The Conversation

Trump is taking the latest in COVID-19 treatments – here's what doctors know works against the virus

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

Both President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19.MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

With 74-year-old President Trump and 50-year-old first lady Melania Trump testing positive for the coronavirus, what are the best proven treatments for them and other patients?

We are both physician-scientists at the University...

A brief history of presidents disclosing – or trying to hide – health problems

Written by David E. Clementson, Assistant Professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters about President Trump's positive coronavirus test outside the White House on Oct. 2, 2020. Drew Angerer/Getty

President Donald Trump went directly to the public and announced via Twitter early on Oct. 2 that “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our...

Older people like President Trump are at more risk from COVID-19 because of how the immune system ages

Written by Brian Geiss, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology, Colorado State University

Masking up is one way to cut down on risk of COVID-19 infection.Alex Brandon/Getty Images News via Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s announcement that he’s tested positive for COVID-19 is especially concerning because of his age. At 74 years old, Trump is solidly within an age group that’s been hit hard during the coronavirus...

What is COVAX and why does it matter for getting vaccines to developing nations?

Written by Nicole Hassoun, Professor of Philosophy, Binghamton University, State University of New York

How will vaccines be equitably distributed?Andrew Brookes/Getty Images

There is a global effort to distribute vaccines to poorer countries, but some of the world’s largest countries, including the U.S.,Russia and China, do not intend to support the effort.

That lack of backing could have devastating consequences for accessing a COVID-19...

In 'The Good Lord Bird,' a new version of John Brown rides in at a crucial moment in US history

Written by William Nash, Professor of American Studies and English and American Literatures, Middlebury

Was abolitionist John Brown a psychopath, a sinner or a saint?

The answer depends on whom you ask, and when.

The long-awaited premiere of Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird,” based on James McBride’s novel of the same name, comes at a time when evolving popular perceptions of Brown have once again gotten people thinking and...

Cutting the debate mic won't stop Trump from short-circuiting the democratic process

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

When a debate becomes just a fight.wildpixel/iStock/Getty Images Plus

In the wake of the chaotic first presidential debate, commentators have called for rule changes in hopes of making the remaining debates more useful for the public – namely, to give the moderator the power to silence candidates’ microphones.

After the nonpartisan...

California wildfires pass 4 million acres burned, doubling previous record – that's a lot of toxic smoke

Written by Joshua S. Fu, John D. Tickle Professor of Engineering and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee

Wildfire smoke turned the San Francisco sky orange in the middle of the day in early September.Ray Chavez/Medianews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images

When you breathe in smoke from a wildfire, you’re probably inhaling more toxic chemicals than you realize.

Pollution from power plants and vehicles, pesticides, fertilizers and chemicals in...

Evolution on the smallest of scales smooths out the patchwork patterns of where plants and animals live

Written by Mark C. Urban, Director, Center of Biological Risk; Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut

In the Pacific Northwest, even though there are huge variations in environment, the Douglas fir grows everywhere.NASA/NOAA

The Douglas fir is a tall iconic pine tree in Western North America forming a forest that winds unbroken from the Western spine of British Columbia all the way to the Mexican cordillera. The environmental conditions of Canada...

In the midst of deep grief, a scholar writes how Hindu rituals taught her how to let go

Written by Ketika Garg, Ph.D. student, University of California, Merced

Hindu cremation being performed on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India.Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images

Cultures have built elaborate rituals to help humans process the grief of losing someone.

Rituals can hold the core beliefs of a culture and provide a sense of control in an otherwise helpless situation. I came to understand this...

In the midst of deep grief, a scholar writes how Hindu rituals taught her to let go

Written by Ketika Garg, Ph.D. Student of Cognitive Science, University of California, Merced

Hindu cremation being performed on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi, India.Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images

Cultures have built elaborate rituals to help humans process the grief of losing someone.

Rituals can hold the core beliefs of a culture and provide a sense of control in an otherwise helpless situation. I came to understand this...