The Conversation

Cohen plea should focus attention on the failure of the US constitutional system

Written by Chris Edelson, Assistant Professor of Government, American University School of Public Affairs

Michael Cohen’s guilty plea on Aug. 21 has some observers wondering whether Donald Trump’s presidency can survive.

As part of his plea, Cohen stated under oath that Trump directed him to make illegal hush payments intended to influence the 2016 election by hiding stories that could have been damaging to then-candidate Trump....

Meet Haiti's founding father, whose black revolution was too radical for Thomas Jefferson

Written by Julia Gaffield, Assistant Professor of History, Georgia State University

A statue in Port-au-Pirnce honors Jean-Jacques Dessalines' legacy as a Haitian revolutionary. Now, a renamed Brooklyn street does, too.AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

Crowds cheered as local lawmakers on August 18 unveiled a street sign showing that Rogers Avenue in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn would now be called Jean-Jacques Dessalines Boulevard,...

Math shows how DNA twists, turns and unzips

Written by Mariel Vazquez, Professor of Mathematics, University of California, Davis

DNA knot as seen under the electron microscope.Javier Arsuaga, CC BY-ND

If you’ve ever seen a picture of a DNA molecule, you probably saw it in its famous B-form: two strands coiling around each other in a right-handed fashion to form a double helix. But did you know that DNA can change its shape?

DNA molecules, which carry the genetic code of...

Anorexia more stubborn to treat than previously believed, analysis shows

Written by Stuart Murray, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco

People with anorexia nervosa often see themselves as overweight when in fact they are not. This image depicts a young, thin woman who sees herself as larger than she is.Tatyana Dzemileva/Shutterstock.com

Anorexia nervosa is a psychiatric illness that primarily effects young people during their adolescence. While anorexia is relatively uncommon,...

Should we scoff at the idea of love at first sight?

Written by James Kuzner, Associate Professor of English, Brown University

Jules Salles-Wagner's 1898 painting 'Romeo and Juliet.'Wikimedia Commons

For a lecture course I teach at Brown University called “Love Stories,” we begin at the beginning, with love at first sight.

To its detractors, love at first sight must be an illusion – the wrong term for what is simply infatuation, or a way to sugarcoat...

What teenagers need to know about cybersecurity

Written by Sanjay Goel, Professor of Information Technology Management, University at Albany, State University of New York

Everyone's using technology – but they're not all as safe as they could be.Akhenaton Images/Shutterstock.com

Now that school is back in session, many high schoolers have new phones, new computers and new privileges for using their devices – and new responsibilities too. High schoolers today are more technology-savvy than average adults....

US prisoners' strike is reminder how commonplace inmate labor is – and that it may run afoul of the law

Written by Ruben J. Garcia, Professor of Law, Co-Director of UNLV Workplace Law Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Prisoners in 17 U.S. states went on strike on Aug. 21 by refusing to eat or work to call attention to a number of troubling issues, including dilapidated facilities, harsh sentences and other aspects of mass incarceration in America.

As we approach Labor Day, the strike places a spotlight on the questionable practice of putting prisoners to work...

This 19th-century argument over federal support for Christianity still resonates

Written by David Mislin, Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University

President Donald Trump with pastor Paula White during a dinner for evangelical leaders in the White House, on Aug. 27, 2018.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Since taking office, President Trump and his administration have strongly championed religious liberty, but only of a particular kind. At this week’s White House dinner for evangelical leaders,...

Cafeteros en Colombia luchan por adaptarse a un clima cambiante

Written by Jessica Eise, Ross Fellow in the Brian Lamb School of Communication Doctoral Program, Purdue University

El fértil y montañoso terreno del eje cafetero de Colombia sufre el tremendo impacto de los cambios climáticos, como implacables tormentas y más altas temperaturas.Eddy Milfort/flickr, CC BY-SA, CC BY , CC BY

En la región cafetera de Risaralda, Colombia, pequeños arbustos se alinean a lo largo de la...

Teaching the public more science likely won't boost support for funding, but sparking their curiosity might

Written by Matthew Motta, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Science of Science Communication, University of Pennsylvania

Kindling interest might be better than filling people with facts.Chris Nguyen/Unsplash, CC BY

After 19 months without a director, the Trump administration recently tapped meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier to lead the the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy. Perhaps surprisingly, given the administration’s previous...