The Conversation

Private browsing: What it does – and doesn't do – to shield you from prying eyes on the web

Written by Lorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science and of Engineering & Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University

The major browsers have privacy modes, but don't confuse privacy for anonymity.Oleg Mishutin/iStock via Getty Images

Many people look for more privacy when they browse the web by using their browsers in privacy-protecting modes, called “Private Browsing” in Mozilla Firefox, Opera and Apple Safari; “Incognito” in Google...

Stella Immanuel’s theories about the relationship between demons, illness and sex have a long history

Written by Brandon W. Hawk, Associate Professor of English, Rhode Island College

Matfre Ermengaud's 'Temptation by Lechery' from a 14th-century manuscript.The British Library

President Donald Trump has a new favorite doctor.

On July 27, the president and his son Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted a viral video featuring Dr. Stella Immanuel, in which the Houston pediatrician rejected the effectiveness of wearing face masks for preventing...

Militias' warning of excessive federal power comes true – but where are they?

Written by Amy Cooter, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Vanderbilt University

Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon, on July 20, 2020.AP Photo/Noah Berger

Militias and many other Second Amendment advocates have long argued that their primary desire to own firearms – often, many of them – is rooted in a need to protect themselves and their families...

Parents with children forced to do school at home are drinking more

Written by Susan Sonnenschein, Professor, Applied Development Psychology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

More people turn to alcohol in the wake of disasters, research has found.Kerkez/GettyImages

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

The big idea

We found that parents who are stressed by having to help their children with distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic drink seven more drinks per month than parents who do...

¿Qué son los aerosoles y por qué son tan peligrosos ante la pandemia de COVID-19?

Written by Byron Erath, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Clarkson University

Cuando alguien tose, habla o incluso respira, lanza pequeñas gotas respiratorias al aire circundante. Jeffrey Coolidge/Getty Images

Cuando alguien tose, habla o incluso respira, lanza pequeñas gotas respiratorias al aire circundante. La más pequeña de estas gotitas puede flotar durante horas, y existe una fuerte evidencia...

NASA's big move to search for life on Mars – and to bring rocks home

Written by Briony Horgan, Associate Professor of Planetary Science, Purdue University

In a clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., engineers observed the first driving test for the Mars rover, Perseverance. Perseverance will search for signs of past microbial life, characterize Mars' climate and geology, and collect samples for a future return to Earth. NASA/JPL-Caltech

This summer, NASA is taking the...

As the NBA and MLB resume, how might empty seats influence player performances?

Written by Mark Otten, Professor of Psychology, California State University, Northridge

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager warms up as cutouts of fans 'look on.'AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Baseball and basketball might be returning, but the boo birds and thunder sticks will have to wait ‘til next year.

Save for the Toronto Blue Jays, baseball teams have begun playing in their regular stadiums without fans. Meanwhile, all NBA...

African American teens face mental health crisis but are less likely than whites to get treatment

Written by Rebecca Klisz-Hulbert, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University

Black youth are less likely to seek treatment for mental health issues than white adolescents.Getty Images / Jasmin Merdan

Black youth in the U.S. experience more illness, poverty, and discrimination than their white counterparts. These issues put them at higher risk for depression and other mental health problems. Yet Black youth are less likely...

Landlord-leaning eviction courts are about to make the coronavirus housing crisis a lot worse

Written by Katy Ramsey Mason, Assistant Professor of Law & Director, Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, University of Memphis

Eviction moratoriums have already begun to expire. Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

The United States is on the verge of a potentially devastating eviction crisis right in the middle of a deadly pandemic.

Federal, state and local eviction moratoriums had put most of the pending cases on hold. But as the moratoriums expire and eviction hearings...

The gender pay gap that no one is paying attention to

Written by Felice Klein, Assistant Professor of Management, Boise State University

Men are still sitting pretty when it comes to pay in the workplace. iStock/Getty Images

That women are paid less than male colleagues is a stubborn fact in the U.S. workplace.

As of July, women earned 84 cents for every dollar a man earned. It is a discrepancy that has garnered significant attention from scholars, the media and sex discrimination...