The Conversation

5 years after Paris: How countries’ climate policies match up to their promises, and who's aiming for net zero emissions

Written by Morgan Bazilian, Professor of Public Policy and Director, Payne Institute, Colorado School of Mines

Even if every country meets its commitments, the world will still be on track to warm by more than 3 degrees Celsius this century, a new UNEP report shows.Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

Saturday marks the fifth anniversary of the Paris climate agreement – the commitment by almost every country to try to keep global warming well below 2 degrees...

Oregon just decriminalized all drugs – here's why voters passed this groundbreaking reform

Written by Scott Akins, Professor, Sociology Department, Oregon State University

According to Oregon law, possessing a small amount of drugs for personal consumption is now a civil – rather than criminal – offense. Peter Dazeley via Getty

Oregon became the first state in the United States to decriminalize the possession of all drugs on Nov. 3, 2020.

Measure 110, a ballot initiative funded by the Drug Policy...

Why do scientists care about worms?

Written by Helen Robertson, Postdoctoral Scholar of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago

Whether in the wild or in the lab, worms have an interesting story to tell.Sinhyu/iStock via Getty Images

I traveled to a marine research station on a picturesque Swedish fjord many times over the four years I worked on my Ph.D. What brought me back again and again? Buried in the mud off the west coast of Sweden lives a small orangey brown worm,...

America's hidden world of handmade pornography

Written by Lisa Z. Sigel, Professor of History, DePaul University

Soldiers used spent shells and casings to make trench art, like this brass bottle opener that was made during World War II.Michael Riordan, CC BY-SA

“To live among the handmade,” philosopher and antiques dealer Leon Rosenstein once said, “is to live among the human.”

Well, there’s nothing more human than handmade...

Why we're so bad at counting the calories we eat, drink or burn

Written by Kaitlin Woolley, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Cornell University

Getting the portions right can be tricky. knape/E+ via Getty Images

People often eat more than usual around the holidays – and this year more than most as the pandemic prompts many to stress eat.

A common way to avoid putting on extra weight is by choosing healthier options with fewer calories per serving. One problem with this strategy is...

Why the Virgin of Guadalupe is more than a religious icon to Catholics in Mexico

Written by Rebecca Janzen, Assistant Professor of Spanish and Comparative Literature, University of South Carolina

A statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico City. AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell

Each year, as many as 10 million people travel to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, in what is believed to be the largest Catholic pilgrimage in the Americas. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the pilgrimage, which is...

Latinos are especially reluctant to get flu shots – how a small clinic in Indiana found ways to overcome that

Written by Pamela M. Aaltonen, Professor Emerita; Immediate Past President, APHA, Purdue University

Juan Miranda receives a flu shot from Yadira Santiago Banuelos, family nurse practitioner, at the Family Health Clinic of Monon in Monon, Indiana. Purdue University/Rebecca McElhoe

Every year, tens of millions of Americans avoid the flu vaccine. During the 2019-2020 flu season, fewer than half of U.S. adults got the shot.

The Latino population is...

We discovered a 115,000-year-old iguana nest fossil in the Bahamas

Written by Anthony J. Martin, Professor of Practice, Emory University

Many species of iguanas dig shelters for protection against predators, fires and extreme weather. Most also make underground nests.Anthony J. Martin, CC BY-SA

A pregnant iguana dug into a vegetated sand dune about 115,000 years ago on a small island in a chain of islands that one day would be called the Bahamas. Once she buried herself and was...

Kids want to learn more about mental illness and how to cope with parents who live with it

Written by Joanne Riebschleger, Director of Doctoral Program and Associate Professor of Social Work, Michigan State University

Studies show that young people aren't getting sufficient information – at home, school or online – about mental health and illness. Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images

One in five teens has a parent with a mental illness such as anxiety or depression. These teens are at greater risk of developing a mental illness themselves.

And...

Foreign policy is Biden's best bet for bipartisan action, experts say – but GOP is unlikely to join him on climate change

Written by Jordan Tama, Associate Professor of International Relations, American University School of International Service

As vice president, Joe Biden – seen here on left, in 2016 – had a working relationship with the Republican Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell. Is that possible now?Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Republicans and Democrats may have more common ground than it seems, a new survey finds.

Our survey – conducted in August and September...