The Conversation

Can you pass this smell test?

Written by Steven D. Munger, Director, Center for Smell and Taste; Professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Florida

The smell of daffodils is a treat for most people, but some cannot experience the joy because they have lost their sense of smell. Mila Supinskaya Glashchenko/Shutterstock.com

Each of our senses gives us a unique view of our world. Our visual system detects parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, revealing movement, brightness and color, but also a...

I was an Exxon-funded climate scientist

Written by Katharine Hayhoe, Professor and Director, Climate Science Center, Texas Tech University

Exxon funded climate scientists while the bulk of its public-facing advertorials argued the science and cause of climate change was uncertain.AP Photo/Mark Humphrey

ExxonMobil’s deliberate attempts to sow doubt on the reality and urgency of climate change and their donations to front groups to disseminate false information about climate...

Dissecting Conor McGregor's steep odds in boxing showdown

Written by Bill Zimmerman, Lecturer, Department of Advertising and Public Relations, Pennsylvania State University

It seems to happen every few years: a boxing superfight briefly jolts the fringe sport back into the public consciousness.

But the latest mega match-up – between an undefeated boxer coming out of retirement and a celebrated mixed martial arts fighter who has never entered a professional boxing ring – is without precedent.

It’s...

Anti-vaccination beliefs don't follow the usual political polarization

Written by Charles McCoy, Assistant Professor of Sociology, SUNY Plattsburgh

Signs from a protest in 2015 against a California bill that prohibits parents from using a religious exemption as a reason to not vaccinate their children. The bill became law. AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli

When health officials learned that the 2015 measles outbreak was caused by clusters of unvaccinated children, Americans once more wanted to...

We should serve kids food in school, not shame

Written by Sarah Riggs Stapleton, Assistant Professor, Education Studies, College of Education, University of Oregon

All students deserve a healthy lunch when they go to school.Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com

For the past several years, reports have surfaced about the “shaming” of students for outstanding school meal debts. These students, often from low-income families, are being publicly humiliated because they have unpaid debt in their school meal...

The penny may be worthless, but let's keep it anyway

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Economist and Research Scientist, The Ohio State University

The 16th U.S. president has graced the penny since 1909.AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Governments have long waged a war on cash in an attempt to curb terrorism and tax evasion. Their focus has typically been on eliminating large denominations, like Europe’s €500 bill or India’s 1,000 rupee note.

Two U.S. lawmakers have a much smaller...

As climate change warms the Northeast, some snowshoe hares stay brown all year

Written by Duane Diefenbach, Adjunct Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Leader, Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, Pennsylvania State University

Denali National Park, Alaska.Tim Rains/NPS, CC BY

The quintessential image of a snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is a pure white bunny – although it is a hare, not a rabbit – nestled in powdery snow, gazing out from under the overhanging branches of a balsam fir. I can almost see my breath and hear sleigh bells just thinking about it.

Bu...

How noncompete clauses clash with US labor laws

Written by Raymond Hogler, Professor of Management, Colorado State University

Jimmy John's tried to stop its workers from toiling for other sandwich makers. AP Photo/David Goldman

Most Americans with jobs work “at-will”: Employers owe their employees nothing in the relationship and vice versa. Either party may terminate the arrangement at any time for a good or bad reason or none at all.

In keeping with that...

Arpaio pardon could encourage more civil rights violations

Written by Steven Mulroy, Law Professor in Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Election Law, University of Memphis

Then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is joined by Joe Arpaio at a campaign event.AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

President Donald Trump may pardon Joe Arpaio, the former Arizona sheriff who illegally used racial profiling to enforce immigration laws.

It’s true, Trump has the legal power to pardon pretty much anyone. But pardoning...

How quantum mechanics can change computing

Written by Jonathan Katz, Director, Maryland Cybersecurity Center; Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland

Looking inside a quantum computer.IBM Research, CC BY-ND

In early July, Google announced that it will expand its commercially available cloud computing services to include quantum computing. A similar service has been available from IBM since May. These aren’t services most regular people will have a lot of reason to use yet. But making...