The Conversation

Why 'I was just being sarcastic' can be such a convenient excuse

Written by Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

Oh come on, you could tell it was sarcasm ... right?AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

After President Donald Trump said during his June 20 rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, that increased testing was responsible for the surging number of infections, the condemnation of the inaccurate claim was swift.

Six days later, during a Fox News town hall, Sean Hannity asked Trump...

Police with lots of military gear kill civilians more often than less-militarized officers

Written by Casey Delehanty, Assistant Professor of Global Studies, Gardner-Webb University

A police tactical team in Ferguson, Mo., responds to 2014 protests against a white officer's killing of Michael Brown, a young Black man.AP Photo/Jeff Roberson

Police departments that get more equipment from the military kill more civilians than departments that get less military gear. That’s the finding from research on a federal program...

Do dogs really see in just black and white?

Written by Nancy Dreschel, Associate Teaching Professor of Small Animal Science, Pennsylvania State University

Don't worry that your dog's world is visually drab.Kevin Short/EyeEm via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Do dogs really see in just black and white? – Oscar V., age 9, Somerville, Massachusetts

Dogs...

Group testing for coronavirus – called pooled testing – could be the fastest and cheapest way to increase screening nationwide

Written by Darius Lakdawalla, Quintiles Professor of Pharmaceutical Development and Regulatory Innovation, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California

Pooling samples means one test can screen multiple people. Tetra Images via Getty Images

Hopes for a summertime reprieve from COVID-19 have been dashed as cases surged in June. As infections rise, so does the need for testing.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, recently announced that health...

The invention of satanic witchcraft by medieval authorities was initially met with skepticism

Written by Michael D. Bailey, Professor of History, Iowa State University

Woodcut, circa 1400. A witch, a demon and a warlock fly toward a peasant woman.Hulton Archive /Handout via Getty Images

On a midsummer day in 1438, a young man from the north shore of Lake Geneva presented himself to the local church inquisitor. He had a confession to make. Five years earlier, his father had forced him to join a satanic cult of...

Video: What we can learn from a book documenting the first vaccine, for smallpox

Written by Anurag Papolu, Multimedia Editor

Caricature of vaccination scene at the Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital at St. Pancras Hospital in London, by James Giray, 1802.Library of Congress

As the world waits anxiously for a COVID-19 vaccine, Sam Lemley, curator of special collections at Carnegie Mellon University, says that the story of the first vaccine is worth revisiting today. As...

Which drugs and therapies are proven to work, and which ones don't, for COVID-19?

Written by William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia

We are slowly figuring out which drugs and therapies are effective against the new coronavirus.Anton Petrus / Getty Images

I am a physician and a scientist at the University of Virginia. I care for patients and conduct research to find better ways to diagnose and treat infectious diseases, including COVID-19. Here I’m sharing what is known...

With the help of trained dolphins, our team of researchers is building a specialized drone to help us study dolphins in the wild

Written by Jason Bruck, Teaching Assistant Professor of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University

The only way to learn about the sensory abilities of dolphins is with the help of trained dolphins. Dolphin Quest, CC BY-ND

Human actions have taken a steep toll on whales and dolphins. Some studies estimate that small whale abundance, which includes dolphins, has fallen 87% since 1980 and thousands of whales die from rope entanglement annually....

From marmots to mole-rats to marmosets – studying many genes in many animals is key to understanding how humans can live longer

Written by Amanda Kowalczyk, Ph.D. Candidate in Computational and Systems Biology, University of Pittsburgh

Is there a genetic switch that can help reverse the aging process?Dimitri Otis / Getty Images

Much of longevity and aging research focuses on studying extremely long-lived species, including bats, naked mole-rats and bowhead whales, to find genetic changes that contribute to long life.

However, such work has yielded highly species-specific genetic...

COVID-19 and teletherapy may be changing how much you know about your therapist

Written by Adrienne Lapidos, Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan

With the coronavirus risk, many therapy sessions have moved online to video calls. Maskot via Getty Images

It’s the third month of the COVID-19 pandemic, and everyone is homebound. The camera on my laptop picks up my image from an odd angle, exposing a lot of nostril. But this way, my patient sees only my face and the blank wall behind me....