The Conversation

Biden can transform the US from a humanitarian laggard into a global leader – here's how

Written by Edward R. Carr, Professor and Director, International Development, Community, and Environment, Clark University

Until now the U.S. hasn't coordinated its disaster aid and development spending.Jekesai Njikizana/AFP via Getty Images

Even after the Trump administration’s repeated efforts to slash foreign aid and global partnerships, the United States remains the world’s largest source of official development assistance for low-income countries.

Still,...

Cheaper solar power means low-income families can also benefit – with the right kind of help

Written by Galen Barbose, Research Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Solar power is becoming more common for households at all income levels. These homes in Richmond, California, went solar with the help of GRID Alternatives.GRID Alternatives, CC BY-ND

Until recently, rooftop solar panels were a clean energy technology that only wealthy Americans could afford. But prices have dropped, thanks mostly to falling costs...

Zoom work relationships are a lot harder to build – unless you can pick up on colleagues' nonverbal cues

Written by Nancy R. Buchan, Associate Professor of International Business, University of South Carolina

Using nonverbal cues like hand gestures can help make communicating over video more effective. Ariel Skelley/DigitalVision via Getty Images

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

The big idea

Workers who communicate with their colleagues mainly through videoconferencing are far less effective at building relationships...

Figs show that nonnative species can invade ecosystems by forming unexpected partnerships

Written by Jared Bernard, Ph.D. Candidate in Entomology, University of Hawaii

A tiny wasp explores the surface of a fig different than the one it evolved to pollinate.Jared Bernard, CC BY-ND

While surveying the Hawaiian island of Kauai in search of invasive plants in 2017, botanist Kelsey Brock spotted something unusal: a few nonnative species of figs seemed to be settling in.

As people traverse the planet for trade or...

Biden has a congressional shortcut to cancel Trump’s regulatory rollbacks, but it comes with risks

Written by Daniel Farber, Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley

Many of the resolutions and executive orders Trump signed early in his administration reversed Obama-era decisions involving the fossil fuels industry.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The Trump administration dedicated itself to deregulation with unprecedented fervor. It rolled back scores of regulations across government agencies, including more than 80 environ...

How to stay safe with a fast-spreading new coronavirus variant on the loose

Written by Suresh Dhaniyala, Bayard D. Clarkson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, Clarkson University

The new SARS-CoV-2 variant's increased transmissibility is believed to come from a change in the spike protein, visible here in yellow under an electron microscope.National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases

A fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found in at least 20 states, and people are wondering:...

More health inequality: Black people are 3 times more likely to experience pulse oximeter errors

Written by Thomas Valley, Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Michigan

A pulse oximeter measures a person's blood oxygen saturation level and heart rate.Grace Cary via Getty Images

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have purchased small devices called pulse oximeters for use in their home – based on well-intentioned recommendations from health care providers and the media. Pulse oximeters are devices,...

Trump supporters seeking more violence could target state capitols during inauguration – here's how cities can prepare

Written by Jennifer Earl, Professor of Sociology, University of Arizona

The FBI says armed protests are planned at all 50 state capitols ahead of President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration.Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Americans witnessed an alarming and deadly failure in planning and policing at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

The FBI failed to sound intelligence alarms, including about dozens of...

A white supremacist coup succeeded in 1898 North Carolina, led by lying politicians and racist newspapers that amplified their lies

Written by Kathy Roberts Forde, Associate Professor, Journalism Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Armed white insurrectionists murdered Black men and burned Black businesses, including this newspaper office, during the Wilmington coup of 1898.Daily Record, North Carolina Archives and History

While experts debate whether the U.S. Capitol siege was an attempted coup, there is no debate that what happened in 1898 in Wilmington, North Carolina, was...

What is the 'boogaloo' and who are the rioters who stormed the Capitol? 5 essential reads

Written by Jeff Inglis, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation US

Rioters mass on the U.S. Capitol steps on Jan. 6.Samuel Corum/Getty Images

In the wake of the insurrection on Jan. 6, the U.S. is bracing for the possibility of additional violent demonstrations and potential riots at the U.S. Capitol and state capitol buildings around the nation. While many were in Washington, D.C., ostensibly to protest what they...