The Conversation

Sewage surveillance is the next frontier in the fight against polio

Written by Marisa Eisenberg, Associate Professor of Complex Systems, Epidemiology, and Mathematics, University of Michigan

Monitoring sewage for virus allows for a quick public health response if any polio is detected.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

The world is at the brink of eradicating polio. Only three countries now have ongoing transmission: Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. And in 2017, there were only a couple dozen cases of paralytic wild polio reported worldwide...

Jamal Khashoggi: Casualty of the Trump administration’s disregard for democracy and civil rights in the Middle East?

Written by David Mednicoff, Chair, Department of Judaic and Near Eastern Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

The international crisis over whether top Saudi Arabian leadership murdered U.S.-based Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is a striking example of the consequences of Donald Trump’s blanket disregard for democratic politics and human rights in other countries. This departure from decades of American foreign policy rhetoric remains...

Banksy and the tradition of destroying art

Written by Preminda Jacob, Associate Professor of Art History and Museum Studies, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

When the British street artist Banksy shredded his “Girl With Balloon” after it was purchased for US$1.4 million at Sotheby’s, did he know how the art world would react?

Did he anticipate that the critics would claim that the work, in its partially shredded state, would climb in value to at least $2 million? That the purchaser woul...

New data tool can help scientists use limited funds to protect the greatest number of endangered species

Written by Leah Gerber, Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Sciences and Director, Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, Arizona State University

The Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973 partly to help save the bald eagle, the U.S. national symbol, from extinction. Should public appeal influence which species get priority?Jitze Couperus, CC BY

A large majority of Americans strongly support the goal of preventing the extinction of endangered wildlife and plants. Today, over 1,600 U.S....

Taxes and caps on carbon work differently but calibrating them poses the same challenge

Written by Amitrajeet A. Batabyal, Arthur J. Gosnell Professor of Economics, Rochester Institute of Technology

There are different kinds of policies that can curb greenhouse gases. Climber 1959/Shutterstock.com

Virtually everything most people on earth do these days involves, either directly or indirectly, the combustion of oil, gas and coal. Burning these fossil fuels is generating carbon emissions, which accumulate in the atmosphere, contributing to global...

Arms sales to Saudi Arabia give Trump all the leverage he needs in Khashoggi affair

Written by Terrence Guay, Clinical Professor of International Business, Pennsylvania State University

American-made F-15 warplanes fly over Riyadh.AP Photo/Hassan Ammar

Among Donald Trump’s many unusual characteristics as president is his frankness.

Last week, after the disappearance and apparent torture and murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, Trump argued that “we would be punishing ourselves” by canceling arms...

Generation Z voters could make waves in 2018 midterm elections

Written by Kei Kawashima-Ginsberg, Director, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement in the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University

Unlike the much-studied millennials, we don’t know much about Generation Z, who now make up most of the 18- to 24-year-old voting bloc.

These young people started first grade after 9/11, were born with the internet, grew up with smartphones and social media and practiced active-shooter drills in their classrooms.

In 2018, they have taken an...

Government-funded buyouts after disasters are slow and inequitable – here's how that could change

Written by A.R. Siders, Postdoctoral Fellow, Harvard University

Devastation from Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Florida, Oct. 12, 2018. Residents whose homes have suffered major damage in multiple storms could eventually be offered buyouts, but the process can take several years. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Destructive storms like Hurricanes Florence and Michael prompt difficult conversations about whether to...

Trump sees opportunity in Venezuela's humanitarian crisis as midterms approach

Written by Marco Aponte-Moreno, Assistant Professor of Global Business, St Mary's College of California

President Donald Trump has spoken forcefully about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, calling it a “human tragedy” at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis – which began in late 2014, when a drop in oil prices deprived the government of its primary income source – has...

Blockchains won't fix internet voting security – and could make it worse

Written by Ari Juels, Professor of Computer Science, Jacobs Technion-Cornell Institute, Cornell Tech, and Co-Director, Initiative for CryptoCurrencies and Contracts (IC3), Cornell University

An e-ballot is less secure than one on paper.SvetaZi/Shutterstock.com

Looking to modernize voting practices, speed waiting times at the polls, increase voter turnout and generally make voting more convenient, many government officials – and some companies hawking voting systems – are looking to an emerging technology called a...