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Why do people have wisdom teeth?

  • Written by Ariadne Letra, Professor of Dental Medicine, University of Pittsburgh
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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 do people have wisdom teeth? – Jack J., age 17, Dedham, Massachusetts

Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars located at the very back of the mouth. They look just like the first and...

Read more: Why do people have wisdom teeth?

How do pacemakers and defibrillators work? A cardiologist explains how they interact with the electrical system of the heart

  • Written by Virginia Singla, Clinical Assistant Professor of Cardiology, University of Pittsburgh
imageElectrocardiograms, or ECGs, record the electrical activity of your heart. Randy Faris/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Your heart’s job is to keep your pulse steady to pump blood throughout your body. Sometimes your heart rate is slower when you’re relaxing, and sometimes it’s faster when you’re exercising or stressed. If...

Read more: How do pacemakers and defibrillators work? A cardiologist explains how they interact with the...

Teens don't know everything − and those who acknowledge that fact are more eager to learn

  • Written by Tenelle Porter, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Rowan University
imageWhat makes some students eager to work hard and others prefer to avoid the struggle?Kobus Louw/E+ via Getty Images

If you, like me, grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, you may have come across the classic refrigerator magnet, “Teenagers, leave home now while you still know everything.”

Perhaps you know a teen, or maybe you were a teen, like...

Read more: Teens don't know everything − and those who acknowledge that fact are more eager to learn

Norman Lear's ’70s TV comedies brought people together to confront issues in a way Gen Z would appreciate

  • Written by Yalda T. Uhls, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers and Assistant Adjunct Professor in Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
image Producer Norman Lear on the set of his hit TV series 'All In The Family,' standing between its stars, Jean Stapleton and Carroll O'Connor. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

Even Americans who strongly disagree with each other may find common ground when they watch the same TV shows and movies, especially those that make us laugh or cry.

Norman Lear,...

Read more: Norman Lear's ’70s TV comedies brought people together to confront issues in a way Gen Z would...

Viva Guadalupe! Beyond Mexico, the Indigenous Virgin Mary is a powerful symbol of love and inclusion for millions of Latinos in the US

  • Written by Kristy Nabhan-Warren, Associate Vice President of Research, University of Iowa
imageArchbishop of Los Angeles Jose H. Gomez stands with people celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe's feast day in 2022.AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Dec. 12 is a special day for millions of Catholics around the world, especially those of Mexican descent. Known as el Dia de la Virgen Guadalupe, it is a popular feast day that celebrates the Virgin of...

Read more: Viva Guadalupe! Beyond Mexico, the Indigenous Virgin Mary is a powerful symbol of love and...

How the Christmas pudding, with ingredients taken from the colonies, became an iconic British food

  • Written by Troy Bickham, Professor of History, Texas A&M University
imageThe Christmas pudding, a legacy of the British Empire, is enjoyed around the world -- including in former British colonies.esp_imaging/iStock via Getty Images Plus

As an American living in Britain in the 1990s, my first exposure to Christmas pudding was something of a shock. I had expected figs or plums, as in the “We Wish You a Merry...

Read more: How the Christmas pudding, with ingredients taken from the colonies, became an iconic British food

Ex-Speaker McCarthy's departure from Congress reads like Greek tragedy – but stars a 'slight unmeritable man' and not a hero

  • Written by Rachel Hadas, Professor of English, Rutgers University - Newark
imageRep. Kevin McCarthy leaves a House Republican Conference meeting at the US Capitol on Dec. 5, 2023. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s departure from Congress brings to mind ambition and the other side of ambition’s coin, humiliation – the thirst for fame and power on one side, ignominious...

Read more: Ex-Speaker McCarthy's departure from Congress reads like Greek tragedy – but stars a 'slight...

The landmark Genocide Convention has had mixed results since the UN approved it 75 years ago

  • Written by Alexander Hinton, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights, Rutgers University - Newark
imageA woman prays in front of skulls at a memorial in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, marking the genocide that happened under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s.Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images

Seventy-five years ago, in the wake of Nazi atrocities, the world made a vow.

Countries pledged to liberate humanity from the “odious scourge” of...

Read more: The landmark Genocide Convention has had mixed results since the UN approved it 75 years ago

The holidays and your brain – a neuroscientist explains how to identify and manage your emotions

  • Written by Seena Mathew, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
imageWhen stress and tension are starting to mount, taking short breaks and deep breaths can help clear your mind.AaronAmat/iStock / Getty Images Plus

Just as the shift to shorter days and colder weather can bring with it mood swings and other emotional challenges, the holiday season can also bring about somewhat predictable changes in mood and...

