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The Conversation

Wild 'super pigs' from Canada could become a new front in the war on feral hogs

  • Written by Marcus Lashley, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida
imageFeral hogs' long snouts and tusks allow them to rip and root their way across the landscape in search of food. USDA/Flickr, CC BY

They go by many names – pigs, hogs, swine, razorbacks – but whatever you call them, wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one of the most damaging invasive species in North America. They cause millions of dollars in...

Read more: Wild 'super pigs' from Canada could become a new front in the war on feral hogs

Finding objective ways to talk about religion in the classroom is tough − but the cost of not doing so is clear

  • Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton
imageConcerns about what is or isn't legal can hinder objective lessons about religious studies in class.SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

Despite the holiday season’s calls for joy and peace, religious strife continues in many places. While the United States has a great deal of litigation and controversy over religion’s place in public...

Read more: Finding objective ways to talk about religion in the classroom is tough − but the cost of not...

Digital inaccessibility: Blind and low-vision people have powerful technology but still face barriers to the digital world

  • Written by Michele McDonnall, Research Professor of Rehabilitation Education and Research, Mississippi State University
imageScreen reader software converts text to audio for people who are blind. Access Matters/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

Imagine that you have low vision and you’re completing an online job application using screen reader software.

You get through half the form and then come to a question with drop-down options the screen reader cannot access because the...

Read more: Digital inaccessibility: Blind and low-vision people have powerful technology but still face...

How active are the microorganisms in your yogurt? We created a new tool to study probiotic activity — and made it out of cardboard

  • Written by Carlos D. Garcia, Professor of Chemistry, Clemson University
imageFermented foods can be a good source of probiotics. Yulia Naumenko/Moment via Getty Images

Humans have been fermenting food and drinks — everything from kimchi and yogurt to beer and kombucha — for more than 13,000 years.

Fermentation – a natural process that uses microorganisms to create alcohols and acids from carbohydrates...

Read more: How active are the microorganisms in your yogurt? We created a new tool to study probiotic...

Teaching positive psychology skills at school may be one way to help student mental health and happiness

  • Written by Kai Zhuang Shum, Assistant Professor of School Psychology, University of Tennessee
imageGratitude, kindness and optimistic thinking can help kids feel a bit better.Wipada Wipawin/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Youth mental health has worsened significantly over the past decade, but new interventions that teach positive psychology concepts in school may help.

American young people are reporting historically high levels of hopelessness,...

Read more: Teaching positive psychology skills at school may be one way to help student mental health and...

Why are some black holes bigger than others? An astronomer explains how these celestial vacuums grow

  • Written by Jaclyn Champagne, JASPER Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Arizona
imageBlack holes use gravity to pull matter into them. NASA/Chandra X-ray Observatory/M.Weiss via APimage

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.

Why are there small and big black holes? Also, why are some black holes invisible and others have...

Read more: Why are some black holes bigger than others? An astronomer explains how these celestial vacuums grow

Do you hear what I see? How blindness changes how you process the sound of movement

  • Written by Ione Fine, Professor of Psychology, University of Washington
imageSighted people would have a hard time crossing the street by sound alone.Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Almost nothing in the world is still. Toddlers dash across the living room. Cars zip across the street. Motion is one of the most important features in the environment; the ability to predict the movement of objects in the world is often...

Read more: Do you hear what I see? How blindness changes how you process the sound of movement

More vulnerable people live in Philadelphia neighborhoods that are less green and get hotter

  • Written by Farzad Hashemi, Assistant Professor in Architecture, The University of Texas at San Antonio
imagePhiladelphia's neighborhoods are green and not so green.Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The ways an urban neighborhood is built and the characteristics of the people who live there are both related to how hot it gets. That is the result of our study, published by the Journal of Buildings.

If you have ever noticed that some...

Read more: More vulnerable people live in Philadelphia neighborhoods that are less green and get hotter

A bottle of scotch recently sold for $2.7 million – what's behind such outrageous prices?

  • Written by Hovig Tchalian, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship, University of Southern California
imageIn November 2023, a bottle of Macallan Scotch whisky fetched the highest price of all time for a bottle of wine or spirits.Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images

When a rare bottle of Scotch whisky sold for US$2.7 million in November 2023, I was stunned, but I wasn’t surprised.

The whiskey market has been booming for some time.

Bo...

Read more: A bottle of scotch recently sold for $2.7 million – what's behind such outrageous prices?

After 50 years of global effort to abolish torture, much work remains

  • Written by Christopher Justin Einolf, Associate Professor of Sociology, Northern Illinois University
imageA group of Spanish people have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for torture they and others experienced under the Franco regime from 1939 to 1975.David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images

The world’s first conference on the abolition of torture drew more than 300 delegates representing over 70 countries and international...

