The Conversation

US giving reached a near-record $450 billion in 2019 as the role of foundations kept up gradual growth

Written by Anna Pruitt, Researcher and Managing Editor, Giving USA, IUPUI

The Ford Foundation, under Darren Walker's leadership, is joining with other foundations to give more money away. Gonzalo Marroquin/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images

As one of the lead researchers of the Giving USA report, I study how U.S. philanthropy changes each year in response to the economy and other factors.

Americans gave US$450 billion to...

Supreme Court expands workplace equality to LGBTQ employees, but questions remain

Written by Julie Novkov, Professor of Political Science and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, University at Albany, State University of New York

People gather near the Stonewall Inn in New York City to celebrate the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on LGBTQ workers' rights.John Lamparski/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Even before the Supreme Court’s June 15 decision, many Americans already – and incorrectly – believed that federal law protected lesbians, gay men and transgender...

How doctors' fears of getting COVID-19 can mean losing the healing power of touch: One physician's story

Written by Liza Buchbinder, Internal Medicine Physician and Anthropologist, UCLA Health, University of California, Los Angeles

Touch is central to empathy because the person being touched is also touching back.Cavan Images via Getty Images

The Conversation is running a series of dispatches from clinicians and researchers operating on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic. You can find all of the stories here.

Even as America begins to reopen, people across city...

Nondiscrimination against LGBT individuals isn't just the law – it helps organizations succeed

Written by George B. Cunningham, Professor of Sport Management and Sr. Assistant Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies, Texas A&M University

Supporters of LGBT rights protest in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The Supreme Court ruled on June 15 that an employer who fires an individual for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In other words, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals is...

Ready to see your doctor but scared to go? Here are some guidelines

Written by Rebekah Rollston, Clinical Associate, Tufts University

Because of coronavirus, you can expect changes when visiting the doctor.Getty Images / Ariel Skelley

What happens when a pandemic brings in-person visits with your doctor to a grinding halt? While the world grappled with managing COVID-19, millions found routine appointments – for vaccines, pap smears, mammograms, colonoscopies or other...

People are getting sick from coronavirus spreading through the air – and that's a big challenge for reopening

Written by Douglas Reed, Associate Professor of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh

Coughing, sneezing, talking and even just breathing can produce airborne particles that can spread SARS-CoV-2. Stanislaw Pytel/Digital Vision via Getty Images

I am a scientist that studies infectious diseases and I specialize in severe respiratory infections, but I also serve as a member of my church’s safety team.

Over the past few weeks as...

Why are sitcom dads still so inept?

Written by Erica Scharrer, Professor of Communication, University of Massachusetts Amherst

From 'Father Knows Best' to 'D'oh!'Scott Vandehey/flickr, CC BY-NC-SA

From Homer Simpson to Phil Dunphy, sitcom dads have long been known for being bumbling and inept.

But it wasn’t always this way. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, sitcom dads tended to be serious, calm and wise, if a bit detached. In a shift that media scholars have documented,...

Herd immunity won’t solve our COVID-19 problem

Written by Joanna Wares, Associate Professor of Mathematics, University of Richmond

Without a vaccine, getting to herd immunity would mean many more illnesses and deaths.Andreus K via Getty Images

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, use of the term “herd immunity” has spread almost as fast as the virus. But its use is fraught with misconceptions.

In the U.K., officials briefly considered a herd immunity strategy...

'Normal' human body temperature is a range around 98.6 F – a physiologist explains why

Written by JohnEric Smith, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology, Mississippi State University

A salon owner scans a customer for fever before performing a service.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images News via Getty Images

Fever is common in the symptomatic stage of COVID-19, and as workplaces and child care spaces reopen, temperature checks are one way officials are trying to identify those sick with the coronavirus. To maintain no-contact conditions,...

Meteorites from Mars contain clues about the red planet's geology

Written by Arya Udry, Assistant Professor of Igneous Petrology, Planetary Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Artist's rendition of NASA's 2020 Mars rover collecting rocks with its robotic arm.NASA

Despite the pandemic, NASA is on track to launch its Mars rover, Perseverance, this July from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Its central mission will be to search for evidence of previous life on Mars.

An exciting component of the rover will be a specialized drill...