The Conversation

The 'first scientist's 800-year-old tonic for what ails us: The truth

Written by Richard Gunderman, Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University

English scientist Roger Bacon believed everyone has a responsibility to think for themselves. Bibliothèque interuniversitaire de santé, CC BY

It seems that science has been taking a beating lately. From decades of denial by the tobacco industry that smoking causes cancer to more recent attempts to use the COVID-19 pandemic to score pol...

Why are kids asking such big questions during the pandemic?

Written by Jana Mohr Lone, Director of the Center for Philosophy for Children; Affiliate Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Washington

All children harbor intense curiosity.Erdark/Getty Images

Why do people have to die?

Are mistakes always bad?

Can you be happy and sad at the same time?

Kids often ask questions like these that are hard if not impossible to answer. When children raise uncomfortable questions or questions that seem to have no answers, adults tend to respond with...

We found and tested 47 old drugs that might treat the coronavirus: Results show promising leads and a whole new way to fight COVID-19

Written by Nevan Krogan, Professor and Director of Quantitative Biosciences Institute & Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, University of California, San Francisco

Testing in cells is an important and exciting first step.elkor/E+ via Getty Images

The more researchers know about how the coronavirus attaches, invades and hijacks human cells, the more effective the search for drugs to fight it. That was the idea my colleagues and I hoped to be true when we began building a map of the coronavirus two months ago....

Why apparel brands' efforts to police their supply chains aren't working

Written by Jason Judd, Executive Director, Cornell Univeristy ILR School New Conversations Project, Cornell University

Consumers don't always know what's behind a label.Wachiwit/Getty Images

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

The big idea

For years, apparel brands have promised to police their supply chains to root out unsafe conditions and worker abuse. But new research from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor...

Coronavirus: Why is it so hard to aid small businesses hurt by a disaster?

Written by Maria K. Watson, Research Assistant Professor in Urban Planning, Texas A&M University

Eric Wang of Burmese Restaurant Thamee in Washington, D.C., was among the millions of small business owners hoping to get SBA aid.Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. government has committed hundreds of billions of dollars to help small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic. But early reports suggest larger companies are gobbling up...

Infected with the coronavirus but not showing symptoms? A physician answers 5 questions about asymptomatic COVID-19

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

Even if you're feeling fine, you might be infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19.John Lamparski/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images

Blood tests that check for exposure to the coronavirus are starting to come online, and preliminary findings suggest that many people have been infected without knowing it. Even people who do...

Language differences spark fear amid the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Stanley Dubinsky, Professor of Linguistics, University of South Carolina

A Rhode Island National Guardsman and a police officer speak with a man whose car has a New York license plate as part of coronavirus lockdown efforts.AP Photo/David Goldman

As the coronavirus spreads around the globe, it’s being characterized by media and politicians alike as an “invisible enemy.” People are afraid others may...

Refugees tell stories of problems – and unity – in facing the coronavirus

Written by Karen Jacobsen, Henry J. Leir Chair in Global Migration, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University

A group of refugees living on the pavement near the Cape Town Central Police Station on the first day of a national coronavirus lockdown, March 27, 2020 in Cape Town, South Africa. Getty/Nardus Engelbrecht/ Gallo Images

Across the globe, refugees are trying to settle into new surroundings and are running into new challenges thanks to the...

How could an explosive Big Bang be the birth of our universe?

Written by Michael Lam, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Rochester Institute of Technology

No one knows what kicked off the Big Bang that eventually allowed the stars to begin forming.Adolf Schaller for STScI, CC BY

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

How can a Big Bang have been the start of the universe, since...

How Apple and Google will let your phone warn you if you've been exposed to the coronavirus

Written by Johannes Becker, Doctoral student in Electrical & Computer Engineering, Boston University

Apps that warn about close contact with COVID-19 cases are key to relaxing social distancing rules.Walter Bibikow/Stone via Getty Images

On April 10, Apple and Google announced a coronavirus exposure notification system that will be built into their smartphone operating systems, iOS and Android. The system uses the ubiquitous Bluetooth short-range...