The Conversation

Beetle parents manipulate information broadcast from bacteria in a rotting corpse

Written by Stephen Trumbo, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Connecticut

Parent beetle regurgitating liquefied carrion to its young.Stephen Trumbo, CC BY-SA

Biologists are accustomed to hearing stories of microbes manipulating their host – a fungus that turns ants into suicidal zombies, a protozoan that makes rats seek out cat urine – but there are few examples of hosts turning the tables on their microbes.

M...

How Biden's dogs could make the Oval Office a workplace with less stress and better decision-making

Written by Ellen Furlong, Associate Professor of Psychology, Illinois Wesleyan University

Presidential pup Major Biden stretches his legs on the White House lawn.The Official White House photo/Adam Schultz via Twitter, CC BY

On Jan. 24 the White House welcomed two new residents: Champ and Major, the newly minted first dogs of the United States. The first dogs are poised to offer special benefits to workers in the White House.

The first...

Think US evangelicals are dying out? Well, define evangelicalism ...

Written by Ryan Burge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Eastern Illinois University

Not flagging, merely changing stripes. The Washington Post via Getty Images

The death spiral of evangelicalism has long been written about in both the religious and mainstream press.

The assumption is that evangelicalism has weathered the storms of secularization and politicization poorly. Journalist Eliza Griswold, writing for The New Yorker,...

Feeling relatively poor increases support for women in the workplace – but men still don't want them making household decisions

Written by Katrina Kosec, Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University

Women who work outside the home in Papua New Guinea often continue shouldering the same domestic and child care responsibilities as before. Rachel Gilbert and Gracie Rosenbach, IFPRI, CC BY-SA

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

The big idea

Feeling poor relative to others can spur families to support women in pursuing...

TikTok's sea chanteys – how life under the pandemic has mirrored months at sea

Written by Jessica Floyd, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of English, Community College of Baltimore County

Daily life on a ship could be monotonous and dreary, so songs were sung to lighten the mood.Heritage Images via Getty Images

If you’ve perused social media in recent weeks, you may have come across people singing chanteys, which were work songs employed on merchant sailing ships.

Historically, chanteys – which are also spelled as...

The body's fight against COVID-19 explained using 3D-printed models

Written by Nathan Ahlgren, Assistant Professor of Biology, Clark University

Neutralizing antibodies attach to the tips of the spike proteins of the SARS CoV-2 virus.David Goodsell/ProteinDatabase, CC BY-SA

Editor’s note: In this interview, Nathan Ahlgren, assistant professor of biology at Clark University, uses 3D-printed models to explain what proteins do in viruses, how they interact with human cells, how the...

Harriet Tubman: Biden revives plan to put a Black woman of faith on the $20 bill

Written by Robert Gudmestad, Professor and Chair of History Department, Colorado State University

Tubman, left, with a few of the former slaves she helped escape. Bettmann/Getty Images

The Biden administration has revived a plan to put Harriet Tubman on the US$20 bill after Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary delayed the move.

That’s encouraging news to the millions of people who have expressed support for putting her face on the bill....

Women's health is better when women have more control in their society

Written by Siobhán Mattison, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of New Mexico

A woman from one of the Mosuo farming communities in southwest China. The Mosuo were participants in a groundbreaking study examining gender-based health disparities. Siobhan Mattison, CC BY-SA

Gender disparities in health are not a phenomenon unique to the pandemic. Long before COVID-19, women made less money than men, had more child care...

Why COVID-19 won't kill cities

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Cities are breeding grounds for creativity – and infectious diseases. Salvator Barki/Moment via Getty Images

Editor’s note: For those of you who live in cities, ask yourself: What it is about your urban lifestyle that makes it worth it despite the pollution, the noise and the traffic? Perhaps it’s the hundreds of unique...

Yes, customers do like it when waiters and hairdressers wear a mask – especially if it's black

Written by Cihan Cobanoglu, Professor of Hospitality and Tourism, University of South Florida

The authors didn't examine diners' perceptions of polka-dot masks specifically. AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu

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

The big idea

Customers perceive a better quality of service, feel less anxious and exhibit more trust in businesses when waiters and other service workers wear a mask, according...