The Conversation

Kamala Harris’ identity as a biracial woman is either a strength or a weakness, depending on whom you ask

Written by Jennifer Ho, Professor of Asian American Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally in West Allis, Wis., on July 23, 2024. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images

Who is Kamala Harris?

Though Harris has had a very public life in politics for decades, speculation about who exactly she is and what she stands for has circulated across social media...

Grassroots efforts to increase voting are gaining momentum in these states, even as other states make voting harder

Written by Tova Wang, Senior Researcher in Democratic Practice, Harvard Kennedy School

Groundbreaking advances in the right to vote have been made over the past two years in the U.S.LPETTET/Getty Images

Many people justifiably believe that democracy is under attack in the U.S. and the country’s election system is at risk.

But some good news gets lost in the many reports of doom. Many states in recent years have made significant...

Attention, jittery investors: Stop panicking … this is what a soft landing should look like

Written by Christopher Decker, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska Omaha

Dark skies ahead?Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images

What a difference a job report makes. Earlier in the summer, people were worried that the economy was too hot. But now – in response mainly to weaker-than-expected employment data released on Aug. 2, 2024 – stocks are plunging. Some analysts even worry that a recession could be on the horizon...

Ancient poppy seeds and willow wood offer clues to the Greenland ice sheet’s last meltdown and a glimpse into a warmer future

Written by Paul Bierman, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Vermont

Under a microscope, a tiny elongate poppy seed, small tan spikemoss megaspores and black soil fungus spheres found in soil recovered from under 2 miles of Greenland's ice.Halley Mastro/University of Vermont, CC BY-ND

As we focused our microscope on the soil sample for the first time, bits of organic material came into view: a tiny poppy seed, the...

Love for cats lures students into this course, which uses feline research to teach science

Written by Jonathan Losos, William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

Cats are on the syllabus, not in the classroom, for this course.Stephanie_Zieber/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching.

Title of course:

“The Science of Cats”

What prompted the idea for the course?

I’m an evolutionary biologist...

Stuck bridges, buckling roads − extreme heat is wreaking havoc on America’s aging infrastructure

Written by Suyun Paul Ham, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Texas at Arlington

When highways buckle, the damage can happen quickly, putting drivers in danger and tying up traffic.AP Photo/David Goldman

Summer 2024’s record heat is creating problems for transportation infrastructure, from roads to rails.

New York’s Third Avenue Bridge, which swings open for ship traffic on the Harlem River, was stuck for hours after...

How can there be ice on the Moon?

Written by Thomas Orlando, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

The Moon is about one-fourth the size of Earth. Jackal Pan/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.

I have a question about ice on the Moon. How is this possible? – Olaf, age 9, Hillsborough, North...

Why are migraines worse during your period? Research in mice points to a hormone called progesterone, offering a new treatment target

Written by Suchitra Joshi, Research Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Virginia

Targeting progesterone receptors in the brain may be a route to migraine relief for some people.We Are/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Migraines are throbbing headaches often accompanied by nausea and increased sensitivity to light, sound and touch. Nearly 30 million Americans suffer from migraines, and almost 1 in 4 of them have at least four...

How people with disabilities got game − the surprisingly long history of access to arcade and video sports

Written by Matt Knutson, Assistant Professor of Esports, University of North Dakota

Many of today's disabled esports players, like Rocky "RockyNoHands" Stoutenburgh, use mouth controllers, which were first used in gaming over 40 years ago. Rocky "RockyNoHands" Stoutenburgh, CC BY-SA

If you’ve seen an esports competition, chances are that there was a big stage with about 10 gaming PCs, each with a young person behind it...

Racism and discrimination lead to faster aging through brain network changes, new study finds

Written by Negar Fani, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Emory University

Discrimination in the form of microaggressions, slights and overt racism take a toll on the body, including neural activity in the brain.LeoPatrizi/E+ via Getty Images

Racism steals time from people’s lives – possibly because of the space it occupies in the mind. In a new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open, our team showed...