The Conversation

The quiet threat inside 'internet of things' devices

Written by Charles T. Harry, Associate Research Professor of Public Policy; Director of Operations, Maryland Global Initiative in Cybersecurity; Senior Research Associate, Center for International and Security Studies, University of Maryland

They're small and well-connected, but how safe are 'internet of things' devices?BeeBright/Shutterstock.com

As Americans increasingly buy and install smart devices in their homes, all those cheap interconnected devices create new security problems for individuals and society as a whole. The problem is compounded by businesses radically expanding the...

Calling it a 'war on science' has consequences

Written by John C. Besley, Ellis N. Brandt Professor of Public Relations, Michigan State University

How does the concept of science in the crosshairs affect opinions?gan chaonan/Shutterstock.comWhat happens when a cover boils a measured article down to this provocative headline?National Geographic

National Geographic’s March 2015 cover story provided a thoughtful discussion around the question of “Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt...

Federal workers begin to feel pain of shutdown as 800,000 lose their paychecks

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

Families are feeling the pinch of the government shutdown.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

President Donald Trump wants US$5.7 billion to fund a border wall to keep out undocumented immigrants and “criminals.” Democrats in Congress say the wall is a waste of money that wouldn’t solve any of America’s actual immigration programs.

Caught...

Virginia's uranium mining battle flips traditional views of federal and state power

Written by Cale Jaffe, Assistant Professor of Law and Director, Environmental and Regulatory Law Clinic, University of Virginia

The Supreme Court is likely to rule on the case by June.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The Supreme Court will decide in 2019 whether a Virginia law that bans uranium mining is preempted by the Atomic Energy Act, the U.S. law governing the processing and enrichment of nuclear material.

The case, Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren, will require the court...

Mapping the world's 'blue carbon' hot spots in coastal mangrove forests

Written by Robert Twilley, Professor of Oceanography and Coastal Science and Executive Director, Louisiana Sea Grant, Louisiana State University

Mangrove forest in Pichavaram, Tamil Nadu, India.VasuVR/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA

Human actions have boosted carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere to levels higher than any measured over the last 160,000 years. Rising concern over the risk of severe impacts from climate change is spurring research into ways in which ecosystems may mitigate...

The politics of fear: How fear goes tribal, allowing us to be manipulated

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

White nationalists clash with protesters at the Aug. 12, 2017 Charlottesville, Va. rally that turned deadly violent.Steve Helber/AP Photo

Fear is arguably as old as life. It is deeply ingrained in the living organisms that have survived extinction through billions of years of evolution. Its roots are deep in our core psychological and biological...

The forgotten legacy of gay photographer George Platt Lynes

Written by Rebecca Fasman, Manager of Traveling Exhibitions at the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University

A self-portrait of George Platt Lynes from 1952. Gelatin silver print, 7-5/8 × 9 in. From the Collections of the Kinsey Institute, Indiana University. © Estate of George Platt Lynes.

From the late 1920s until his death in 1955, George Platt Lynes was one of the world’s most successful commercial and fine art photographers.

His work...

How a government shutdown affects the economy

Written by Scott R. Baker, Assistant Professor of Finance, Northwestern University

Federal employees rally to call for an end to the partial government shutdown.AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Parts of the federal government have been closed since midnight on Dec. 22, making it the second-longest shutdown on record. It’s also the third since President Donald Trump took office.

The immediate and most visible impact of a...

Hearing hate speech primes your brain for hateful actions

Written by Arthur Glenberg, Professor of Psychology, Arizona State University

Inflammatory words can prime a mind.Elijah O'Donnell/Unsplash, CC BY

A mark on a page, an online meme, a fleeting sound. How can these seemingly insignificant stimuli lead to acts as momentous as participation in a racist rally or the massacre of innocent worshippers? Psychologists, neuroscientists, linguists and philosophers are developing a new...