a high school volleyball coach and algebra teacher in Oklahoma was arrested for first-degree rape in January after...