The G20 summit of world leaders just finished two days of meetings, during which they focused primarily on the many ongoing fires threatening the global economy. These include the alleged “dumping” of Chinese steel on other nations, worsening climate change, cybersecurity and the fear of competitive devaluations.

But perhaps the biggest...

Do you love ideas, and care about how big data is transforming science and society? Or how mathematics can help solve social problems?

Are you adept at translating data into compelling graphics?

The Conversation US is looking for an editor to focus...

Might Georgia turn blue in the presidential race?

Polling in Georgia has the race as statistical dead heat. The Real Clear Politics average has the race with Trump at 44.3 percent and Hillary Clinton at 42.7 percent – Trump ahead by 1.6 percent.

In response, the Clinton campaign has sent additional funds to hire more field organizers in...

Tensions are again mounting between Russia and Ukraine.Dubiously claiming provocation, Russia has stationed 40,000 troops on the Ukrainian border. Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a full-scale invasion.

This hawkish Russian foreign policy is not new. The conflict has striking parallels to Russia’s short 2008 war with another...

Teeth have been big news lately. First, there was the issue of whether flossing really helps lower the risk for tooth decay and gingivitis.

And now, questions about how often we really need to get dental X-rays have made the news.

The bottom line is that, clinically, these are complex issues that can’t easily be reduced to a simple soundbite.

Ma...

Q: Why did the woman cross the road?

A: Who cares! What the hell is she doing out of the kitchen?

Q: Why hasn’t NASA sent a woman to the moon?

A: It doesn’t need cleaning yet!

These two jokes represent disparagement humor – any attempt to amuse through the denigration of a social group...

Children across the U.S. have now returned to school. Many of these children are going to schools with sworn police officers patrolling the hallways. These officers, usually called school resource officers, are placed in schools across the country to help maintain school safety.

Accordi...

Fifty years ago – on Sept. 8, 1966 – TV viewers were transfixed by the appearance on screen of a green-hued, pointy-eared alien called Spock. But beneath the makeup, actor Leonard Nimoy fretted that this would be the end of his promising career.

“How can I play a character without emotion?” he asked his boss, Gene...

A January 2015 Pew Research Center study found an alarming chasm between the views of scientists and the views of the public. Here is just a sampling:

87 percent of scientists accept that...

It’s back-to-school time in the United States, and for countless children across the nation, it’s also time to get back into the school garden.

For centuries, educators and philosophers have argued that garden-based learning improves children’s intelligence and boosts their personal health. In recent...