The Conversation

If you recycled all the plastic garbage in the world, you could buy the NFL, Apple and Microsoft

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

A plastic waste dump. Mohameed Abdulraheem/shutterstock.com

This year, I served on the judging panel for The Royal Statistical Society’s International Statistic of the Year.

On Dec. 18, we announced the winner: 90.5 percent, the amount of plastic that has never been recycled. Okay – but why is that such a big deal?

Much like Oxford...

You can probably eat more Christmas cookies than you think - just take a look at the calorie guidelines

Written by Patricia Smith, Professor of Economics, University of Michigan

Go ahead Santa, take a cookie without guilt.sherwood/Shutterstock.com

It’s that time of year when cookies, cakes, candy and treats show up at work, home and every place in between.

As researchers who have investigated obesity, people’s body image, and fast food and other nutritional topics we often get questions from people concerned...

Advanced digital networks look a lot like the human nervous system

Written by Salvatore Domenic Morgera, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering, University of South Florida

Studying digital and biological connections can shed light on both fields.MY stock/Shutterstock.com

Parents have experienced how newborns grab their finger and hold tight. This almost instantaneous response is one of the sweetest involuntary movements that babies exhibit. The newborn’s nerves sense a touch, process the information and react...

How T.M. Landry College Prep failed black families

Written by H. Richard Milner IV, Cornelius Vanderbilt Endowed Chair of Education , Vanderbilt University

T.M. Landry College Prep co-founders Tracey and Michael Landry have stepped down from the school's board as authorities investigate a wide range of allegations against the school, from academic fraud to physical abuse.T.M. Landry College Prep

Of all the challenges that vex black parents, perhaps none is more frustrating than to be forced to send...

Shockwaves from French 'yellow vest' protests felt across Europe

Written by Garret Martin, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of International Service

Mostly peaceful demonstrations in Paris on Dec. 15 showed that recent concessions by President Emmanuel Macron have quieted – but not satisfied – the outraged French protesters whose weekend marches have gripped and unsettled the country.

France’s “yellow jacket” movement began in November with local protests against a...

Exorcisms have been part of Christianity for centuries

Written by S. Kyle Johnson, Doctoral Student in Systematic Theology, Boston College

A painting showing Saint Francis Borgia, a 16th century saint,, performing an exorcism.Francisco Goya

“The Exorcist,” a horror film released 45 years ago, is a terrifying depiction of supernatural evil. The film tells the story of a young American girl who is possessed by a demon and eventually exorcised by a Catholic priest.

Many...

Indian bill to 'protect' trafficking victims will make sex workers less safe

Written by Simanti Dasgupta, Associate Professor, University of Dayton

Hoping to protect women from sexual exploitation, Indian lawmakers are pushing a bill that amends the criminal code to harden legal and financial penalties for sex trafficking.

The “Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection and Rehabilitation) Bill,” which passed the lower house of India’s parliament in July 2018 and may...

The math on why the Trump administration's fuel standards report is seriously flawed

Written by Christopher R. Knittel, Professor of Applied Economics and Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, MIT Sloan School of Management

Conflicting fuel standard reports from the Trump and Obama administrations disagree by billions of dollars. nata-lunata/shutterstock.com

Fuel economy standards are an important way for the U.S. to combat climate change. However, a 2018 study conducted by the Trump administration proposes hitting the pause button on regulations, potentially leaving...

Why you should give your grandparents a 3D printer for Christmas

Written by Joshua M. Pearce, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering, Michigan Technological University

3D printed adaptive aids can cut costs by more than 94 percent.J.M. Pearce, CC BY-ND

Senior citizens might really like – and use – a 3D printer. That’s the surprising, and money-saving, conclusion of a new study I co-authored: 3D printers can save arthritis patients money by more cheaply manufacturing plastic gadgets that help...

China's win-at-all-costs approach suggests it will follow its own dangerous path in biomedicine

Written by Hallam Stevens, Associate Professor of History, Nanyang Technological University

Megacity Shenzhen, as seen from Hong Kong, is a center for Chinese finance and tech.AP Photo/Kin Cheung

The world was shocked by Chinese scientist He Jiankui’s recent claim that he’d brought to term twin babies whose genes – inheritable by their own potential descendants – he had modified as embryos. The genetic edit, He...