The Conversation

Offshore wind farms connected by an underwater power grid for transmission could revolutionize how the East Coast gets its electricity

Written by Tyler Hansen, Research Associate in Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College

Each offshore wind turbine can produce large amounts of power.AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Strong offshore winds have the potential to supply coastlines with massive, consistent flows of clean electricity. One study estimates offshore wind farms could meet 11 times the projected global electricity demand in 2040.

The U.S. East Coast is an ideal location...

Voters become more polarized when presidential candidates take positions on issues in K-12 education

Written by David M. Houston, Assistant Professor of Education, George Mason University

Education has long been a divisive topic in American politics.Getty Images

When Vice President Kamala Harris paid a visit to Florida in July 2023, she lambasted a state-approved Black history lesson that claimed “slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

“Come on – adults...

Jewish summer camps have been evolving for a century − but 2024 is a summer like no other

Written by Jonathan Krasner, Associate Professor of Jewish Education Research, Brandeis University

Staff at Camp Massad, whose first location was in New York, pose for a photo in 1941.Camp Massad via Wikimedia Commons

In 1902, 10-year-old Isidore Itzkowitz accepted a scholarship to attend an overnight camp in upstate New York. “Izzy,” an orphan raised by his grandmother in a dingy tenement-house basement, fit the profile of children...

Rupert Murdoch’s real succession drama − why the future of his media empire could hinge on a legal effort in Nevada

Written by Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Conservative media titan Rupert Murdoch is making news again – this time, with a secretive effort to change an irrevocable trust. That trust has important ownership interests in both Fox Corp. and News Corp., so it affects broadcast news as well as The Wall Street Journal and other publications.

Under the current terms of the trust, upon...

Deadly strike in the Golan Heights risks opening new front in long-disputed territory

Written by Mireille Rebeiz, Chair of Middle East Studies & Associate Professor of Francophone & Women's, Gender & Sexuality Studies, Dickinson College

Mourners at the site of an airstrike that killed 12 young members of the Druze community. Matteo Placucci/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

A missile strike that killed 12 children playing soccer in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on July 27, 2024, has prompted international concern that the Middle East conflict could expand into the...

Quantum information theorists are shedding light on entanglement, one of the spooky mysteries of quantum mechanics

Written by William Mark Stuckey, Professor of Physics, Elizabethtown College

Can the theory of relativity inform quantum mechanics?koto_feja/E+ via Getty Images

The year 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of quantum mechanics. In the century since the field’s inception, scientists and engineers have used quantum mechanics to create technologies such as lasers, MRI scanners and computer chips.

Today,...

Trees don’t like to breathe wildfire smoke, either – and they’ll hold their breath to avoid it

Written by Delphine Farmer, Professor of Chemistry, Colorado State University

Trees and other plants can't escape wildfire smoke.Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

When wildfire smoke is in the air, doctors urge people to stay indoors to avoid breathing in harmful particles and gases. But what happens to trees and other plants that can’t escape from the smoke?

They may respond a bit like us, it turns out: Some trees...

Childless women − cat ladies or not − have long played key roles in the Catholic Church

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

JD Vance speaks at the GOP's national convention on July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee.lex Wong/Getty Images

Since JD Vance became the Republican vice presidential nominee, his record has come under intense scrutiny. In a 2021 interview, for example, Vance criticized Vice President Kamala Harris as “one of a bunch of childless cat ladies” who...

Flawed research into election fraud can undermine democracy and intensify polarization

Written by John Kuk, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University

Vote counting during the 2020 South Korean general election.Xinhua/Wang Jingqiang via Getty Images

Bad electoral science can cause lasting harm to democracy, undermining public confidence in the voting process.

That’s the main finding from our study published in the peer-reviewed journal Public Opinion Quarterly in July 2024, looking at the imp...

Verifying facts in the age of AI – librarians offer 5 strategies

Written by Tracy Bicknell-Holmes, Library professor, Boise State University

The internet is awash in fake news articles and misinformation. franz12/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The phenomenal growth in artificial intelligence tools has made it easy to create a story quickly, complicating a reader’s ability to determine if a news source or article is truthful or reliable. For instance, earlier this year, people were...