The Conversation

Supreme Court to rule on your First Amendment right to silence

Written by Robert A. Sedler, Distinguished Professor of Law, Wayne State University

The justices have previously ruled that the government cannot compel people to speak its message or associate with ideas they do not hold.www.shutterstock.com

New Hampshire’s state motto “Live free or die” is, for many residents, a stirring evocation of the independent spirit of colonial America.

But not all New Hampshirites agree...

Trump's deregulatory record doesn't include much actual deregulation

Written by Stuart Shapiro, Associate Professor and Director, Public Policy Program, Rutgers University

Cutting red tape is a high priority, but the execution hasn't always led to results.AP Photo/Evan Vucci

One year ago, the Trump administration’s deregulatory push was in full swing. The administration was preparing a proposed rule to repeal the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulation, and to delay and repeal the restriction of methane...

Why the betrayal of Bill Cosby, Eric Schneiderman and other influential men is deeper than you think

Written by Hilary Jerome Scarsella, PhD Candidate, Vanderbilt University

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at a news conference in New York in 2016.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on Monday, May 7, hours after The New Yorker published an article in which four women accused him of physical abuse.

This came soon after the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and...

Chemotherapy timing could influence how well the treatment works

Written by Yanyan Yang, Postdoctoral Researcher in Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

By stu120/Shutterstock.com

Most living organisms – animals, plants, fungi, and even some types of bacteria – have an internal clock, a circadian clock that orchestrates the biochemical, physiological and behavioral functions in each cell according to a 24-hour day-night cycle. This clock regulates sleeping and waking, hormone levels,...

Paraguay's new president recalls an old dictatorship

Written by Ignacio González Bozzolasco, Professor of Comparative Politics, Universidad Católica de Asunción

Mario Abdo Benítez, or 'Marito,' as he's known, is the son of the private secretary to Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner. Reuters/Andres Stapff

Leer en español.

Almost three weeks after Paraguayans went to the polls to vote for president, vice-president, Congress and governors, the April 22 election results remain controversial.

Se...

No, the war in Afghanistan isn't a hopeless stalemate

Written by Robert M. Cassidy, Chamberlain Project Teaching Fellow, Wesleyan University

Afghan Northern Alliance fighters in 2001. Almost two decades later, the war continues.AP Photo/David Guttenfelder

The war in Afghanistan has become so protracted that it warrants the epithet the “Groundhog Day War.”

Fighting has gone on for nearly 17 years, with U.S. troops in Afghanistan seven years longer than the Soviets were.

The...

4 ways 'internet of things' toys endanger children

Written by Marie-Helen Maras, Associate Professor, Department of Security, Fire and Emergency Management, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York

Are toys sharing too much information on the internet?mhong84/Shutterstock.com

As Amazon releases an Echo Dot smart-home device aimed at children, it’s entering a busy and growing marketplace. More than one-third of U.S. homes with children has at least one “internet of things” connected toy – like a cuddly creature who can...

Sugars in mother's milk help shape baby's microbiome and ward off infection

Written by Steven Townsend, Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Vanderbilt University

Sugar mama? Researchers are teasing out the benefits of various molecules in human milk.Stefan Malmesjö, CC BY

While living in a mother’s womb, cushioned by amniotic fluid and protected from the outside world, babies have only minimal exposure to microorganisms like bacteria and viruses. Shortly after birth, a newborn’s collection...

A hangover pill? Tests on drunk mice show promise

Written by Yunfeng Lu, Professor Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles

Keep the buzz. Lose the hangover.By bogdanhoda/Shutterstock.com

“Civilization begins with distillation,” said William Faulkner, a writer and drinker. Although our thirst for alcohol dates back to the Stone Age, nobody has figured out a good way to deal with the ensuing hangover after getting drunk.

As a chemical engineering professor...

Avoid high student debt and dropping out by asking these 4 questions about any college

Written by Jake Murray, Faculty Director for Professional Education, BU School of Education, Boston University

High student debt levels and low salaries can make it difficult for graduates to get ahead.Burlingham/www.shutterstock.com

Even though for-profit colleges get a bad rap for being predatory and leaving students saddled with debt but no degree, a significant number of private nonprofit and public colleges have the same issues.

For example, a recent...