The Conversation

Mangroves protect coastlines, store carbon – and are expanding with climate change

Written by Samantha Chapman, Associate Professor of Biology, Villanova University

Mangroves in the Florida Everglades.Alan Sandercock, CC BY

With the help of technology, humans can traverse virtually every part of our planet’s surface. But animals and plants are less mobile. Most species can only live in zones where temperature and rain fall within specific ranges.

As regions become warmer due to climate change, plants and...

How game theory could help ensure you will get blood when you need it

Written by Anna Nagurney, John F. Smith Memorial Professor of Operations Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst

A person, pictured here, donating blood. Blood shortages occur often in the U.S.AP Photo/Mel Evans

Blood shortages in the United States are now at the critical level because of severe weather nationally, coupled with widespread flu. Hundreds of blood drives have been canceled this winter, and the donor base has decreased because of illnesses as...

The hidden superpower of 'Black Panther': Scientist role models

Written by Clifford Johnson, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

King of a technologically advanced country, Black Panther is a scientific genius.Marvel Studios

I’m not the first to say that the upcoming Marvel movie “Black Panther” will be an important landmark. Finally a feature film starring a black superhero character will be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe – a successful run of...

Consumers are biggest losers of Trump's ongoing war on regulations

Written by Jeff Sovern, Professor of Law, St. John's University

Some worry Mick Mulvaney is putting banks before consumers as head of the CFPB. Reuters/Yuri Gripas

President Donald Trump has been waging a war on regulation since he got into office on the ground that government red tape costs the economy billions of dollars a year.

Among the victors in this battle have been energy companies, banks and the...

When treating sports injuries, does the West do it best?

Written by Nate Newman, Associate Professor of Athletic Training, Director of the Masters in Athletic Training Program, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Drake University

Every two years, billions of people watch athletes at the Olympics compete to be crowned world champion.

What the viewer doesn’t see are the athletes’ behind-the-scenes preparation, which includes trying to figure out new ways to give them an edge in the biggest event of their career.

Different treatment methods that may provide an...

What is 'right to try,' and could it help?

Written by Morten Wendelbo, Lecturer, Bush School of Government and Public Service; Research Fellow, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs; and, Policy Sciences Lecturer, Texas A&M University Libraries, Texas A&M University

In this March 18, 2011 photo, Cassidy Hempel waved at hospital staff as she was being treated for a rare disorder. Her mother Chris, left, fought to gain permission for an experimental drug.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

After a year in which President Donald Trump devoted much of his health policy attention to the repeal and replace of the...

DC graduation scandal shows how chronic absenteeism threatens America's schools

Written by Shaun M. Dougherty, Assistant Professor of Education & Public Policy, University of Connecticut

Millions of American students miss large chunks of the school year. Shutterstock.com

Each year in the United States, approximately 5 to 7.5 million students in the nation’s K-12 schools miss a month or more of school. That means 150 to 225 million instructional days are lost every school year.

The problem is more pronounced in low-income urban...

Is full transparency good for democracy?

Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

With the approval of President Donald Trump, the House of Representatives released the so-called “Nunes memo” on Feb. 2.

In it, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes describes alleged abuses of surveillance practices by the FBI in the...

What the joyous solitude of early hermits can teach us about being alone

Written by Kim Haines-Eitzen, Professor of Early Christianity, Cornell University

Loneliness (feeling alone) and solitude (being alone) are not the same thing.jessicahtam, CC BY

In today’s world, loneliness seems to have reached epidemic proportions. Countless studies have highlighted the serious and negative impact that loneliness has on our health, our sense of well-being, and our ability to thrive in an increasingly...

More bad news for dinosaurs: Chicxulub meteorite impact triggered global volcanic eruptions on the ocean floor

Written by Leif Karlstrom, Assistant Professor of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon

Seismic shockwaves after a meteorite’s collision could affect systems all over the planet.solarseven/Shutterstock.com

The end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago was a rough time to be living on Earth.

Three global catastrophes occurred nearly simultaneously: The Chicxulub meteorite slammed into what is now Mexico’s Yucatan...