The Conversation

Sheriffs in more militarized counties reap election rewards

Written by: Christos Mavridis, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Middlesex University

When local law enforcement agencies get military surplus equipment, like armored vehicles, local sheriffs are more likely to get reelected.AP Photo/David Goldman

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

The big idea

Sheriffs in counties that get more military surplus equipment from a federal program have a better chance of...

Representative Cheney calls for order

Written by: John M. Murphy, Professor of Communication, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Rep. Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, speaks to the press at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on May 12, 2021. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Liz Cheney reveres order. Donald Trump detests it.

Simple, yes, but that sums up the difference between the elected but exiled U.S. congresswoman and the exiled but elected-in-his-own-mind former...

When will the first baby be born in space?

Written by: Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

A permanent Moon colony could become a reality in a few decades.NASA/Dennis Davidson/WikimediaCommons

When the first baby is born off-Earth, it will be a milestone as momentous as humanity’s first steps out of Africa. Such a birth would mark the beginning of a multi–planet civilization for the human species.

For the first half-century of...

Meals on Wheels volunteers help 2.4 million US seniors get enough to eat while staving off loneliness

Written by: David R. Buys, Associate Professor and State Health Specialist, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State University

Warm company is just as important as the meals volunteers deliver.AP Photo/David Goldman

CC BY-NC-ND

More than 2.4 million older adults are supported each year by Meals on Wheels, an initiative through which seniors and people with disabilities receive healthy and tasty meals, often for free, from a network of volunteers. These efforts are usually...

Video shows students still get paddled in US schools

Written by: F. Chris Curran, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Florida

At least 92,000 K-12 students in the U.S. were paddled or spanked at school in the 2015-2016 school year.dannikonov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The image of a teacher paddling or spanking a student at school may seem to belong in a history book – as archaic a practice as the dunce cap. However, for thousands of students across America each...

How electric cars can advance environmental justice: By putting low-income and racially diverse drivers behind the wheel

Written by: Andrea Marpillero-Colomina, Adjunct Lecturer in Urban Studies, The New School

Electric cars charging at Washington, DC's Union Station.AP Photo/Susan Walsh

The global auto industry has begun a historic shift from gas- and diesel-fueled cars to electric vehicles. President Biden’s infrastructure plan seeks to speed up this transition by requesting billions of dollars to modernize the electric grid and build 500,000...

Zero-trust security: Assume that everyone and everything on the internet is out to get you – and maybe already has

Written by: Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Executive Director, Ostrom Workshop; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

For cybersecurity, your best bet is to assume that the enemy has already slipped inside.clu/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s cybersecurity executive order, signed May 12, 2021, calls for the federal government to adopt a “zero-trust architecture.”

This raises a couple of questions. What is zero-trust...

Shape-shifting computer chip thwarts an army of hackers

Written by: Todd Austin, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Michigan

The Morpheus secure processor works like a puzzle that keeps changing before hackers have a chance to solve it.Alan de la Cruz via Unsplash

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

The big idea

We have developed and tested a secure new computer processor that thwarts hackers by randomly changing its underlying structure,...

Fireflies need dark nights for their summer light shows – here's how you can help

Written by: Avalon C.S. Owens, PhD Candidate in Biology, Tufts University

Fireflies light up a June night in central Maine.Mike Lewinski/Flickr, CC BY

Before humans invented fire, the only things that lit up the night were the moon, the stars and bioluminescent creatures – including fireflies. These ambassadors of natural wonder are soft-bodied beetles that emit “cold light,” using a biochemical reaction...

Can the world stop Israel and Hamas from committing war crimes? 7 questions answered about international law

Written by: Asaf Lubin, Associate Professor of Law, Indiana University

A Palestinian boy inspects his destroyed house after it was shelled by Israeli aircraft, Gaza, May 18, 2021. Ahmed Zakot/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The deadliest fighting in years between Israel and Hamas had by mid-May killed over 200 Palestinians in Gaza, including dozens of children, and at least 10 in Israel. Both sides are...