The Conversation

Los migrantes viajan en 'caravanas' por una razón: seguridad

Written by Karen Jacobsen, Henry J. Leir Chair in Global Migration, Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University

Los migrantes de Centroamérica se enfrentan a extorsiones, robos, asaltos, secuestros, violaciones y asesinatos mientras atraviesan México. Algunos se sienten a salvo en grupo.AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd

Una caravana de inmigrantes de Centroamérica que se dirige a Estados Unidos para solicitar asilo se encuentra en ahora México....

Immigration to US Westernizes Asian guts

Written by Pajau Vangay, Research Specialist in Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology, University of Minnesota

S'gaw Karen girls of Khun Yuam District, Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand.Takeaway, CC BY-SA

Have you ever lived long enough in another country to see changes in your overall health? Or perhaps, you have noticed that after a friend moved to the U.S. his health seemed to deteriorate.

Many immigrants arrive in the U.S. healthy. But after living in...

30 years ago, the world's first cyberattack set the stage for modern cybersecurity challenges

Written by Scott Shackelford, Associate Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Director, Ostrom Workshop Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance; Cybersecurity Program Chair, IU-Bloomington, Indiana University

Floods of traffic can clog up an internet server and the wires connecting it to other systems.BeeBright/Shutterstock.com

Back in November 1988, Robert Tappan Morris, son of the famous cryptographer Robert Morris Sr., was a 20-something graduate student at Cornell who wanted to know how big the internet was – that is, how many devices were...

Coal can't compete with cheaper alternatives and the industry's true costs are higher than they appear

Written by Daniel Cohan, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering, Rice University

The Big Brown coal plant in Fairfield is among the Texas power stations that have been shut down.AP Photo/David J. Phillip

There are costs associated with electricity beyond what shows up on your monthly bill.

When that energy comes from coal, residents who live downwind pay through poorer health and, as with all fossil fuels, the whole world pays...

Evangelical Christians are racially diverse – and hold diverse views on immigration

Written by Janelle Wong, Professor of American Studies, University of Maryland

Evangelicals of color are among the fastest growing segments of the American population.AP Photo/Tina Fineberg

The influence of white evangelicals on American politics is well known. More than 80 percent supported Donald Trump in the 2016 election. But two of the fastest-growing segments of the American population – Latino and Asian-American...

Think you're bad at math? You may suffer from 'math trauma'

Written by Jennifer Ruef, Assistant Professor of Education Studies, University of Oregon

Even some teachers suffer from anxiety about math.Undrey/shutterstock.com

I teach people how to teach math, and I’ve been working in this field for 30 years. Across those decades, I’ve met many people who suffer from varying degrees of math trauma – a form of debilitating mental shutdown when it comes to doing mathematics.

When...

A vaccine to stop lung cancer? It's made from tobacco taxes and legislation

Written by Robert McMillen, Professor & Associate Director of the Social Science Research Center, Mississippi State University

Anti-smoking ads such as this one can help curb smoking, but studies are suggesting that raising the tax on cigarettes may be most effective to help deter poor people.California Department of Public Health, CC BY-SA

Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the country, and almost 90 percent of deaths from this disease are directly attributable...

Democrats' struggle over masculinity in an election 50 years ago is still playing out today

Written by Aram Goudsouzian, Professor of History, University of Memphis

Hubert Humphrey, left, and Lyndon Johnson, right.AP Photo/Charles Harrity, File

Donald Trump sells himself as a man’s man.

When Trump projects old-fashioned male power full of aggression and swagger, he gratifies his culturally conservative base, both men and women.

Democratic politicians, by contrast, rarely discuss masculinity. That might...

Numbers in the news? Make sure you don't fall for these 3 statistical tricks

Written by Liberty Vittert, Visiting Assistant Professor in Statistics, Washington University in St Louis

If it seems too good to be true, maybe it is.szefei/Shutterstock.com

“Handy bit of research finds sexuality can be determined by the lengths of people’s fingers” was one recent headline based on a peer-reviewed study by well-respected researchers at the University of Essex published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, the leading...

Female candidates running in record numbers for the midterms — just not in California

Written by Christina Bellantoni, Professor of Professional Practice and Director of the Media Center, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

California's Katie Porter, seen here with Democratic candidates and former president Barack Obama, is one of just three first-time female congressional candidates in California.AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu

The midterm elections are widely expected to usher in this century’s “year of the woman” – an explosion of women entering...