The Conversation

New treatment in the works for disfiguring skin disease, vitiligo

Written by John Harris, Associate Professor of Dermatology, University of Massachusetts Medical School

This African woman suffers from an autoimmune disease called vitiligo which causes the loss of skin pigment.By andreonegin/shutterstock.com

In many parts of the world there is great shame and stigma tied to vitiligo, an autoimmune disease of the skin that causes disfiguring white spots, which can appear anywhere on the body. In some societies,...

Health clubs using tanning beds to attract members despite cancer risks, new study shows

Written by Sherry Pagoto, Professor of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut

Individuals using indoor tanning are exposed to two types of UV rays -- UVA and UVB -- that damage skin and DNA and can lead to cancer, including the deadliest one: melanoma. Young users are most at risk.By Rido/shutterstock.com

I drove past Planet Fitness on the way to my 10-year-old’s gymnastics class and had to chuckle at their sign...

What criminal conspiracy charges against an alleged Russian spy might mean for the NRA: 3 questions answered

Written by Brian Galle, Professor of Law, Georgetown University

Maria Butina, founder of a Russian gun group, allegedly infiltrated the Republican Party. AP Photo

Editor’s note: U.S. authorities have arrested Mariia Butina, a Russian advocate for firearms ownership also known as Maria. In a criminal complaint that led to her indictment, the Justice Department accused her of secretly infiltrating American...

Why proactive leadership is important – or how Congress could have prevented Trump's Helsinki fiasco

Written by Thomas Bateman, Professor of Management, University of Virginia

Trump and Putin shake hands at the conclusion of their joint news conference.AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Imagine you’re speeding along on a highway. Suddenly, the traffic ahead of you slows, forcing you to hit the breaks. Eventually you arrive at the source of the bottleneck: a mattress lying in the right lane. One by one, your fellow...

The brainwashing myth

Written by Rebecca Moore, Emerita Professor of Religious Studies, San Diego State University

We'll say someone's brainwashed only when we disagree with their beliefs or actions.lolloj/Shutterstock.com

Nearly 40 years ago, my two sisters, Carolyn Layton and Annie Moore, were among those who planned the mass deaths in Jonestown on Nov. 18, 1978.

Part of a movement called Peoples Temple, which was led by a charismatic pastor named Jim Jones,...

How refugees in Britain went from living in old bunkers and stately homes to being detained in cells

Written by Jordanna Bailkin, Professor of History, University of Washington

Mass movement of refugees has turned into mass detention in many liberal democracies.

These are strange days to be writing about camps and refugees. As a historian of Britain and a scholar of refugee studies, I have studied how the U.K. handled mass encampments in its recent past, from the First World War to the 1980s.

As I write, the U.S....

Why attorneys represent immigrants for free

Written by Eduardo Capulong, Associate Dean for Clinical and Experiential Education; Professor of Law, The University of Montana

Honduran mother and child with a Border Patrol agent.

Scores of lawyers, paralegals and law students are volunteering to help immigrant families caught in the crosshairs of the Trump administration’s bid to drastically reduce the number of people without papers in the U.S. One of these movement’s highest priorities is assisting the more...

Why Trump hasn't been impeached – and likely won't be

Written by Jacob Neiheisel, Assistant Professor in Political Science, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

Trump with the men who would replace him -- Vice President Mike Pence on the left and House Speaker Paul Ryan on the left. Win McNamee/AP Pool

Editor’s note: Removing a president from office is a two-step process. The first step is impeachment. That’s when members of the House indict, or charge, an official with an impeachable offense....

Americans distrusted US democracy long before Trump's Russia problem

Written by Ian Anson, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Historically, the high-water mark for American dissatisfaction with government was the 1970s — the era of Vietnam, Nixon and Watergate. AP Photo/John Duricka

White House special counsel Robert Mueller recently issued 12 indictments alleging that Russian intelligence agents sought to tilt the vote in Donald Trump’s favor by hacking...

Electric scooters on collision course with pedestrians and lawmakers

Written by Jim Sallis, Professorial Fellow, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University; Emeritus Professor, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California San Diego

A man in downtown Atlanta with an electric scooter on June 26, 2018. Brinley Hineman/ AP Photo

Electric scooters are appearing in many major cities across the country, bringing fun to riders, profits to scooter makers – and lots of potential risks to walkers and riders.

San Diego, where I live, is at the forefront of the proliferation of...