The Conversation

NASA will say goodbye to the International Space Station in 2030 − and welcome in the age of commercial space stations

Written by John M. Horack, Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, The Ohio State University

The International Space Station will be brought down in 2030.NASA via AP

For 24 hours a day, seven days a week since November 2000, NASA and its international partners have sustained a continuous human presence in low-Earth orbit, including at least one American – a streak that will soon reach 25 years.

When viewed in the history of...

Trump isn’t cutting Pell Grants, after all − but other changes could complicate financial aid for some students

Written by Jennifer L. Steele, Professor of Education, American University

Amid a complicated federal financial aid system, Pell Grants are the largest source of federal support for university students.iStock/Getty Images Plus

As an education researcher who has studied the economic returns of higher education, I know that college degrees remain cost-effective investments for most students.

But college tuition has risen...

How a devastating grape pest is reshaping vineyards across Colorado’s Western Slope

Written by Charlotte Oliver, Extension Associate Professor, Colorado State University

Colorado's $3.9 billion wine industry is threatened by a tiny aphid. Courtesy of Charlotte Oliver

Grape phylloxera, or Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, is an aphidlike insect that attacks grapevines with devastating effects. In Colorado, where wine is an estimated US$3.9 billion dollar industry, phylloxera poses a significant threat.

In 2015, several...

2 newly launched NASA missions will help scientists understand the influence of the Sun, both from up close and afar

Written by Ryan French, Research Scientist, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder

NASA's IMAP mission is one of two launching in September 2025.NASA/Princeton University/Patrick McPike

Even at a distance of 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) away, activity on the Sun can have adverse effects on technological systems on Earth. Solar flares – intense bursts of energy in the Sun’s atmosphere – and coronal...

Detroit’s Gordie Howe bridge is poised to open as truck traffic between US-Canada slows – low-income residents are deciding whether to stay or go

Written by Paul Draus, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan-Dearborn

The Gordie Howe International Bridge connects Detroit, Mich., and Windsor, Ontario.John Coletti/Photodisc via Getty Images

Watching the space between two nations shrink became a regular pastime for Detroiters over the past decade as the segments of the Gordie Howe International Bridge gradually grew, extending meter by meter from Ontario on one...

Hobbits of Flores evolved to be small by slowing down growth during childhood, new research on teeth and brain size suggests

Written by Tesla Monson, Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University

Hobbits are exceptions to the rule that older ancient humans had proportionally larger wisdom teeth and smaller brains.Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Until Homo floresiensis was discovered, scientists assumed that the evolution of the human lineage was defined by bigger and bigger brains. Via a process called encephalization, human brains evolved...

From anime to activism: How the ‘One Piece’ pirate flag became the global emblem of Gen Z resistance

Written by Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, School of Media and Strategic Communications, Oklahoma State University

The Jolly Roger of the Straw Hat Pirates is flown during a protest in Rome.Vincenzo Nuzzolese/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

From Paris and Rome to Jakarta, Indonesia, and New York, a curious banner has appeared in protest squares. With hollow cheeks, a broad grin and a straw hat with a red band, the figure is instantly recognizable and...

Facing a shutdown, budget negotiations are much harder because Congress has given Trump power to cut spending through ‘rescission’

Written by Charlie Hunt, Associate Professor of Political Science, Boise State University

Will Congress keep the government running?Phil Roeder/Getty Images

Congress faces a deadline of Oct. 1 to adopt a spending measure to keep the federal government open. Various reporters will be interviewing serious people saying serious things in the basement corridors of the U.S. Capitol. There will also be political posturing, misrepresentation...

Air quality analysis reveals minimal changes after xAI data center opens in pollution-burdened Memphis neighborhood

Written by Chunrong Jia, Professor of Environmental Health, University of Memphis

Gas turbines outside the xAI data center in Memphis.AP Photo/George Walker IV

Even before an Elon Musk-owned artificial intelligence company opened a data center in southwest Memphis, Tennessee, air pollution was so bad that residents of a nearby neighborhood were far more likely to get cancer from industrial air pollution than average Americans....

What happens when AI comes to the cotton fields

Written by Debra Lam, Founding Director of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, Enterprise Innovation Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology

A researcher works in a cotton field in Jenkins County, Georgia, as part of a project on AI and pesticide use.Dorothy Seybold

Precision agriculture uses tools and technologies such as GPS and sensors to monitor, measure and respond to changes within a farm field in real time. This includes using artificial intelligence technologies for tasks such...