The Conversation

Could coal ash be a viable source of rare-earth metals?

Written by Saptarshi Das, Graduate Research Assistant in Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

Is more than waste stored in this pile of coal ash?AP Photo/Steve Helber

Rare-earth elements, including neodymium and yttrium, are not actually rare – more common, in fact, in the Earth’s crust than copper and tin. But, because they are scattered widely, and hard to separate from their surrounding ores, mining and refining them is...

Delacroix at the Met: A retrospective that evokes today's turmoil

Written by Claire Black McCoy, Professor of Art History, Columbus State University

Eugène Delacroix's 'Self-Portrait in a Green Vest' (1837).Wikimedia Commons

I’m an art historian and professor who studies and teaches French Romantic art. So when I was in France this past summer, I made sure to see the Louvre’s retrospective exhibition of French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix.

In the galleries, I...

Battles over patriotism, Pledge of Allegiance in schools span a century

Written by Randall Curren, Professor of Philosophy, University of Rochester

Americans have long differed over whether patriotism should be pushed in their nation's schools.vepar5/www.shutterstock.com

When a California school principal called controversial quarterback Colin Kaepernick an “anti-American thug” for his protests during the national anthem at NFL football games, passions were inflamed anew over...

Ground-level ozone continues to damage health, even at low levels

Written by Jamie T. Mullins, Assistant Professor of Resource Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

A study finds that higher ozone levels correlate with slower performance times for college endurance athletes.Pavel1964

Ground-level ozone is one of six major pollutants regulated nationally under the Clean Air Act. It is not directly emitted, but instead forms in the atmosphere through reactions between other pollutants from cars, power plants and...

Death count debates overshadow the real story: Hurricane Maria was partly a human-made disaster

Written by Morten Wendelbo, Research Fellow, American University

Last September, President Donald Trump told Puerto Ricans they should be grateful Hurricane Maria had not caused a “real catastrophe like Katrina.”

However, mounting evidence now reveals the death toll for Maria far surpasses initial estimates. New research puts the number close to 3,000, adjusted up from just a few dozen when the...

Study shows BPA substitutes may cause same health issues as the original

Written by Patricia Hunt, Professor of Molecular Biosciences, Washington State University

Many plastics that used BPA have now replaced it with substitutes like BPS, a related molecule that may have just as many health issues.skhunda/Shutterstock.com

The credibility of scientific findings hinges on their reproducibility. As a scientist, it is therefore disastrous when you are unable to replicate your own findings. Our laboratory has...

Why hurricane forecasters can’t ‘politicize’ storm warnings even if they wanted to

Written by David Titley, Professor of Practice in Meteorology, Professor of International Affairs & Director Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk, Pennsylvania State University

Rising tides move closer to the dunes in Kill Devil Hills, N.C., Sept. 13, 2018, as Hurricane Florence approaches the east coast. AP Photo/Gerry Broome

Dr. Marshall Shepherd of the University of Georgia famously talks about “climate zombie myths”: No matter how many times you slay them, they keep coming back.

In 2016 conservative news...

Miles de expertos en salud mental coinciden en el diagnóstico: Donald Trump es un peligro

Written by Bandy X. Lee, Assistant Clinical Professor, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University

El nuevo libro del periodista Bob Woodward, “Fear” (Miedo), describe un “colapso nervioso de la presidencia de Trump”. A principios de este año, “Fire and Fury” (Fuego y furia) de Michael Wolff ofreció una perspectiva similar.

Una columna de opinión en The New York Times firmada por un...

After a century, insulin is still expensive – could DIYers change that?

Written by Jenna E. Gallegos, Postdoctoral Researcher in Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado State University

Miniature biomanufacturing kits like this prototype could revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry.Amino Labs, CC BY-ND

Soon after Federick Banting discovered that insulin could be used to treat diabetes in 1921, he sold the patent to the University of Toronto for about a dollar. Banting received the Nobel prize because his discovery meant a...

For centuries, anonymous insider accounts have chipped away at ruling regimes – and sometimes toppled them

Written by Rachel Carnell, Professor of English, Cleveland State University

Copies of Bob Woodward's 'Fear: Trump in the White House' are displayed for sale at a Costco in Virginia.AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

Bob Woodward’s new book, “Fear: Trump in the White House,” seems to contain scant new information.

Like Michael Wolff’s “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House,” it...