Read more: After 50 years of global effort to abolish torture, much work remains

More Articles ...

  1. Students could get more sleep and learn better if school started a little later
  2. Paying people to replant tropical forests − and letting them harvest the timber − can pay off for climate, justice and environment
  3. 100 years ago, the KKK planted bombs at a U.S. university – part of the terror group's crusade against American Catholics
  4. 100 years ago, the KKK planted bombs at a US university – part of the terror group's crusade against American Catholics
  5. 5 things to know about US aid to Ukraine
  6. A US ambassador working for Cuba? Charges against former diplomat Victor Manuel Rocha spotlight Havana's importance in the world of spying
  7. Racism produces subtle brain changes that lead to increased disease risk in Black populations
  8. As Russia ramps up 'traditional values' rhetoric − especially against LGBTQ+ groups − it's won Putin far-right fans abroad
  9. War in Gaza: An ethicist explains why you shouldn't turn to social media for information about the conflict or to do something about it
  10. Sandra Day O’Connor saw civics education as key to the future of democracy
  11. How to provide reliable water in a warming world – these cities are testing small-scale treatment systems and wastewater recycling
  12. Mutton, an Indigenous woolly dog, died in 1859 − new analysis confirms precolonial lineage of this extinct breed, once kept for their wool
  13. Release of Alberto Fujimori in Peru rekindles fears of backsliding on human rights
  14. When authoritative sources hold onto bad data: A legal scholar explains the need for government databases to retract information
  15. Winter brings more than just ugly sweaters – here's how the season can affect your mind and behavior
  16. Artificial light lures migrating birds into cities, where they face a gauntlet of threats
  17. Why federal efforts to protect schools from cybersecurity threats fall short
  18. 4 business lessons from the Boston Tea Party
  19. In the worst of America's Jim Crow era, Black intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois found inspiration and hope in national parks
  20. Is Hamas the same as ISIS, the Islamic State group? No − and yes
  21. CRISPR and other new technologies open doors for drug development, but which diseases get prioritized? It comes down to money and science
  22. Lighting a fire using friction requires an understanding of some physics principles − but there are ways to make the process easier
  23. ¿La mejor manera de cumplir un propósito de Año Nuevo? Haga un propósito de año viejo
  24. Por qué a los primeros cristianos no les habría sorprendido tanto el nacimiento virginal de la historia de Navidad
  25. Israel can and will ignore US appeals to minimize casualties in Gaza
  26. How the Boston Tea Party's 'destruction of the tea' changed American history
  27. Drinking during holidays and special occasions could affect how you parent your kids
  28. Big-box retail chains were never a solution for America's downtowns − and now they're fleeing back to suburbia
  29. A road map for the lawful use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia – and elsewhere
  30. Health misinformation is rampant on social media – here's what it does, why it spreads and what people can do about it
  31. Growth of autocracies will expand Chinese global influence via Belt and Road Initiative as it enters second decade
  32. Nonalcoholic beer: New techniques craft flavorful brews without the buzz
  33. 'Good Times': 50 years ago, Norman Lear changed TV with a show about a working-class Black family's struggles and joys
  34. Arctic Report Card 2023: From wildfires to melting sea ice, the warmest summer on record had cascading impacts across the Arctic
  35. Israelis and Palestinians warring over a homeland is far from unique
  36. Israel-Hamas war may not restore Israelis' support for military reserves
  37. Could UPS and FedEx get holiday packages to their destinations faster? This research suggests yes
  38. Before he was House speaker, Mike Johnson represented a creationist museum in court. Here’s what that episode reveals about his politics
  39. Scientists and space agencies are shooting for the Moon -- 5 essential reads on modern lunar missions
  40. Customizing mRNA is easy, and that's what makes it the next frontier for personalized medicine − a molecular biologist explains
  41. What's the point of giving gifts? An anthropologist explains this ancient part of being human
  42. Why university presidents find it hard to punish advocating genocide − college free speech codes are both more and less protective than the First Amendment
  43. Was King Herod the Great really so 'great'? What history says about the bad guy of the Christmas story
  44. Hamas' use of sexual violence is an all-too-common part of modern war – but not in all conflicts
  45. 'You reach a point where you have nothing. You will just die' – in East African refugee camps, food scarcity is a mortal concern
  46. Israel's mass displacement of Gazans fits strategy of using migration as a tool of war
  47. How cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger became the scents of winter holidays, far from their tropical origins
  48. The Napoléon that Ridley Scott and Hollywood won’t let you see
  49. Why do people have wisdom teeth?
  50. How do pacemakers and defibrillators work? A cardiologist explains how they interact with the electrical system of the heart