Read more: The holidays and your brain – a neuroscientist explains how to identify and manage your emotions

AI can teach math teachers how to improve student skills

  • Written by Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern California
imageWill AI play a bigger professional development role for schoolteachers?Dann Tardif via Getty Images

When middle school math teachers completed an online professional development program that uses artificial intelligence to improve their math knowledge and teaching skills, their students’ math performance improved.

My colleagues and I developed...

Read more: AI can teach math teachers how to improve student skills

More Articles ...

  1. Michigan is spending $107M more on pre-K − here's what the money will buy
  2. Turning annual performance reviews into 'humble encounters' yields dividends for employees and managers
  3. Government and nonprofit workers are getting billions in student loan debt canceled through a public service program
  4. Conservatives' 'anti-woke' alternative to Disney has finally arrived
  5. Holocaust comparisons are overused -- but in the case of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel they may reflect more than just the emotional response of a traumatized people
  6. Yule – a celebration of the return of light and warmth
  7. How new reports reveal Israeli intelligence underestimated Hamas and other key weaknesses
  8. Biases behind transgender athlete bans are deeply rooted
  9. Why dozens of North American bird species are getting new names: Every name tells a story
  10. How I identified a probable pen name of Louisa May Alcott
  11. Disinformation is rampant on social media – a social psychologist explains the tactics used against you
  12. What does weight-inclusive health care mean? A dietitian explains what some providers are doing to end weight stigma
  13. When research study materials don't speak their participants' language, data can get lost in translation
  14. Oh, Christmas tree: The economics of the US holiday tree industry
  15. Earth may have had all the elements needed for life within it all along − contrary to theories that these elements came from meteorites
  16. Don't applaud the climate summit's loss and damage fund deal just yet – it might not warrant that standing ovation
  17. Don't applaud the COP28 climate summit's loss and damage fund deal just yet – here's what's missing
  18. Kissinger’s obsession with Chile enabled a murderous dictatorship that still haunts the country
  19. Your car might be watching you to keep you safe − at the expense of your privacy
  20. Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the weedkiller Roundup, is showing up in pregnant women living near farm fields – that raises health concerns
  21. Intellectual humility is a key ingredient for scientific progress
  22. How electroconvulsive therapy heals the brain − new insights into ECT, a stigmatized yet highly effective treatment for depression
  23. Sandra Day O’Connor's experience as a legislator guided her consensus-building work on the Supreme Court
  24. Tuberville ends holdout on most high-ranking military nominations
  25. Book explores how colleges seek to increase racial diversity without relying on race in college admissions
  26. Citizen science projects tend to attract white, affluent, well-educated volunteers − here's how we recruited a more diverse group to identify lead pipes in homes
  27. Preguntar a las personas con pérdida de memoria sobre las vacaciones pasadas puede ayudarles a recordar momentos felices
  28. 5 lecciones de marketing del romance entre Taylor Swift y Travis Kelce
  29. Hanukkah celebrations have changed dramatically − but the same is true of Christmas
  30. 'Inert' ingredients in pesticides may be more toxic to bees than scientists thought
  31. How a thumb-sized climate migrant with a giant crab claw is disrupting the Northeast's Great Marsh ecosystem
  32. Real or artificial? A forestry scientist explains how to choose the most sustainable Christmas tree, no matter what it's made of
  33. Why Franklin, Washington and Lincoln considered American democracy an 'experiment' -- and were unsure if it would survive
  34. Hate crimes are on the rise − but the narrow legal definition makes it hard to charge and convict
  35. How sacred images in many Asian cultures incorporate divine presence and make them come 'alive'
  36. Scientists have been researching superconductors for over a century, but they have yet to find one that works at room temperature − 3 essential reads
  37. Science is a human right − and its future is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  38. Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay – two experts on legal punishments explain why
  39. Philadelphia reduces school-based arrests by 91% since 2013 – researchers explain the effects of keeping kids out of the legal system
  40. Texas is suing Planned Parenthood for $1.8B over $10M in allegedly fraudulent services it rendered – a health care economist explains what's going on
  41. New England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own
  42. Online 'likes' for toxic social media posts prompt more − and more hateful − messages
  43. With the end of the Hollywood writers and actors strikes, the creator economy is the next frontier for organized labor
  44. Here's what happened when I taught a fly-fishing course in the waterways of New Orleans
  45. Why isn't there any sound in space? An astronomer explains why in space no one can hear you scream
  46. COP28: 7 food and agriculture innovations needed to protect the climate and feed a rapidly growing world
  47. Santos, now booted from the House, got elected as a master of duplicity -- here's how it worked
  48. A First Amendment battle looms in Georgia, where the state is framing opposition to a police training complex as a criminal conspiracy
  49. Native American mothers whose children have been separated from them experience a raw and ongoing grief that has no end
  50. 'Wonka' movie holds remnants of novel's racist past