The Conversation

When fracking moves into the neighborhood, mental health risks rise

Written by Stephanie Malin, Associate Professor of Sociology; Co-Founder and Steering Committee Member, Center for Environmental Justice at CSU, Colorado State University

Noise, pollution and other stressors from trucks and drilling can harm residents' health. In Colorado, an upcoming vote on new setback rules is expected to widen the buffer zone.Milehightraveler/iistock via Getty

Hydraulic fracturing has boomed in the U.S. over the past decade, but unless you live near it, you may not realize just how close...

Writing the Isolation Rag – a composer reflects on his experience making music during a pandemic

Written by Scott Wheeler, Emerson College

Scott Wheeler is a composer who teaches at Emerson College. In an interview with The Conversation, he explains how classical musicians are adapting to performing when performance venues are closed and discusses his experience composing his sonata “Isolation Rag” during lockdown.

Composer and performing arts professor Scott Wheeler talks...

Designing batteries for easier recycling could avert a looming e-waste crisis

Written by Zheng Chen, Assistant Professor of Engineering, University of California San Diego

What happens to millions of these?Kristoferb/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

As concern mounts over the impacts of climate change, many experts are calling for greater use of electricity as a substitute for fossil fuels. Powered by advancements in battery technology, the number of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles on U.S. roads is increasing. And utilities...

A tiny circular racetrack for light can rapidly detect single molecules

Written by Judith Su, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Optical Sciences, University of Arizona

Light is key to ultrasensitive chemical sensors.Kwanchai Lerttanapunyaporn/EyeEm via Getty Images

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

The big idea

My Little Sensor Lab at the University of Arizona develops ultrasensitive optical sensors for medical diagnostics, medical prognostics, environmental monitoring and basic...

OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma may settle legal claims with a new 'public trust' that would still be dedicated to profit

Written by David Herzberg, Associate Professor of History, University at Buffalo

Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen announced a settlement between the Justice Department and opioid maker Purdue on Oct. 21.Yuri Gripas/Pool via AP

Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin and other potentially addictive prescription opioids, has agreed to plead guilty to three felony counts and reached a settlement potentially worth...

Why the FDA is warning pregnant women not to use over-the-counter pain relievers

Written by C. Michael White, Distinguished Professor and Head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Connecticut

A pregnant woman stands in front of her work station.Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administation issued a warning on Oct. 15, 2020 to both health care professionals and women about the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

This comes after the FDA added its post-marketing surveillance...

Turbulent environment set the stage for leaps in human evolution and technology 320,000 years ago

Written by Richard Potts, Director of the Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution

Drilling 139 meters down to volcanic rock provided scientists with a million-year environmental record. Human Origins Program, Smithsonian

People thrive all across the globe, at every temperature, altitude and landscape. How did human beings become so successful at adapting to whatever environment we wind up in? Human origins researchers like me are...

How sexist abuse of women in Congress amounts to political violence – and undermines American democracy

Written by Mona Lena Krook, Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Women & Politics Ph.D. Program, Rutgers University

In a widely publicized speech on the House floor, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez carefully analyzed the harmful effects of sexism in Congress.Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images

From plans to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s being called a “f—ing b—” by her colleague Rep. Ted...

Immigrants are still sending lots of money home despite the coronavirus job losses – for now

Written by Laura Caron, PhD student in Economics, Columbia University

A woman counts money outside a U.S. remittance collection agency in San Isidro, El Salvador.Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images

Banks and aid agencies have been warning of a pandemic-related plunge in the amount of money sent by migrants to family back home who rely on the income. In a typical year, more than 270 million migrants living and working...

From Macedonia to America: Civics lessons from the former Yugoslavia

Written by Keith Brown, Professor of Politics and Global Studies, Arizona State University

Police officers push back demonstrators next to St. John's Episcopal Church outside of the White House, June 1, 2020 in Washington D.C.Jose Luis Magana/AFP via Getty Images

Americans protesting police violence may find inspiration in the activism of Macedonian citizens in the last years of Communist rule in Yugoslavia.

In August 1987, Communist...