The Conversation

For indigenous communities, fish mean much more than food

Written by Yoshitaka Ota, Director (Policy), Nippon Foundation-UBC Nereus Program and Senior Research Associate, University of British Columbia

Along the arid coastline of northwestern Mexico, indigenous Seri communities, who first resisted Spanish rule and then Mexican extermination efforts, eventually gained formal titles over a small part of their ancestral coastal and marine territories. The ocean has always sustained their livelihood, but now they must contend with outside competition...

How distrust of unbelievers runs deep in American history

Written by Leigh E. Schmidt, Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities, Washington University in St Louis

A new megachurch movement is drawing crowds on the basis of belief in nonbelief.AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama recently raised eyebrows during his confirmation hearing for attorney general when he expressed doubts that secular people respected the truth as much as did those with religious convictions. Even as he insisted...

How anti-LGBT laws foster a culture of exclusion that harms states' economic prosperity

Written by George B. Cunningham, Professor and Associate Dean, Texas A&M University

When it comes to “bathroom bills” and other legislation that curtails the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals, North Carolina was a first actor. But, if some lawmakers have their way, many states, and even the federal government, will quickly follow suit.

So far this year, 11 states have proposed legislat...

It's pedal to the metal for driverless cars

Written by William Messner, John R. Beaver Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University

An NVIDIA-powered Audi needs no driver.AP Photo/John Locher

When a May 2016 crash killed the person operating a Tesla Model S driving in Autopilot mode, advocates of autonomous vehicles feared a slowdown in development of self-driving cars.

Instead the opposite has occurred. In August, Ford publicly committed to field self-driving cars by 2021. In...

Do Americans want to buy 'smart' guns?

Written by Lacey Wallace, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Pennsylvania State University

Recently legislators and special interest groups have pushed for greater availability of “smart” guns as a safety and crime-reduction tool. Then-President Barack Obama called for more research into “smart” gun technology in January 2016, and that April issued a memorandum calling for government-led research into smart guns...

Trump's immigration order is bad foreign policy

Written by David FitzGerald, Theodore E. Gildred Chair in U.S.-Mexican Relations, Professor of Sociology, and Co-Director of the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego

A rally against President Donald Trump's order that restricts travel to the U.S.AP Photo/Steven Senne

President Donald Trump banned the entry of people from seven majority Muslim countries last week. Leaders as far apart ideologically as former Vice President Dick Cheney and Sen. Bernie Sanders warned the ban could become a recruitment tool for...

What the Bible says about welcoming refugees

Written by Mathew Schmalz, Associate Professor of Religion, College of the Holy Cross

Essam Saad, CC BY

On Friday, Jan. 27, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that placed a stay on refugees from seven Muslim majority countries. Entrance of refugees from Syria, however, will be banned for the next 120 days.

Two days prior to that, he committed the United States to building a wall on its border with Mexico. Soon after...

SmallSat revolution: Tiny satellites poised to make big contributions to essential science

Written by J. Vanderlei Martins, Professor of Physics, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Tiny CubeSats are ready to be our eyes in the skies.Earth Background: NASA; HARP Spacecraft: SDL; Montage: Martins, UMBC, CC BY-ND

Tiny satellites, some smaller than a shoe box, are currently orbiting around 200 miles above Earth, collecting data about our planet and the universe. It’s not just their small stature but also their accompanying...

Why advances in treating those with brain injuries require advances in respecting their rights

Written by Joseph J. Fins, The E. William Davis, Jr., M.D. Professor of Medical Ethics and Professor of Medicine, Chief Division of Medical Ethics Weill Cornell Medicine and Solomon Center Distinguished Scholar in Medicine, Bioethics and the Law, Yale Law School, Co

A patient who suffered a traumatic brain injury works with a therapist.Steve Senne/AP

Several years ago a father approached me, concerned about the care his son was receiving. The son had been in a car accident that left him with severe brain injury. He was placed in a nursing home, and his dad stopped by regularly to check in on him. The father...

As Trump mulls another 'reset' with Russia, he should consider perils of Big Oil diplomacy

Written by Amy Myers Jaffe, Executive Director for Energy and Sustainability, University of California, Davis

Energy has long been used as a tool of U.S. foreign policy, particularly in the Middle East. But it’s true in other regions and countries as well, most notably Russia, where President Donald Trump is pondering another possible “reset” in relations.

This will be the fourth such attempt at a relationship reboot with Moscow since the...