The Conversation

You're not going far from home – and neither are the animals you spy out your window

Written by Julian Avery, Assistant Research Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Pennsylvania State University

Is it that same busy squirrel you're watching every day?Julian Avery, CC BY-ND

Watching the wildlife outside your window can boost your mental well-being, and it’s something lots of people have been doing a lot more of lately.

Maybe you’ve been wondering if you’re seeing one persistent gray squirrel or a rotating cast of furry...

What every new baker should know about the yeast all around us

Written by Jeffrey Miller, Associate Professor, Hospitality Management, Colorado State University

An invisible organism with worldwide influence KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images

With people confined to their homes, there is more interest in home-baked bread than ever before. And that means a lot of people are making friends with yeast for the first time. I am a professor of hospitality management and a former chef, and I...

Diabetics break bones easily – new research is figuring out why their bones are so fragile

Written by Lamya Karim, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Poor bone health is on the list of problems associated with diabetes.Nngkhray Kracang Chay / EyeEm via Getty Images

A person with Type 2 diabetes is three times more likely to break a bone than a nondiabetic. Since the number of people with diabetes is increasing rapidly in the United States, skeletal fragility in patients with Type 2 diabetes is a...

What are Asian giant hornets, and are they really dangerous? 5 questions answered

Written by Akito Y Kawahara, Associate Professor and Curator of Insects, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida

Asian giant hornets (_Vespa mandarinia japonica_) drinking sap from tree bark in Japan.Alpsdake/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Editor’s note: According to recent press reports, two Asian giant hornets – a species not known to occur in North America – were found in northwest Washington state in late 2019, and a hornet colony was found and...

For parents of color, schooling at home can be an act of resistance

Written by Monisha Bajaj, Professor of International and Multicultural Education, University of San Francisco

Educating your children at home brings the power to choose what they learn.MoMo Productions/Getty Images

My 6-year-old hates the British. To be more specific, the British Empire that ruled over up to a quarter of the world’s land by the early 1900s. Hates that one of the biggest diamonds in the world, found in India over 1,000 years ago, now...

Science fiction builds mental resiliency in young readers

Written by Esther Jones, Associate Professor of English, affiliate with Africana Studies and Women's & Gender Studies, Clark University

Science fiction offers readers a way to rethink social dilemmas. MATJAZ SLANIC/Via Getty Images

Young people who are “hooked” on watching fantasy or reading science fiction may be on to something. Contrary to a common misperception that reading this genre is an unworthy practice, reading science fiction and fantasy may help young people...

What US states can learn from COVID-19 transition planning in Europe

Written by Holly Jarman, John G. Searle Assistant Professor, University of Michigan

A nearly deserted street in the city of Nice, France, on May 6, the 51st day of lockdown there. Europe's method of reopening is markedly different from the U.S. plan.Getty Images / Valery Hache

After a rapid rise in coronavirus cases throughout Europe – particularly Italy and Spain – tough public health measures “flattened the...

Why the military can use emergency powers to treat service members with trial COVID-19 drugs

Written by Jennifer Bard, Visiting Professor of Law, University of Florida

Military medical personnel have helped support hospitals with heavy patient loads.John Moore/Getty Images

Infectious disease has always been one of the military’s greatest threats. By its own estimates, the U.S. Army lost almost as many soldiers from the 1918 flu as died on the battlefields of the first World War.

Troops are at risk during an...

The tooth fairy as an essential worker in a child's world of wonder

Written by Brandon Barker, Assistant Professor of Folklore, Indiana University

Smiling schoolboys reveal their missing teeth.Anthony Asael/Art in All of Us /Contributor via Getty Images

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, adults and children alike have called on political leaders and health experts to address a concern: Is now a bad time to lose a tooth?

In April, the premier of Quebec, François Legault, and New...

Historic power struggle between Trump and Congress reviewed by Supreme Court

Written by Stanley M. Brand, Distinguished Fellow in Law and Government, Pennsylvania State University

Justices of the Supreme Court will hear a crucial case on the limits of presidential power. Getty/Saul Loeb/AFP

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in two cases concerning congressional demands, known as subpoenas, for materials that President Donald Trump claims are intrusions into his private affairs and are not legitimate uses of...