The Conversation

Smart concrete could pave the way for high-tech, cost-effective roads

Written by Luna Lu, ACPA Scholar & Professor Of Civil Engineering, Purdue University

The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco averages more than 100,000 vehicles daily.Photo by Saketh Garuda for Unsplash

Every day, Americans travel on roads, bridges and highways without considering the safety or reliability of these structures. Yet much of the transportation infrastructure in the U.S. is outdated, deteriorating and badly in need of...

When scientific journals take sides during an election, the public's trust in science takes a hit

Written by Kevin L. Young, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

People lose faith in science when it takes a political side.AP Photo/Wong Maye-E

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

The big idea

When the scientific establishment gets involved in partisan politics, it decreases people’s trust in science, especially among conservatives, according to our recent research.

In the...

60 years after JFK, Biden as second Catholic president offers a refresh in church's political role

Written by Steven P. Millies, Associate Professor of Public Theology and Director of The Bernardin Center, Catholic Theological Union

Joe Biden quoted Pope Francis in speeches ahead of the Nov. 3 election.Mindy Schauer/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images

Running to become the first Catholic president of the United States in 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy told an audience of wary Protestant ministers that “if the time should come … when my office...

The many stories of Diwali share a common theme of triumph of justice

Written by Natasha Mikles, Lecturer in Philosophy, Texas State University

Diwali is the most important festival for the South Asian community.Photo By Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images

As many Indian Americans celebrate the election of the first Black and South Asian woman, Kamala Harris, to the White House, many will also be celebrating the festival of Diwali on Saturday, Nov. 14.

Sometimes called the...

On environmental protection, Biden's election will mean a 180-degree turn from Trump policies

Written by Janet McCabe, Professor of Practice of Law, Indiana University

President-elect Joe Biden opposes proposals to allow uranium mining around the Grand Canyon, which the Trump administration supports.Michael Quinn, NPS/Flickr, CC BY

The Trump administration has waged what I and many other legal experts view as an all-out assault on the nation’s environmental laws for the past four years. Decisions at the...

When a child chooses a donor to sponsor them, it's a new twist on a surprisingly old model of international charity

Written by Hillary Kaell, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Religion at McGill University; Faculty fellow of the Material Economies of Religion in the Americas project, Yale University

World Vision sponsors could choose a child in the mid-1970s by pasting one of these stamps with their likeness on a mail-in card.World Vision International archives

World Vision, the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organization, revised its 70-year-old child sponsorship model in 2019. Initially piloted in seven churches across the...

Tweets reveal Trump’s and Biden’s competing views of masculinity – what that will mean for presidential leadership

Written by Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State University

Joe Biden, here on Jan. 21 in Ames, Iowa, exhibits a kind of masculinity different from Donald Trump's. Al Drago/Getty Images

Shortly after news networks called the presidential race in favor of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, posted the following tweet:

Screen Shot, Twitter.

More than a heartwarming glimpse into...

The Matrix is already here: Social media promised to connect us, but left us isolated, scared and tribal

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

It's time, says the author, to take the red pill.Diy13 via Getty Images

About a year ago I began to follow my interest in health and fitness on Instagram. Soon I began to see more and more fitness-related accounts, groups, posts and ads. I kept clicking and following, and eventually my Instagram became all about fit people, fitness and motivational...

Americans don't eat enough fish and miss out on robust health benefits

Written by Michael Tlusty, Associate Professor of Sustainability and Food Solutions, University of Massachusetts Boston

Sardines are rich in oils and protein.Photo by Ahmed Nadar for Unsplash, CC BY-ND

CC BY-NC-ND

Eating fish can provide powerful advantages for the heart and brain, yet Americans eat less than half of the 26 pounds per year that experts recommend. By contrast, Americans buy seven times more chicken and beef annually than fish.

Why Americans...

We’ll see more fire seasons like 2020 - here’s a strategy for managing our nation’s flammable landscapes

Written by Jennifer Balch, Associate Professor of Geography and Director, Earth Lab, University of Colorado Boulder

As of late fall, wildfires are still smoldering under snowfall in Colorado. I am hoping that the cold and snowy weather over the last few days will finally put to bed the 2020 fire season in my state. Through much of October, great pillars of smoke rose in the sky and ash rained down from at least four major fall wildfires, affecting millions in...