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Why are whales big, but not bigger?

  • Written by Matthew Savoca, Postdoctoral researcher, Stanford University
Minke whale.Jeremy Goldbogen, CC BY-ND

Both toothed and baleen (filter-feeding) whales are among the largest animals ever to exist. Blue whales, which measure up to 100 feet (30 meters) long and can weigh over 150 tons, are the largest animals in the history of life on Earth.

Although whales have existed on this planet for some 50 million years,...

Read more: Why are whales big, but not bigger?

How old should kids be to get phones?

  • Written by Fashina Aladé, Assistant Professor, Advertising and Public Relations, Michigan State University
Every kid should have their own cell phone. Or should they? Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

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.

What age should kids get phones? – Yuvi, age 10, Dayton, Ohio

If it seems like all your...

Read more: How old should kids be to get phones?

‘Richard Jewell’ is only the latest film to depict a female journalist trading sex for scoops

  • Written by Joe Saltzman, Professor of Journalism and Communication, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
Actress Olivia Wilde plays reporter Kathy Scruggs in 'Richard Jewell.'Invision/AP Images/Jordan Strauss

Criticshave lambasted Clint Eastwood’s new biographical drama, “Richard Jewell,” over its depiction of female reporter Kathy Scruggs, who’s played by actress Olivia Wilde.

During the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta,...

Read more: ‘Richard Jewell’ is only the latest film to depict a female journalist trading sex for scoops

Supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy may have a friend

  • Written by Smadar Naoz, Associate Professor of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles
An artist's conception of two black holes entwined in a gravitational tango.NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Christopher Go

Do supermassive black holes have friends? The nature of galaxy formation suggests that the answer is yes, and in fact, pairs of supermassive black holes should be common in the universe.

I am an astrophysicist and am interested in a...

Read more: Supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy may have a friend

Winter is coming: 5 essential reads about snow and ice

  • Written by Jennifer Weeks, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation
'Tis the season.Anteromite/Shutterstock

As cold weather settles in across North America, some communities have already started up their snowplows, while others keep watchful eyes on the forecast. Snow and ice can wreck travel plans, but they also play important ecological roles. And frozen water can take amazing forms. For days when all talk turns...

Read more: Winter is coming: 5 essential reads about snow and ice

Myths around mental illness cause high rates of unemployment

  • Written by Bandy X. Lee, Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University
Many employees with mental illnesses don't get the help they need for fear of discrimination.pathdoc/Shutterstock.com

Even though mental illness affects one in five adults – and depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide – secrecy and stigma around the issue continue.

The problem is especially acute in the workplace. While...

Read more: Myths around mental illness cause high rates of unemployment

Slave life's harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations

  • Written by Robert E. May, Professor Emeritus of History, Purdue University
Christmas tours to mansions often present a 'magical' experience to tourists, but they ignore the realities of the lives of slaves who worked there.Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau, CC BY

This holiday season, many Americans will tour historic mansions in the Southern United States that are beautifully decked out in traditional...

Read more: Slave life's harsh realities are erased in Christmas tours of Southern plantations

School resource officers aren't arrested often – but when they are, it's usually for sexual misconduct

  • Written by F. Chris Curran, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy, University of Florida
Trust is key for school resource officers to be effective, research shows.Simone Hogan/Shutterstock.com

The presence of law enforcement in schools – better known as school resource officers – has become increasingly common. These officers, who have full law enforcement powers, are supposed to keep students safe. Earlier this year,...

Read more: School resource officers aren't arrested often – but when they are, it's usually for sexual...

Myanmar charged with genocide of Rohingya Muslims: 5 essential reads

  • Written by Catesby Holmes, Religion Editor | International Editor, The Conversation US
A narrow river divides Myanmar from Bangladesh, where nearly 1 million now live as refugees. AP Photo/Bernat Armangue

Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi is defending Myanmar in court against accusations of genocide.

According to a case brought by the country of Gambia at the United Nations’ International Court of Justice, the Myanmar...

