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Bitcoin is now 'legal tender' in El Salvador – here's what that means

  • Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
imageIt's all legal tender.Steven Puetzer/The Image Bank via Getty Images

On Sept. 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make bitcoin legal tender.

The government even went a step further in promoting the cryptocurrency’s use by giving US$30 in free bitcoins to citizens who sign up for its national digital wallet, known as...

Read more: Bitcoin is now 'legal tender' in El Salvador – here's what that means

Researchers trained mice to control seemingly random bursts of dopamine in their brains, challenging theories of reward and learning

  • Written by David Kleinfeld, Professor of Physics and Neurobiology, University of California San Diego
imageThe brains of mice randomly produce large bursts of dopamine that could produce feelings of hope.Julia Kuhl, CC BY-ND

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

My colleagues and I recently found that we were able to train mice to voluntarily increase the size and frequency of seemingly random dopamine impulses...

Read more: Researchers trained mice to control seemingly random bursts of dopamine in their brains,...

'Work with hope' – a poet and classics scholar on facing the flood of bad news

  • Written by Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University - Newark
imageWhat, more depressing news?Rolling Camera/ iStock / Getty Images Plus

Patience is wearing thin. Not only are we all bone-weary of the pandemic; rising hopes have made the current precarious state of confusion and fear, vigorous variants and stubborn vaccine rejection all the more frustrating.

We thought we were almost out of the woods, but...

Read more: 'Work with hope' – a poet and classics scholar on facing the flood of bad news

An entire generation of Americans has no idea how easy air travel used to be

  • Written by Janet Bednarek, Professor of History, University of Dayton
imageAirplane passengers line up for TSA security screenings at Denver International Airport in 2019.Robert Alexander/Getty Images

During the mid-1990s I traveled between Dayton, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., twice a month during the school year as half of a commuting couple. I could leave Dayton by 5:15 p.m., drive nearly 80 miles to the Columbus airport...

Read more: An entire generation of Americans has no idea how easy air travel used to be

As Texas ban on abortion goes into effect, a religion scholar explains that pre-modern Christian attitudes on marriage and reproductive rights were quite different

  • Written by Luis Josué Salés, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Scripps College
imageThe U.S. Supreme Court has allowed Texas' abortion restrictions to take effect.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court has failed to rule on an emergency application to block SB8, a controversial Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. As such, the legislation went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021.

While signing the new law...

Read more: As Texas ban on abortion goes into effect, a religion scholar explains that pre-modern Christian...

Education debates are rife with references to war – but have they gone too far?

  • Written by Mark Hlavacik, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, University of North Texas
imageBattlefield analogies are a long-standing feature of public debates about education.Colin Anderson Productions pty ltd/Getty

As President Joe Biden oversaw the transfer of the remains of the U.S. soldiers killed in a suicide bomb attack at Afghanistan’s Kabul airport on Aug. 26, 2021, former Education Secretary Arne Duncan took to Twitter....

Read more: Education debates are rife with references to war – but have they gone too far?

At my hospital, over 95% of COVID-19 patients share one thing in common: They’re unvaccinated

  • Written by Nicholas Johnson, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, UW School of Medicine, University of Washington
imageMany hospitals have reached a point where the demand for health care has outstripped the ability to provide it.Westend61 via Getty Images

The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find all of the stories here.

As an emergency medicine and...

Read more: At my hospital, over 95% of COVID-19 patients share one thing in common: They’re unvaccinated

When human life begins is a question of politics – not biology

  • Written by Sahotra Sarkar, Professor of Philosophy and Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts
imageScience can observe these various phases of fetal development but cannot determine when human life begins.UrsaHoogle/E+ via Getty Images

A Texas law that aims to eliminate almost all abortions in the state is part of a long-standing nationwide movement to restrict the right to abortion. The Texas law went into effect on Sept. 1, 2021, and severely...

Read more: When human life begins is a question of politics – not biology

How the Purdue opioid settlement could help the public understand the roots of the drug crisis

  • Written by Antoine Lentacker, Assistant Professor of History, University of California, Riverside
imageEsther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses.Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

There’s a long history of U.S. courts being called upon to fix large-scale public health crises.

Lawyers and judges, for instance, were key in settling claims related to asbestos, lead paint, Agent Orange and tobacco. More recently, they have...

Read more: How the Purdue opioid settlement could help the public understand the roots of the drug crisis

20 years of 'forever' wars have left a toll on US veterans returning to the question: 'Did you kill?'

