The Conversation

Happiness in poorer countries does not follow the typical U-shaped curve − people are often happiest in middle age

Written by Michael Gurven, Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Scholars have long assumed happiness was like a U-shaped curve − which looks a bit like a smile. Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images

Happiness over one’s lifetime has been popularly described as looking like a U-shaped curve: The joys of youth are followed by the challenges of our 20s and 30s before an upswing later in life that...

Federal threats against local officials who don’t cooperate with immigration orders could be unconstitutional − Justice Antonin Scalia ruled against similar plans

Written by Claire B. Wofford, Associate Professor of Political Science, College of Charleston

A fundamental tension exists between state and federal power in the United States that has not been resolved.Vladstudioraw via iStock/Getty Images Plus

President Donald Trump has begun to radically change how the U.S. government handles immigration, from challenging long-held legal concepts about who gets citizenship to using the military to...

I study democracy worldwide − here’s how Texas is eroding human rights, free expression and civil liberties

Written by Katie Scofield, Assistant Instructional Professor in Political Science, Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Everything is bigger in Texas, except maybe its democracy.Luis Diaz Devesa/Moment via Getty

While concerns about the future of American democracy dominate headlines worldwide, millions of Texans are already seeing a rapid decline in democratic standards.

In December 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York doctor for prescribing...

Why does it hurt when you get a scrape? A neuroscientist explains the science of pain

Written by Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, Associate Professor & Associate Director, Pain Research & Intervention Center Of Excellence, University of Florida

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

“How come you feel pain when you fall and get a scrape?” – Tillman, age 9, Asheville, North Carolina

Nobody likes to feel pain, but it’s something every person will...

How does raw water compare to tap water? A microbiologist explains why the risks outweigh the benefits

Written by Bill Sullivan, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University

Water that comes straight from natural sources, dubbed “raw water,” is gaining popularity. Raw water advocates reject public water supplies, including tap water, because they don’t enjoy the taste or believe it’s unsafe and depleted of vital minerals.

On the surface, raw water might seem alluring – the natural...

Why government can’t make America ‘healthier’ by micromanaging groceries purchased with SNAP benefits

Written by Benjamin Chrisinger, Assistant Professor of Community Health, Tufts University

More than 41 million Americans use SNAP benefits to buy groceries.Brandon Bell/Getty Images

President Donald Trump’s pick for director of the Health and Human Services Department, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has announced a bold plan. He wants to “Make America Healthy Again.”

Kennedy’s strategy has gotten a lot of attention for...

Why Trump’s tariffs can’t solve America’s fentanyl crisis

Written by Rodney Coates, Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, Miami University

Americans consume more illicit drugs per capita than anyone else in the world; about 6% of the U.S. population uses them regularly.

One such drug, fentanyl – a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine – is the leading reason U.S. overdose deaths have surged in recent years. While the rate of fentanyl...

Assad’s fall opens window for Syrian refugees to head home − but for many, it won’t be an easy decision

Written by Kelsey Norman, Fellow for the Middle East, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University

For more than a decade, Syrians have been the world’s largest refugee population.

More than 6 million Syrians have fled the country since 2011, when an uprising against the regime of Bashar Assad transformed into a 13-year civil war. Most ended up in neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt, while a sizable...

‘Sorry, I didn’t get that’: AI misunderstands some people’s words more than others

Written by Roberto Rey Agudo, Research Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Dartmouth College

Speech recognition systems are less accurate for women and Black people, among other demographics.Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock via Getty Images

The idea of a humanlike artificial intelligence assistant that you can speak with has been alive in many people’s imaginations since the release of “Her,” Spike Jonze’s 2013 film about...

Norovirus, aka the winter vomiting bug, is on the rise – an infectious disease expert explains the best ways to stay safe

Written by William Schaffner, Professor of preventive medicine, health policy, infectious diseses, Vanderbilt University

Norovirus is accompanied by abdominal pain, diarrhea and explosive vomiting.Alla Bielikova/Moment via Getty Images

The highly contagious norovirus – popularly known as “stomach flu” or the “winter vomiting bug” – is now surging through the U.S.. The number of outbreaks is up significantly over previous years,...