The Conversation

Physicists hunt for room-temperature superconductors that could revolutionize the world's energy system

Written by Pegor Aynajian, Associate Professor of Physics, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Wind turbines and solar panels in Southern California.4kodiak/E+ via Getty Images

Waste heat is all around you. On a small scale, if your phone or laptop feels warm, that’s because some of the energy powering the device is being transformed into unwanted heat.

On a larger scale, electric grids, such as high power lines, lose over 5% of their...

Kids need physical education – even when they can't get it at school

Written by Collin A. Webster, College of Education Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Physical Education, University of South Carolina

Strong PE programs encourage students to remain physically active for life.Kathryn Scott/The Denver Post via Getty Images

When I noticed my 12-year-old son was spending about seven hours a day doing his school work online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I immediately became concerned. As a researcher who focuses on how to get kids to be more...

New Jersey's small, networked dairy farms are a model for a more resilient food system

Written by Andrew Carlson, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University

Richard Byma from By-Acre farms in Sussex County, New Jersey, tends to his Holstein herd. Neville Elder/Corbis via Getty Images)

Cow’s milk is a major part of many Americans’ diets because it contains key vitamins and calcium. But milk consumption has suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other foods, including beef, eggs, fr...

Doctors can't treat COVID-19 effectively without recognizing the social justice aspects of health

Written by Zoë Julian, Health Services Researcher and Clinical Instructor, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Emergency medical technicians bring a patient into Wyckoff Hospital in the Borough of Brooklyn on April 6, 2020 in New York.Bryna R. Smith/AFP via Getty Images.

Recent data shows that black, Latino, indigenous and immigrant communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19, due in large part to the persistent legacy of structural racism...

In Brazil's raging pandemic, domestic workers fear for their lives – and their jobs

Written by Mauricio Sellmann Oliveira, Visiting Scholar, Dartmouth College

Ladijane Sofia da Concecão, one of millions of unemployed housekeepers in Brazil, accepts a food donation from a friend in São Paulo, May 7, 2020. Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images

Brazil has emerged as one of the worst-hit countries in the coronavirus crisis, with hundreds of thousands of cases affecting people from all backgrounds....

When it comes to reopening churches in the pandemic, Supreme Court says grace ain’t groceries

Written by Ross D. Silverman, Professor of Public Health and Law, Indiana University

Churches have to weigh the risk to congregants in opening too soon.AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh

The highest court in the land has given states some leeway in determining when and how to safely reopen places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic. The move lends support to state officials making science-informed decisions that may inhibit church congregants...

Can the president really order the military to occupy US cities and states?

Written by Jennifer Selin, Kinder Institute Assistant Professor of Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri-Columbia

President Donald Trump makes a statement to the press in the Rose Garden about restoring "law and order" in the wake of protests.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

After a week of both peaceful protests and violent chaos in the wake of George Floyd’s death, President Donald Trump announced, “If a city or state refuses to take the actions...

George Floyd's death reflects the racist roots of American policing

Written by Connie Hassett-Walker, Assistant Professor of Justice Studies and Sociology, Norwich University

The death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer has sparked widespread outrage.John Rudoff/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Outrage over racial profiling and the killing of African Americans by police officers and vigilantes has recently resurfaced following the death of George Floyd on May 25. Video footage a bystander took of...

Militarization has fostered a policing culture that sets up protesters as 'the enemy'

Written by Tom Nolan, Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology, Emmanuel College

Sheriffs deputies in riot gear move in on protesters in Los Angeles, California. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

The unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd after being pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer has left parts of U.S. cities looking like a battle zone.

Night after night, angry protesters have taken to the...

Americans' deepening financial stress will make the coronavirus a lot harder to contain

Written by David Salkever, Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A growing number of Americans are feeling financial stress and unable to afford basics like food and health care.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Preventing deaths from COVID-19 depends on people who get it seeking treatment – which also allows authorities to track down whom they came in contact with to reduce spread.

But, as the economic pain and...