The Conversation

How mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work, why they're a breakthrough and why they need to be kept so cold

Written by Sanjay Mishra, Project Coordinator & Staff Scientist, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt University

Moderna's new mRNA vaccine is almost 94.5% effective in large-scale trials.JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

As the weather cools, the number of infections of the COVID-19 pandemic are rising sharply. Hamstrung by pandemic fatigue, economic constraints and political discord, public health officials have struggled to control the surging pandemic....

A brief history of presidents snubbing their successors – and why the founders favored civility instead

Written by Maurizio Valsania, Professor of American History, Università di Torino

Republican nominee Gov. Mike Pence and Democratic nominee Sen. Tim Kaine stand after the vice-presidential debate in Farmville, Va., Oct. 4, 2016.Joe Raedle/Pool via AP

It’s beyond dispute: Donald Trump won’t go down in history as a model of civility. Examples of his bad manners abound. When he gave his first inaugural speech, the...

CBD sales are soaring, but evidence is still slim that the cannabis derivative makes a difference for anxiety or pain

Written by Hilary A. Marusak, Assistant Professor, Wayne State University

Hundreds of CBD products – including gummies – are now on the market.Frederic J. Brown via Getty Images

Many people have turned to cannabis and its derivatives as they search for pandemic relief, and one of the most widely available ones is CBD. It is also legal. You can buy oils, tinctures, capsules, gummies, cosmetics and even toilet...

Nearly two-thirds of older Black Americans can't afford to live alone without help – and it's even tougher for Latinos

Written by Jan Mutchler, Professor, Department of Gerontology, McCormack Graduate School Director, Center for Social and Demographic Research on Aging, Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston

When budgets get tight, health care can suffer.Willie B. Thomas via Getty Images

Older Americans who want to live independently face serious economic challenges. Half who live alone don’t have enough income to afford even a bare-bones budget in their home communities, and nearly 1 in 4 couples face the same problem.

Those numbers add up to at...

Virus evolution could undermine a COVID-19 vaccine – but this can be stopped

Written by Andrew Read, Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology, Eberly Professor of Biotechnology, Director, Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, Penn State

Could SARS-CoV-2 evolve to dodge the vaccine?Jose A. Bernat Bacete/Moment collection/Getty Images

The first drug against HIV brought dying patients back from the brink. But as excited doctors raced to get the miracle drug to new patients, the miracle melted away. In each and every patient, the drug only worked only for a while.

It turned out the...

Why for-profit college enrollment has increased during COVID-19

Written by Molly Ott, Associate Professor of Higher & Postsecondary Education, Arizona State University

The convenience of distance learning at for-profit colleges has contributed to their rising enrollment. damircudic/E+ via Getty Images

When COVID-19 hit the U.S., many experts warned that America’s colleges and universities could be devastated. Some of them predicted enrollment declines of up to 20%.

So far, those initial forecasts were worse...

Hoarding, stockpiling, panic buying: What's normal behavior in an abnormal time?

Written by Carol Mathews, Professor of Psychiatry, University of Florida

Hoarding, stockpiling and panic buying have all increased during the pandemic. Grace Cary via Getty Images

Symptoms of depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders have emerged or worsened for many during the pandemic. This is no surprise to clinicians and scientists, who have been increasing worldwide access to mental health information...

Racial discrimination ages Black Americans faster, according to a 25-year-long study of families

Written by Sierra Carter, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Georgia State University

Anti-racism protest, 2020.Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

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

The big idea

I’m part of a research team that has been following more than 800 Black American families for almost 25 years. We found that people who had reported experiencing high levels of racial discrimination...

Coronavirus relief funds could easily pay to stop the worst of climate change while rebooting economies

Written by David L. McCollum, Senior Research Scientist, University of Tennessee

Global economic support for COVID-19 relief is providing an opportunity to kick-start a shift toward a green future. Maksim Chernyshev/EyeEm via Getty Images

CC BY-ND

As of late summer, governments around the world had pledged US$12.2 trillion of relief in response to the coronavirus pandemic. That’s around 15% of global GDP, three times...

American timber industry crippled by double whammy of trade war and COVID-19

Written by Andrew Muhammad, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

Douglas fir, a valuable commercial timber, dominates the Oregon coastal forest.Photo by Eric Muhr on Unsplash, CC BY-ND

The forestry sector – landowners, logging companies and sawmills – have lost an estimated US$1.1 billion in 2020. Devastating wildfires and Hurricane Laura have played a part, but the COVID-19 pandemic has also...