The Conversation

Supermassive black holes have masses of more than a million suns – but their growth has slowed as the universe has aged

Written by Fan Zou, Graduate Student in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Penn State

Most of the blue points in this sky survey image are accreting supermassive black holes emitting strong X-rays.Fan Zou (Penn State) and the XMM-SERVS Collaboration

Black holes are remarkable astronomical objects with gravity so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape them. The most gigantic ones, known as “supermassive” black...

As nativist politics surge across Europe, soccer’s ‘Euros’ showcase a more benign form of nationalism

Written by Peter Rutland, Professor of Government, Wesleyan University

Not your typical hooligans. Jose Breton/Anadolu via Getty Images

When nationalism combines with soccer in the stadiums and streets of Europe, it tends to not end well.

For decades, images of drunken fans adorned with nationalist symbols and flags fighting one another – or the police – have dogged the UEFA European Championship, a...

Immigrant moms feel unsafe and unheard when seeking pregnancy care – here’s how they’d improve Philly’s health care system

Written by Diana Montoya-Williams, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania

Misinformation -- such as that a person needs a passport to receive medical attention -- can make immigrant moms reluctant to interact with doctors and hospitals.Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/DigitalVision Collection via Getty Images

Immigrants make up nearly 16% of Philadelphia’s population of 1.6 million, according to a 2024 report from Pew...

Meteorites from Mars help scientists understand the red planet’s interior

Written by James Day, Professor of Geosciences, University of California, San Diego

A Martian meteorite in cross-polarized light. This meteorite is dominated by the mineral olivine. Each grain is about half a millimeter across.James Day

Of the more than 74,000 known meteorites – rocks that fall to Earth from asteroids or planets colliding together – only 385 or so stones came from the planet Mars.

It’s not that...

Donald Trump wants to reinstate a spoils system in federal government by hiring political loyalists regardless of competence

Written by Sidney Shapiro, Professor of Law, Wake Forest University

Then-President Donald Trump standing underneath a portrait of Andrew Jackson in November 2017. Oliver Contreras-Pool/Getty Images)

If elected to serve a second term, Donald Trump says he supports a plan that would give him the authority to fire as many as 50,000 civil servants and replace them with members of his political party loyal to him. Under...

Odds are that gambling on the Biden/Trump competition will further reduce the presidential campaign to a horse race

Written by Allison M. Prasch, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sports betting companies offer wagers on who will clinch a party's presidential nomination, which candidate will win the election and much more.kmaassrock/E+/Getty Images

Speculation about President Joe Biden’s future as the Democratic nominee for U.S. president is seemingly everywhere: cable television, podcasts, social media, and –...

Will a market crash one day be pinned on the Supreme Court? An accounting expert explains why recent rulings have him worried

Written by Paul Griffin, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Management, University of California, Davis

In two major rulings this past month, the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed the authority of federal agencies to draft and enforce policies that affect the nation’s financial health. One important agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, took a particularly big hit.

Speaking as someone who has researched financial shenanigans for almost 50...

Abortion restrictions harm mental health, with low-income women hardest hit

Written by Brad Greenwood, Professor, George Mason University

Abortion-rights supporters line up at a busy intersection in Scottsdale, Ariz. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

People living in states that enacted tighter abortion restrictions in the wake of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision, which returned regulation of abortion access to state legislatures, are more likely to report...

Trump’s raised fist - how one gesture can be used by Republicans, socialists, fascists, white supremacists and Black athletes

Written by Roger J. Kreuz, Associate Dean and Professor of Psychology, University of Memphis

Donald Trump raises his fist during a NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, 2024, in Concord, N.C. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

As former President Donald Trump exited the building where he had been found guilty of 34 felonies on May 30, 2024, he waved and raised a clenched fist to those who had gathered outside.

He had made the same...

AI supercharges data center energy use – straining the grid and slowing sustainability efforts

Written by Ayse Coskun, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University

A data center in Ashburn, Va., the heart of so-called Data Center Alley.AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

The artificial intelligence boom has had such a profound effect on big tech companies that their energy consumption, and with it their carbon emissions, have surged.

The spectacular success of large language models such as ChatGPT has helped fuel this...