The Conversation

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...

'Telepresence' can help bring advanced courses to schools that don't offer them

Written by Jennifer Darling-Aduana, Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies, Vanderbilt University

Remote learning can be used for more than just education at home.Suzanne Kreiter/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

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

The big idea

In schools where students want to take an advanced course that the school doesn’t offer, the telepresence model, which enables students in one school to...

3 lessons from how schools responded to the 1918 pandemic worth heeding today

Written by Mary Battenfeld, Clinical Professor of American and New England Studies, Boston University

These kids learned about staying healthy in schools around the time of the 1918 pandemic.Cornell University Library

Much like what has happened in 2020, most U.S. schools closed during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Their doors were shut for up to four months, with some exceptions, to curb the spread of the disease.

As a professor who teaches and...

COVID-19 will turn the state pension problem into a fiscal crisis

Written by Raymond Scheppach, Professor of Public Policy, University of Virginia

Most states struggle to meet pension funding needs -- and the pandemic will make it worse. hudiemm/Getty

You may be wondering why, over the last few months, the state pension problem – normally not a subject of widespread discussion – has been in the news.

In fact, you may be wondering just what the state pension problem is.

The problem...

What Buddhism and science can teach each other – and us – about the universe

Written by Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona

The Dalai Lama speaks about quantum effects with Chinese scientists at the Main Tibetan Temple, Nov. 1, 2018, in Dharamshala, India. Shyam Sharma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

These are trying times. A global recession sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, and widespread civil unrest, have created a combustible mix of angst – stressors that...

A pragmatist philosopher's view of the US response to the coronavirus pandemic

Written by Johnathan Flowers, Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Worcester State University

American thinker John Dewey in 1946.JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images

Though many in the U.S. are disoriented and disheartened by the lack of an effective federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, John Dewey, an American philosopher, psychologist and educator, would not have been surprised.

Dewey presented a nuanced analysis of democracy,...

Uruguay quietly beats coronavirus, distinguishing itself from its South American neighbors – yet again

Written by Jennifer Pribble, Associate Professor of Political Science and Global Studies, University of Richmond

Life is resuming in Uruguay, where some students returned to school in April and the remainder will go back in on June 29. Daniel Rodrigues/adhoc/AFP via Getty Images)

Latin America is the world’s new coronavirus epicenter, but Uruguay – a small South American nation of 3.5 million people – has so far avoided the devastation...

Are we all OCD now, with obsessive hand-washing and technology addiction?

Written by David Rosenberg, Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Wayne State University

What once looked like obsessive-compulsive disorder has become normal when faced with a deadly pandemic. Busà Photography via Getty Images

One of the hallmarks of obsessive-compulsive disorder is contamination fears and excessive hand-washing. Years ago, a patient with severe OCD came to my office wearing gloves and a mask and refused to sit...

India's goddesses of contagion provide protection in the pandemic – just don't make them angry

Written by Tulasi Srinivas, Professor of Anthropology, Religion and Transnational Studies, Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies, Emerson College

'Maa Bharati On Coronavirus'Sandhya Kumari/Gallerist.in, CC BY-SA

Hindus in India have had a helping hand – several in fact – when it comes to fighting deadly contagions like COVID-19: multi-armed goddesses co-opted to help contain and kill pestilence.

Collectively known as “Amman,” or the Divine Mother, the goddesses of...

Coronavirus shows how ageism is harmful to health of older adults

Written by Paul Nash, Instructional Associate Professor of Gerontology, University of Southern California

In Ventura, California, a woman who is social isolating greets a little boy who has come to visit.Getty Images / Brent Stirton

People over 65 years old account for about 80% of the deaths related to COVID-19 in the U.S. But we have to consider comorbidity, not just the number of years lived. Older people more likely live with underlying health...