The Conversation

DOGE threat: How government data would give an AI company extraordinary power

Written by Allison Stanger, Distinguished Endowed Professor, Middlebury

Elon Musk has simultaneous control of DOGE and his AI company xAI.AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

The Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has secured unprecedented access to at least seven sensitive federal databases, including those of the Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration. This access has sparked fears about cybersecu...

As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline

Written by Karen Dobos, Professor of Microbiology, Colorado State University

A microscopic view of _Mycobacterium tuberculosis_, the bacteria that causes tuberculosis.koto_feja/E+ via Getty Images

An outbreak of tuberculosis, or TB – a lung disease that is often accompanied by a hacking cough – began in January 2024 in Kansas City, Kansas, and two nearby counties and continues as of early March 2025. To date,...

What’s that microplastic? Advances in machine learning are making identifying plastics in the environment more reliable

Written by Ambuj Tewari, Professor of Statistics, University of Michigan

Microplastics are tiny bits of plastic that show up in the environment. Svetlozar Hristov/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Microplastics – the tiny particles of plastic shed when litter breaks down – are everywhere, from the deep sea to Mount Everest, and many researchers worry that they could harm human health.

I am a machine learning...

Why Muslim American nonprofits are taking steps to build trust with donors during Ramadan

Written by Shariq Siddiqui, Assistant Professor of Philanthropic Studies, Indiana University

Nearly 70% of American Muslims report giving Zakat, the obligatory charity, during Ramadan.NickyLloyd/E+ via Getty Images

As Muslims fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, an important aspect of their faith is their role as stewards of God on Earth. One way Muslims do this is through the practice of Zakat, an obligatory kind of charity that’s...

Death by firing squad set to resume in the US – but no matter the method, all means of execution come with a troubling history

Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College

The firing squad chair in which Brad Sigmon will be strapped before three volunteers shoot him dead.South Carolina Department of Corrections via AP

Barring any late developments, the U.S. is set to see its first execution by firing squad in 15 years on March 7, 2025.

Photos released by the South Carolina Department of Corrections suggest that the...

Philly’s street fentanyl contains an industrial chemical called BTMPS that’s an ingredient in plastic

Written by Karli Hochstatter, Research Scientist in Epidemiology and Health Services, Columbia University

Adulterants such as xylazine, medetomidine and now BTMPS are common in Philly's street fentanyl.Juan Pablo Pino/AFP via Getty Images

As much as half of the fentanyl sold on Philly’s streets contains an industrial chemical used in plastics manufacturing. That’s according to our November 2024 testing of fentanyl samples collected in...

The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’

Written by Seth Blumsack, Professor of Energy and Environmental Economics and International Affairs, Penn State

This Montana refinery processes crude oil imported from Canada.AP Photo/Matthew Brown

President Donald Trump’s declaration of a “national energy emergency” on his first day in office – and which he reiterated during his address to Congress on March 4, 2025 – might have seemed to echo other national emergencies, like...

Carolina wildfires followed months of weather whiplash, from drought to hurricane-fueled floods and back to drought

Written by Lauren Lowman, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wake Forest University

A hillside burns near Tryon, N.C., on March 3, 2025. Fire season here typically starts in late March or April.Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images

Scores of wildfires broke out across North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia in early March 2025 as strong winds, abnormally dry conditions and low humidity combined to kindle and spread the flames.

The...

The child boss in ‘Severance’ reveals a devastating truth about work and child-rearing in the 21st century

Written by Anna Mae Duane, Professor of English, University of Connecticut

Miss Huang is, in many ways, capitalism's ideal child.Apple TV+

In the second season of “Severance,” there’s an unexpected character: a child supervisor named Miss Huang, who matter-of-factly explains she’s a child “because of when I was born.”

Miss Huang’s deadpan response is more than just a clever quip....

Supreme Court sides with San Francisco, requiring EPA to set specific targets in water pollution permits

Written by Robin Kundis Craig, Professor of Law, University of Kansas

Swimmers gather at San Francisco's Ocean Beach for a Polar Plunge to start the new year, Jan. 1, 2025.Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court has limited how flexible the Environmental Protection Agency and states can be in regulating water pollution under the Clean Water Act in a ruling issued March 4, 2025. However, the...