The Conversation

Stripping voting rights from felons is about politics, not punishment

Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

Gerald Dent, left, is joined by James Featherstone and Niles Ringgold at a rally for felon voting rights, in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 10, 2020.Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images

In 2018 Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment ending the disenfranchisement of ex-convicts. Though it excluded people convicted of...

Where are the African American leaders?

Written by Vincent Adejumo, Senior Lecturer of African American Studies, University of Florida

A protester raises a fist in New York's Washington Square Park during a June 2, 2020 demonstration.Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images

As protests rock the country in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, there is a notable absence in the national public discourse: African American community leaders.

Fannie Lou...

COVID-19, smell and taste – how is COVID-19 different from other respiratory diseases?

Written by John E Hayes, Associate Professor of Food Science, Pennsylvania State University

A health worker carries out an olfactory test to monitor smell loss to a resident 65 km from Buenos Aires city, on May 24, 2020, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP via Getty Images

In March 2020, Google searches for phrases like “can’t taste food” or “why can’t I smell” spiked around the...

Here's a new way to do study abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Written by William G. Durden, Joint Appointment Professor (research), School of Education, JHU; Presdient Emeritus, Dickinson College, Johns Hopkins University

Professors overseas can teach US students about perspectives in other countries. Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

With the U.S. and much of the world engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions and health risks have threatened to make study abroad difficult, if not impossible.

But that doesn’t mean students...

Scientists tap the world's most powerful computers in the race to understand and stop the coronavirus

Written by Jeremy Smith, Governor's Chair, Biophysics, University of Tennessee

It takes a tremendous amount of computing power to simulate all the components and behaviors of viruses and cells.Thomas Splettstoesser scistyle.com, CC BY-ND

In “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, the haughty supercomputer Deep Thought is asked whether he can find the answer to the ultimate question...

It can't happen here – and then it did

Written by Joe Saltzman, Professor of Journalism and Communication, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

There have already been at least 100 instances of journalists being assaulted or harassed while covering recent protests.Nick Lehr/The Conversation, CC BY

When Americans think of journalists attacked, arrested or imprisoned while doing their job, they think of it happening in distant lands – in places like Russia, Syria, Afghanistan, El...

Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in Florida and Texas beginning this summer – silver bullet or jumping the gun?

Written by Brian Allan, Associate Professor of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

In 2018 scientists of the Miami-Dade County Mosquito Control tested a new way to suppress mosquito populations carrying the Zika virus. RHONA WISE/AFP via Getty Images

This summer, for the first time, genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the U.S.

On May 1, 2020, the company Oxitec received an experimental use permit from the U.S....

Low-wage essential workers get less protection against coronavirus – and less information about how it spreads

Written by Jasmine Kerrissey, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Labor Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Essential workers don't always have access to the PPE they need.Lorado/Getty Images

Low-wage essential workers are more likely to face dangerous working conditions and food insecurity than high-wage workers, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our research provides some of the first data on the safety of essential workers during the pandemic.

Ou...

California's early shelter-in-place order may have saved 1,600 lives in one month

Written by Andrew Friedson, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Colorado Denver

California was one of the first states to enact shelter-in-place orders.Aydin Palabiyikoglu/Getty Images

The primary strategy to slow the spread of the coronavirus has been social distancing, which reduces contact between individuals.

While the federal government can recommend social distancing, the decision to issue formal measures ultimately...

Parasitic worms in your shellfish lead a creepy but popular lifestyle

Written by Andrew David, Assistant Professor of Biology, Clarkson University

Parasites do very well for themselves, which is why they are so common in the animal kingdom.Geoffrey Read, CC BY

If you’re an oyster lover, seeing a shaggy worm slither across your appetizer is revolting – even though such worms are harmless to people. An internet search using the keywords “oyster” and “worm”...