The Conversation

As life expectancies rise, so are expectations for healthy aging

Written by Marcia G. Ory, Regents and Distinguished Professor, Associate Vice President for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives, Texas A&M University

Healthy aging is a new norm, researchers say, with older adults having a new name and attitude.By YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.com

The Fountain of Youth may still be a myth, but a longer life expectancy is now a reality.

In fact, life expectancy at birth in the U.S. has risen by more than 30 years in barely more than a century to a current 78.6...

Thirty years on, why 'The Satanic Verses' remains so controversial

Written by Myriam Renaud, Ph.D. Candidate in Religious Thought and Ethics, University of Chicago

One of the most controversial books in recent literary history, Salman Rushdie’s “The Satanic Verses,” was published three decades ago this month and almost immediately set off angry demonstrations all over the world, some of them violent.

A year later, in 1989, Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, issued a fatwa,...

Human-caused climate change severely exposes the US national parks

Written by Patrick Gonzalez, Associate Adjunct Professor, University of California, Berkeley

Trees have died in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo., as climate change has intensified bark beetle infestations and drought.Patrick Gonzalez, CC BY-ND

Human-caused climate change is disrupting ecosystems and people’s lives around the world. It is melting glaciers, increasing wildfires, and shifting vegetation across vast landscapes. These...

The weird world of one-sided objects

Written by David Gunderman, Ph.D. student in Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado

A Mobius strip.cosma/shutterstock.com

You have most likely encountered one-sided objects hundreds of times in your daily life – like the universal symbol for recycling, found printed on the backs of aluminum cans and plastic bottles.

This mathematical object is called a Mobius strip. It has fascinated environmentalists, artists, engineers,...

The blissful and bizarre world of ASMR

Written by Craig Richard, Professor of Biopharmaceutical Sciences, Shenandoah University

Watching for the sweet, relaxing brain tingles.skyNext/Shutterstock.com

Have you ever stumbled upon an hourlong online video of someone folding napkins? Or maybe crinkling paper, sorting a thimble collection or pretending to give the viewer an ear exam? They’re called ASMR videos and millions of people love them and consider watching them a...

Spray-on antennas unlock communication of the future

Written by Yury Gogotsi, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University

Spraying an antenna onto a flat surface.Drexel University Nanomaterials Lab, CC BY-ND

Hear the word “antenna” and you might think about rabbit ears on the top of an old TV or the wire that picks up radio signals for a car. But an antenna can be much smaller – even invisible. No matter its shape or size, an antenna is crucial for...

¿Desea donar el cambio de la compra? Pedir donaciones benéficas en el supermercado es un buen negocio

Written by Benjamin Lawrence, Aziz Hashim Professor of Franchise Entrepreneurship and Associate Professor of Hospitality, Georgia State University

¿Quiere hacer una donación?Shutterstock.com/Jacob Lund

El sistema de donaciones de dinero a varias organizaciones benéficas, a través de supermercados y farmacias, se está convirtiendo en un gran negocio.

Según Enga...

Why the unemployment rate will never get to zero percent – but it could still go a lot lower

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Adjunct associate professor, Boston University

The U.S. Labor Department continues to release wonderful news for U.S. workers.

Just this week, on Sept. 20, the agency said that the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits reached the lowest level in almost 49 years. Unemployment benefits track changes in the number of workers who are laid off by companies. When few companies lay off...

Paper-based electronics could fold, biodegrade and be the basis for the next generation of devices

Written by Seokheun Choi, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Binghamton University, State University of New York

A foldable, biodegradable battery based on paper and bacteria opens a new opportunity in electronics.Seokheun Choi/Binghamton University, CC BY-ND

It seems like every few months there’s a new cellphone, laptop or tablet that is so exciting people line up around the block to get their hands on it. While the perpetual introduction of new, slight...

Shrinking the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a disaster for paleontology

Written by P. David Polly, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Biology, and Anthropology, Indiana University

Landscape of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah, one of the most abundant fossil fields in the world.P. David Polly, 2018, CC BY-ND

In the early 1980s, paleontologists Jeff Eaton and Rich Cifelli started digging for fossils in one of the most inaccessible regions of the United States: the Kaiparowits Plateau of southern...