Read more: Myanmar charged with genocide of Rohingya Muslims: 5 essential reads

Examining how primates make vowel sounds pushes timeline for speech evolution back by 27 million years

  • Written by Thomas R. Sawallis, Visiting Scholar in New College, University of Alabama
Baboons make sounds, but how does it relate to human speech?Creative Wrights/Shutterstock.com

Sound doesn’t fossilize. Language doesn’t either.

Even when writing systems have developed, they’ve represented full-fledged and functional languages. Rather than preserving the first baby steps toward language, they’re fully formed,...

Read more: Examining how primates make vowel sounds pushes timeline for speech evolution back by 27 million...

More Articles ...

  1. USMCA: The 3 most important changes in the new NAFTA and why they matter
  2. Mexican Mennonites combat fears of violence with a new Christmas tradition
  3. Like 'Little Women,' books by Zitkála-Šá and Taha Hussein are classics
  4. We calculated emissions due to electricity loss on the power grid – globally, it's a lot
  5. Not every campus is a political battlefield
  6. 5 new ways for schools to work with families
  7. What happens when black Americans leave their segregated hometowns
  8. 'Robotic blacksmithing': A technology that could revive US manufacturing
  9. Paul Volcker helped shape an independent Federal Reserve – a vital legacy that's under threat
  10. What can drones do to protect civilians in armed conflict?
  11. Fat-shaming pregnant women isn't just mean, it's harmful
  12. Millions of burnt trees and rusted cars: Post-disaster cleanup is expensive, time-consuming and wasteful
  13. Taliban negotiations resume, feeding hope of a peaceful, more prosperous Afghanistan
  14. Super rats or sickly rodents? Our war against urban rats could be leading to swift evolutionary changes
  15. How the 'extreme abstinence' of the purity movement created a sense of shame in evangelical women
  16. In its anti-'Medicare for All' push, the health insurance industry pulls from an old playbook
  17. A brief guide to how the China-US trade war will affect your holiday shopping
  18. What the Roman senate's grovelling before emperors explains about GOP senators' support for Trump
  19. New studies show discrimination widely reported by women, people of color and LGBTQ adults
  20. Risk rooted in colonial era weighs on Bahamas' efforts to rebuild after Hurricane Dorian
  21. What makes wine dry? It's easy to taste, but much harder to measure
  22. Why the holidays are a prime time for elder abuse, and what you can do to thwart it
  23. Payday lenders have embraced installment loans to evade regulations – but they may be even worse
  24. Why are kids today less patriotic?
  25. Nicolas Bourbaki: The greatest mathematician who never was
  26. Courts have avoided refereeing between Congress and the president, but Trump may force them to wade in
  27. Why it can be hard to stop eating even when you're full: Some foods may be designed that way
  28. What makes Christmas movies so popular
  29. Why the US military usually punishes misconduct but police often close ranks
  30. American influence could take the hit as Putin, Zelenskiy try to make peace in Donbass
  31. Large-scale education tests often come with side effects
  32. American influence could take the hit as Putin, Zelenskiy try to make peace in Ukraine
  33. From their balloons, the first aeronauts transformed our view of the world
  34. NPR is still expanding the range of what authority sounds like after 50 years
  35. Limited eating times could be a new way to fight obesity and diabetes
  36. Turning gray and into the red: The true cost of growing old in America
  37. 5 ways to check a college's financial health
  38. 'Stop-and-frisk' can work, under careful supervision
  39. An ethicist explains why philanthropy is no license to do bad stuff
  40. India's plan to identify 'illegal immigrants' could get some Muslims declared 'foreign'
  41. Why are moths attracted to light?
  42. Bolivia after Morales: An 'ungovernable country' with a power vacuum
  43. How toys became gendered – and why it’ll take more than a gender-neutral doll to change how boys perceive femininity
  44. What's in a title? When it comes to 'Doctor,' more than you might think
  45. The company that makes OxyContin could become a 'public trust' – what would that mean?
  46. Why your generic drugs may not be safe and the FDA may be too lax
  47. Trump's border wall threatens an Arizona oasis with a long, diverse history
  48. Inequity takes a toll on your gut microbes, too
  49. Robotics researchers have a duty to prevent autonomous weapons
  50. 'Blue' space: Access to water features can boost city dwellers' mental health