  • Written by Marian Eide, Professor of English and Women's & Gender Studies, Texas A&M University
imageEvery soldier has a different story.Yuri Cortez/AFP via Getty Images

Military service members returning from America’s “forever” wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have often faced deeply personal questions about their experience.

As one veteran explained to me: “I’ve been asked, ‘Have you ever killed anyone in war? Are...

Read more: 20 years of 'forever' wars have left a toll on US veterans returning to the question: 'Did you...

More Articles ...

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  2. Zinc-infused proteins are the secret that allows scorpions, spiders and ants to puncture tough skin
  3. What's on the agenda when Ukraine president meets Biden?
  4. What are the Jewish High Holy Days? A look at Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and a month of celebrating renewal and moral responsibility
  5. State efforts to ban mask mandates in schools mirror resistance to integration
  6. Calculating the costs of the Afghanistan War in lives, dollars and years
  7. Hurricane Ida turned into a monster thanks to a giant warm patch in the Gulf of Mexico – here’s what happened
  8. Even with the eviction moratorium, landlords continued to find ways to kick renters out
  9. Afghanistan has vast mineral wealth but faces steep challenges to tap it
  10. Microeconomics explains why people can never have enough of what they want and how that influences policies
  11. Refugees after the American Revolution needed money, homes and acceptance
  12. Do US teens have the right to be vaccinated against their parents' will? It depends on where they live
  13. Bilingual people with language loss due to stroke can pose a treatment challenge – computational modeling may help clinicians treat them
  14. Lessons about 9/11 often provoke harassment of Muslim students
  15. New gene therapies may soon treat dozens of rare diseases, but million-dollar price tags will put them out of reach for many
  16. Autonomous drones could speed up search and rescue after flash floods, hurricanes and other disasters
  17. What do Muslims believe and do? Understanding the 5 pillars of Islam
  18. Understanding Islam - a brief introduction to its past and present in the United States
  19. Why some Muslim women feel empowered wearing hijab, a headscarf
  20. Islam's deep traditions of art and science have had a global influence
  21. America's Muslims come from many traditions and cultures
  22. How much do you know about Islam?
  23. What is Sharia? Islamic law shows Muslims how to live, and can be a force for progress as well as tool of fundamentalists
  24. What happens when the COVID-19 vaccines enter the body – a road map for kids and grown-ups
  25. Breathing wildfire smoke can affect the brain and sperm, as well as the lungs
  26. Drink less, exercise more and take in the air – sage advice on pandemic living from a long-forgotten, and very long, 18th-century poem
  27. What is Wicca? An expert on modern witchcraft explains.
  28. Data privacy laws in the US protect profit but prevent sharing data for public good – people want the opposite
  29. Is it a crime to forge a vaccine card? And what’s the penalty for using a fake?
  30. Why is it so difficult to fight domestic terrorism? 6 experts share their thoughts
  31. Hurricane Ida: 4 essential reads about New Orleans' high hurricane risk and what climate change has to do with the storms
  32. The Taliban reportedly have control of US biometric devices – a lesson in life-and-death consequences of data privacy
  33. CDC eviction ban ended by Supreme Court: 4 questions about its impact answered by a housing law expert
  34. Poison ivy can work itchy evil on your skin – here's how
  35. TikTok, #BamaRush and the irresistible allure of mocking Southern accents
  36. How public health partnerships are encouraging COVID-19 vaccination in Mississippi, Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina
  37. Assassinations and invasions – how the US and France shaped Haiti's long history of political turmoil
  38. The invasive emerald ash borer has destroyed millions of trees – scientists aim to control it with tiny parasitic wasps
  39. Do I need a booster shot if I got the Johnson Johnson vaccine? A virologist answers 5 questions
  40. Vaccines could affect how the coronavirus evolves - but that's no reason to skip your shot
  41. What is ISIS-K? Two terrorism experts on the group behind the deadly Kabul airport attack and its rivalry with the Taliban
  42. Racial income and wealth gaps are huge – but the Fed doesn't have the right tools to fix them
  43. American religious groups have a history of resettling refugees – including Afghans
  44. Do star athletes who want to play for the NBA really need college? What LaMelo Ball got right – and wrong – about why they don't
  45. Why students learn better when they move their bodies – instead of sitting still at their desks
  46. These 3 energy storage technologies can help solve the challenge of moving to 100% renewable electricity
  47. 7 tips for LGBTQ parents to help schools fight stigma and ignorance
  48. The history of the Taliban is crucial in understanding their success now – and also what might happen next
  49. Scientists are using new satellite tech to find glow-in-the-dark milky seas of maritime lore
  50. Specialized cells maintain healthy pregnancy by teaching the mother's immune system not to attack developing fetus