The Conversation

More families are discussing end-of-life planning as COVID-19 cases rise – here's how to start the conversation

Written by Lindy Grief Davidson, Associate Dean for Curriculum & Instruction and Faculty, Judy Genshaft Honors College, University of South Florida

With family together, either in person or by video, the holidays offer an opportunity for deep, personal discussions about the future. Aldomurillo via Getty Images

In homes across the U.S., families increasingly know someone who has been sick or hospitalized with COVID-19.

With the death toll now over a quarter million Americans and health...

College-age kids are drinking less alcohol – but smoking more marijuana

Written by Ty Schepis, Professor of Psychology, Texas State University

Young people's attitudes toward alcohol have changed over the years. Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

Young adults aren’t drinking as much as they used to. In fact, more than a quarter don’t drink alcohol at all, recent surveys show.

It’s good news for health. But there is also a downside in the data: While alcohol use is falling...

With 250,000 US deaths, COVID-19 is triggering more end-of-life planning – and young people want in on the discussions

Written by Lindy Grief Davidson, Associate Dean for Curriculum & Instruction and Faculty, Judy Genshaft Honors College, University of South Florida

With family together, either in person or by video, the holidays offer an opportunity for deep, personal discussions about the future. Aldomurillo via Getty Images

In homes across the U.S., families increasingly know someone who has been sick or hospitalized with COVID-19. The death toll passed a quarter-million Americans on Nov. 18, less than 10...

College-age kids and teens are drinking less alcohol – but something else is rising

Written by Ty Schepis, Professor of Psychology, Texas State University

Young people's attitudes toward alcohol have changed over the years. Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

Young adults aren’t drinking as much as they used to. In fact, more than a quarter don’t drink alcohol at all, recent surveys show.

It’s good news for health. But there is also a downside in the data: While alcohol use is falling...

College-age kids and teens are drinking less alcohol – marijuana is a different story

Written by Ty Schepis, Professor of Psychology, Texas State University

Young people's attitudes toward alcohol have changed over the years. Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

Young adults aren’t drinking as much as they used to. In fact, more than a quarter don’t drink alcohol at all, recent surveys show.

It’s good news for health. But there is also a downside in the data: While alcohol use is falling...

What's the gold standard, and why does the US benefit from a dollar that isn't tied to the value of a glittery hunk of metal?

Written by Michael Klein, Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

The gold standard didn't exactly lead to a golden era.Athitat Shinagowin/EyeEm via Getty Images

The phrase “the gold standard” means, in common parlance, the best available benchmark – as in double-blind randomized trials are the gold standard for determining the efficacy of a vaccine.

Its meaning likely comes from my world of...

US colleges report a 43% decline in new international student enrollment, and not just because of the pandemic

Written by David L. Di Maria, Associate Vice Provost for International Education, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The decline in international enrollment will most likely cause colleges and universities to lose money.Marcus Chung/E+ via Getty Images

For the fourth year in a row, the number of international students enrolled at U.S. colleges and universities has declined. This is according to data released this month by the State Department and the Institute...

3 reasons for information exhaustion – and what to do about it

Written by Mark Satta, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Wayne State University

A woman views a manipulated video that changes what is said by President Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama.ROB LEVER/AFP via Getty Images

An endless flow of information is coming at us constantly: It might be an article a friend shared on Facebook with a sensational headline or wrong information about the spread of the coronavirus. It...

Curved origami offers a creative route to making robots and other mechanical devices

Written by Hanqing Jiang, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Arizona State University

These beautiful curves hold the key to a simple way to vary the stiffness of robotic grippers.njekaterina/DigitalVision via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Building robotic grippers that can firmly grasp heavy objects and also gently grasp delicate ones usually requires complicated sets of...

Así se decide formalmente quién será el nuevo presidente de Estados Unidos

Written by Amy Dacey, Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University

Con unas pocas excepciones, los medios declaran al ganador de la carrera presidencial estadounidense la noche de la elección. Pero los medios no tienen la palabra final.ranklin McMahon/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Estados Unidos se diferencia de la mayoría de las otras democracias en que no tiene una comisión electoral...