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What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy

  • Written by James Byrne, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Herbst Program for Engineering, Ethics & Society, University of Colorado Boulder
imageAncient Babylonians looked to the skies to predict what would happen.mikroman6/Moment via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What was the first thing scientists discovered? – Jacob, age 9, Santiago, Panama

All...

Read more: What was the first thing scientists discovered? A historian makes the case for Babylonian astronomy

Trump’s first term polarized teens’ views on racism and inequality

  • Written by Laura Wray-Lake, Professor of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles
imageTeens who supported President Trump in 2016 became less aware of societal inequalities after the election.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

When asked about reactions to Donald Trump being president, a 16-year-old Black girl said, “I feel unsafe and not protected. The United States is supposed to be the land of the free but is really the land of...

Read more: Trump’s first term polarized teens’ views on racism and inequality

Why was it hard for the GOP – which controls Congress – to pass its spending bill?

  • Written by Charlie Hunt, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Boise State University
imageU.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was one of 10 Democrats who voted to break the filibuster on the GOP funding bill. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Facing a threat of imminent government shutdown, nine Democrats joined GOP Senate colleagues to defeat a filibuster, moving the six-month government funding bill to final passage in a late-day vote...

Read more: Why was it hard for the GOP – which controls Congress – to pass its spending bill?

Saudi Arabia’s role as Ukraine war mediator advances Gulf nation’s diplomatic rehabilitation − and boosts its chances of a seat at the table should Iran-US talks resume

  • Written by Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Fellow for the Middle East at the Baker Institute, Rice University

Saudi Arabia is 2,000 miles from Ukraine and even more politically distant, so at first glance it might seem like it has nothing to do with the ongoing war there. But the Gulf state has emerged as a key intermediary in the most serious ceasefire negotiations since Russia invaded its neighbor three years ago.

While it is U.S. officials who are undoub...

Read more: Saudi Arabia’s role as Ukraine war mediator advances Gulf nation’s diplomatic rehabilitation − and...

See you in the funny papers: How superhero comics tell the story of Jewish America

  • Written by Miriam Eve Mora, Managing Director of the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, University of Michigan
imageA five-story replica of a stamp of Superman in 1998 in Cleveland, home of the superhero's creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File

Nearly a hundred years ago, a hastily crafted spaceship crash-landed in Smallville, Kansas. Inside was an infant – the sole survivor of a planet destroyed by old age. Discovering he...

Read more: See you in the funny papers: How superhero comics tell the story of Jewish America

Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

  • Written by Benjamin Roulston, Assistant Professor of Physics, Clarkson University
imageVoyager 1, shown in this illustration, has operated for decades thanks to a radioisotope power system. NASA via AP

Powering spacecraft with solar energy may not seem like a challenge, given how intense the Sun’s light can feel on Earth. Spacecraft near the Earth use large solar panels to harness the Sun for the electricity needed to run their...

Read more: Radioisotope generators − inside the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft

The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy

  • Written by Julia Standefer, Ph.D. Student in Psychology, Iowa State University
imageProtesters fill the Iowa state Capitol to denounce a bill that will strip the state civil rights code of protections based on gender identity.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

A state law signed Feb. 28, 2025, removes gender identity as a protected status from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, leaving transgender people vulnerable to discrimination. The rights...

Read more: The psychology behind anti-trans legislation: How cognitive biases shape thoughts and policy

Big cuts at the Education Department’s civil rights office will affect vulnerable students for years to come

  • Written by Erica Frankenberg, Professor of Education and Demography, Penn State
imageSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow Democrats criticize President Donald Trump's plan to shutter the Education Department on March 6, 2025.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The U.S. Department of Education cut its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025, when it laid off about 1,315 employees. The move follows several recent directives...

Read more: Big cuts at the Education Department’s civil rights office will affect vulnerable students for...

When algorithms take the field – inside MLB’s robo-umping experiment

  • Written by Arthur Daemmrich, Professor of Practice in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University
imageMLB's automated ball-strike technology could be used in big league games as soon as 2026.Rich Schultz/Getty Images

Baseball fans tuning into spring training games may have noticed another new wrinkle in a sport that’s experienced a host of changes in recent years.

Batters, pitchers and catchers can challenge a home plate umpire’s ball or...

Read more: When algorithms take the field – inside MLB’s robo-umping experiment

Simple strategies can boost vaccination rates for adults over 65 − new study

  • Written by Laurie Archbald-Pannone, Associate Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics, University of Virginia
imageMany older adults are not up to date on their vaccines. Morsa Images via Getty Images

Knowing which vaccines older adults should get and hearing a clear recommendation from their health care provider about why a particular vaccine is important strongly motivated them to get vaccinated. That’s a key finding in a recent study I co-authored in...

