The Conversation

Wide variety of old-growth ecosystems across the US makes their conservation a complex challenge

Written by Reed Frederick Noss, Conservation Science Coordinator, University of Florida

In the longleaf pine savannas of the southeastern U.S., most of the biodiversity is found in the ground cover and depends on frequent fires.Reed Noss

In an old-growth longleaf pine savanna, the absurdly long pine needles sing in the wind. Once considered forests, these landscapes in the southeastern U.S. coastal plain are open-canopied and sunny,...

Railways were essential to carrying out the Holocaust – decades later, corporate reckoning continues

Written by Sarah Federman, Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, Kroc School of Peace Studies, University of San Diego

Liliane Lelaidier-Marton stands in front of the kind of car her parents were forced into in Drancy, France, when deported to their deaths.Sarah Federman

The Holocaust could not have happened without the railways.

Preeminent Holocaust scholar Raul Hilberg underscored that almost everyone murdered at a camp arrived by train, including Jews, political...

200 years ago, France extorted Haiti in one of history’s greatest heists – and Haitians want reparations

Written by Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African American Studies, Yale University

A French propaganda engraving from 1825 depicts King Charles X bestowing freedom on a Black man kneeling before him in chains.'S.M. Charles X, le bien-aimé, reconnaissant l’indépendance de St. Domingue,' 1825, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Cabinet des Estampes, CC BY-SA

In 2002, Haiti’s former president Jean-Bert...

Cory Booker’s long speech offers a strategy for Trump opponents in a fragmented media landscape

Written by Erik Johnson, Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies, Stetson University

Sen. Cory Booker speaks to reporters in the Senate Chamber after delivering a record-setting floor speech at the U.S. Capitol on April 1, 2025.Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking, 25-hour Senate floor speech, which began on March 31, 2025, and ended on April 1, momentarily snatched the national spotlight from...

Miami researchers are testing a textured seawall designed to hold back water and create a home for marine organisms

Written by Sara Pezeshk, Postdoctoral Fellow in Architecture, Florida International University

A rendering of BIOCAP tiles installed along a seawall at Morningside Park in Miami. Sara Pezeshk, CC BY-SA

Morningside Park, a beloved neighborhood park in Miami with sweeping views of Biscayne Bay, will soon pilot an innovative approach to coastal resilience.

BIOCAP tiles, a 3D-printed modular system designed to support marine life and reduce wave...

Dark energy may have once been ‘springier’ than it is today − DESI cosmologists explain what their collaboration’s new measurement says about the universe’s history

Written by David Weinberg, Professor of Astronomy, The Ohio State University

The Mayall 4-meter Telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory houses the DESI instrument. KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/P. Marenfeld

Gravity pulls us to earth, a lesson you learn viscerally the first time you fall. Isaac Newton described gravity as a universal attractive force, one that holds the Moon in orbit around the Earth, the planets in orbit...

Giving cash to families in poor, rural communities can help bring down child marriage rates – new research

Written by Sudarno Sumarto, Visiting Professor at the Center for International Development, Harvard Kennedy School

Child marriages remain common in many regions of the world.AP Photo/Victoria Milko

Providing cash transfers to low-income families can reduce child marriage rates among girls living in rural communities.

That is what we found in a recent study looking at the impact of social assistance programs that gave money to families in Indonesia.

In 2006, the...

Des Moines food pantries face spiking demand as the Iowa region’s SNAP enrollment declines

Written by Lendie R. Follett, Associate Professor of Business Analytics, Drake University

A volunteer loads food into a bag at the Des Moines Area Religious Council food pantry in 2020.AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall

As part of its drive to cut federal spending, the Trump administration has paused over US$500 million of funds that had previously flowed annually to food banks across the U.S. It’s not the only policy change that could...

Beggar thy neighbor, harm thyself: Tariffs like Trump’s come with pitfalls, history shows

Written by Bedassa Tadesse, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth

Feeling tariff whiplash? You’re not alone. On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs – a 10% levy on nearly all U.S. imports, along with targeted duties aimed at punishing countries he accuses of exploiting American markets. Just a week later, on April 9, his administration abruptly paused much of the plan...

25 years of Everglades restoration has improved drinking water for millions in Florida, but a new risk is rising

Written by John Kominoski, Professor of Biological Sciences, Florida International University

The Everglades has often been referred to as a vast river of grass.National Park Service/B.Call via Flickr

Do you know where your drinking water comes from?

In South Florida, drinking water comes from the Everglades, a vast landscape of wetlands that has long filtered the water relied on by millions of people.

But as the Everglades has shrunk over...