The Conversation

Trump’s new child care subsidy rules compound an already dire situation for providers and families

Written by Beth Kania-Gosche, Professor of Education, Missouri University of Science and Technology

Students play with toys in a basin of soapy water at a child care center in New Britain, Conn., in March 2025. Mark Mirko/Connecticut Public via Getty Images

I live in the small city of Rolla, Missouri, where half the child care centers have closed in the past six years. In the past year, my state has lost 1,771 child care slots due to closures.

Thi...

Pittsburgh’s air pollution estimated to claim 3,000+ lives per year − and EPA rollbacks aren’t helping

Written by Philip Landrigan, Professor of Biology, Boston College

Pittsburgh's air pollution not only led to increased deaths, but it also had other negative effects, from lowered IQ in children to adverse birth outcomes. G Fiume/Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

In October 1948, a thick haze rolled into Donora, Pennsylvania, a steel town in the Monongahela Valley, south of Pittsburgh. For five days, toxic...

Global copper demand outstrips supply, threatening electrification and industrial growth

Written by Morgan Bazilian, Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines

Capstone Copper's Pinto Valley Mine in Miami, Arizona.Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Demand for copper is surging because of demand from new technologies, but suppliers are struggling to keep up, and they are likely to fall further behind in the coming years, resulting in shortfalls globally. Even though copper prices are at...

Health insurance jargon can be frustrating and confusing – here’s how to navigate it

Written by Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Assistant Professor of Health Promotion and Policy, UMass Amherst

Sorting through the nuances of copays, deductibles, premiums and other jargon can be frustrating.Tfilm/Moment via Getty Images

Since the Affordable Care Act subsidies expired at the end of 2025, Americans have undoubtedly been encountering a great deal of confusing information surrounding health care costs and insurance plans.

From five-figure...

Gender conformity starts young – and boys and girls fall in line in different ways

Written by Adam Stanaland, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Richmond

The messages children receive about how to properly perform their gender carry into adulthood.Fotografia Basica/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Many people have felt the subtle pressure to be “man enough” or “woman enough” in the eyes of others. And research has shown this pressure can have personal and social consequences.

When...

Moral metrics: Are corporate algorithms becoming our new moral authorities?

Written by Beth DuFault, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Portland

Scores help give us a sense of how we're doing – but they're not always neutral.Dilok Klaisataporn/iStock via Getty Images Plus

You check your credit score before applying for an apartment. Your fitness watch tells you whether you slept well enough. A workplace dashboard measures your productivity. Parents can buy devices that track their...

Soaring gas prices prompt Trump to ease oil tanker rules – how waiving the Jones Act affects what you pay at the pump

Written by Christopher Niezrecki, Director of the Center for Energy Innovation, UMass Lowell

Suspending the Jones Act allows foreign-based oil tankers to sail between U.S. ports. AP Photo/Eric Gay

The Trump administration temporarily suspended the Jones Act on March 18, 2026, as part of its efforts to bring down soaring U.S. gasoline prices.

But what does this more-than-century-old law, which originally was designed to support the shipping...

Hundreds of hungry mosquitoes, a student volunteer and a mesh suit helped us figure out how these deadly insects reach their targets

Written by David Hu, Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Biology, Adjunct Professor of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology

Trajectories of mosquitoes flying around a human target.David L. Hu, Georgia Tech

“Four minutes is too long.”

Some of Chris Zuo’s itchy results after his session with the mosquitoes.David L. Hu

That’s the note undergraduate Chris Zuo sent me along with photos of countless mosquito bites on his bare skin. This full-body...

How hatred of Jews became a common ground for Islamic terrorists and left-wing extremists, fueling domestic terrorism

Written by Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

A woman gathers children as law enforcement responds at a Michigan synagogue after an assailant drove a vehicle into the building on March 12, 2026. AP Photo/Corey Williams

Every major escalation in the Middle East sends shock waves far beyond the region. In the United States, those shock waves arrive not as distant tremors but as catalysts for...

More and more teachers and students are using AI – even though it might do more harm than good

Written by Tal Slemrod, Associate Professor of Special Education, California State University, Chico

An estimated 85% of K-12 public school teachers recently reported that they used AI during the 2024-2025 school year. ismagilov/iStock/Getty Images Plus

K-12 teachers and students across the country are increasingly using AI in and out of classrooms, whether it is teachers turning to AI to refine lesson plans or students asking AI to help them...