Read more: Simple strategies can boost vaccination rates for adults over 65 − new study

More Articles ...

  1. The push to restore semiconductor manufacturing faces a labor crisis − can the US train enough workers in time?
  2. When humans use AI to earn patents, who is doing the inventing?
  3. Why parents of ‘twice-exceptional’ children choose homeschooling over public school
  4. Environmental protection laws still apply even under Trump’s national energy emergency − here’s why
  5. Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say
  6. Philly Roller Derby league turns 20 - here’s how the sport skated its way to feminism, anti-racism and queer liberation
  7. How an unexpected observation, a 10th-century recipe and an explorer’s encounter with a cabbage thief upend what we know about collard greens’ journey to the American South
  8. I study refugees, and here are the facts on the history and impact of refugee resettlement in the US
  9. You’ve likely heard the Serenity Prayer − but not its backstory
  10. 3D printing will help space pioneers make homes, tools and other stuff they need to colonize the Moon and Mars
  11. Can the Trump administration legally deport Palestinian rights advocate Mahmoud Khalil? 3 things to know about green card holders’ rights
  12. America’s clean air rules have boosted health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s deregulation spree ignores
  13. America’s clean air rules boost health and the economy − here’s what EPA’s new deregulation plans ignore
  14. Mass layoffs at Education Department signal Trump’s plan to gut the agency
  15. Is the US heading for a government shutdown? 5 essential reads to occupy the mind while we wait to find out
  16. How do researchers determine how toxic a chemical is? A toxicologist explains alternatives to animal testing
  17. The fediverse promises social media without Big Tech – if it can avoid familiar pitfalls
  18. For superfans, comic-con culture is more than fun – it’s sacred, a sociologist explains
  19. Alien and Sedition Acts were reviled in their time, and John Adams was not sorry to see them go
  20. Pennsylvania’s mushroom industry faces urgent labor shortage − and latest immigration policies will likely make it worse
  21. US workers with remote-friendly jobs are still working from home nearly half the time, 5 years after the pandemic began
  22. How Jesse Jackson embodied Southern politics − and changed American elections
  23. The parallels between Kash Patel and William J. Burns, a scandal-mongering 1920s FBI director — an FBI historian explains
  24. Middle age is a time when women are vulnerable to eating disorders
  25. Arrest of ex-president Duterte will shake up dynastic politics in the Philippines – and hand initiative to rival Marcos family
  26. US-Ukraine deal highlights Ukraine’s wealth of critical minerals, but extracting them isn’t so simple
  27. The world regulated sulfur in ship fuels − and the lightning stopped
  28. 5 years of COVID-19 underscore value of coordinated efforts to manage disease – while CDC, NIH and WHO face threats to their ability to respond to a crisis
  29. What is a SLAPP suit? Legal experts explain how these lawsuits suppress free speech
  30. How Trump’s foreign aid and diplomatic cuts will make it harder for the US to wield soft power to maintain its friendships and win new ones
  31. Mission possible − parastronaut programs can make space travel more inclusive and attainable for all
  32. From TB to HIV/AIDS to cancer, disease tracking has always had a political dimension, but it’s the foundation of public health
  33. End-of-life planning can be hampered by misconceptions − but the process is easier than you might think
  34. Trump’s DOGE campaign accelerates 50-year trend of government privatization
  35. What happens when leaders have loyalists in charge of men with guns: Lessons for the US from Nicaragua, Syria and other authoritarian countries
  36. The sun is setting on government transparency in Florida – and secrecy creep is affecting the rest of the US, too
  37. How the color of St. Patrick’s Day went from blue to green
  38. George Washington, a real estate investor and successful entrepreneur, knew the difference between running a business and running the government
  39. Taking a leap of faith into imaginary numbers opens new doors in the real world through complex analysis
  40. DEI initiatives removed from federal agencies that fund science, but scientific research continues
  41. The dark parallels between 1920s America and today’s political climate
  42. The fear of deportation hangs over unauthorized workers trying to fight exploitation, but all workers in the US have rights
  43. The FACE Act was enacted to protect reproductive health clinics − here’s why its history matters today
  44. Ann Arbor’s sustainable energy utility aims to build the electric power grid of the future − alongside the old one
  45. 5 ways schools have shifted in 5 years since COVID-19
  46. Is ranch dressing a liquid or a solid? A physicist explains
  47. America is becoming a nation of homebodies
  48. 5 reasons veterans are especially hard-hit by federal cuts
  49. Daylight saving time and early school start times cost billions in lost productivity and health care expenses
  50. How Trump’s $2B court battle over foreign aid could reshape executive authority