The Conversation

Opill, the first over-the-counter birth control pill, will be on shelves soon − here are some key things to know

Written by Sarah Lynch, Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Within weeks, for the first time in the U.S. consumers will be able to find a birth control pill on retail shelves. Bill Oxford/iStock via Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 approval of the first over-the-counter birth control pill, called Opill, broadened the options for people seeking to prevent pregnancy.

On March 4, 2024,...

April’s eclipse will mean interruptions in solar power generation, which could strain electrical grids

Written by Vahe Peroomian, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Solar panels in Brazil. AP Photo/Bruna Prado

During the most recent total solar eclipse visible in the U.S., on Aug. 21, 2017, the skies darkened as the Moon crossed in front of the Sun. It blocked out all sunlight – except for that from a golden ring visible around the Moon’s shape, called the corona. Not surprisingly, solar power...

Teenagers often know when their parents are having money problems − and that knowledge is linked to mental health challenges, new research finds

Written by Jamie Hanson, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh

Teens are more clued in to family finances than many people think.Olga Rolenko/Moment via Getty Images

When parents try to shield their kids from financial hardship, they may be doing them a favor: Teens’ views about their families’ economic challenges are connected to their mental health and behavior.

That’s the main finding of a...

Asthma meds have become shockingly unaffordable − but relief may be on the way

Written by Ana Santos Rutschman, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law

Its price will take your breath away.Brian Jackson/Getty Images

The price of asthma medication has soared in the U.S. over the past decade and a half.

The jump – in some cases from around a little over US$10 to almost $100 for an inhaler – has meant that patients in need of asthma-related products often struggle to buy them. Others...

Immune cells can adapt to invading pathogens, deciding whether to fight now or prepare for the next battle

Written by Kathleen Abadie, Ph.D. Candidate in Bioengineering, University of Washington

Understanding the flexibility of T cell memory can lead to improved vaccines and immunotherapies.Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

How does your immune system decide between fighting invading pathogens now or preparing to fight them in the future? Turns out, it can change its mind.

Every person has 10 million to 100 million unique...

What families need to know about how to safely store firearms at home

Written by Kerri Raissian, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Connecticut

Guns are the leading cause of death of children in the U.S.Laurent Hamels via Getty Images

For the past few years, guns have been identified as the leading cause of death for children in the United States.

There were 2,571 children age 1 to 17 who died in shootings in the U.S. in 2021, 68% more than the 1,531 that occurred in 2000.

To help reduce the...

UAW’s Southern strategy: Union revs up drive to get workers employed by foreign automakers to join its ranks

Written by Bob Bussel, Professor Emeritus of History and Labor Education, University of Oregon

A UAW supporter in 2017 outside a Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., ahead of a vote the union lost.AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Persuading Southern autoworkers to join a union remains one of the U.S. labor movement’s most enduring challenges, despite persistent efforts by the United Auto Workers union to organize this workforce.

To be sure, the UAW...

Rare access to hammerhead shark embryos reveals secrets of its unique head development

Written by Gareth J. Fraser, Associate Professor of Evolutionary Developmental Biology, University of Florida

The characteristic hammer-shaped head is just becoming visible in this image of an embryonic bonnethead shark. Scale bar = 1 cm.Steven Byrum and Gareth Fraser, Department of Biology, University of Florida

Scientists very rarely get access to most sharks, the development of their young or the nursery grounds where they grow. So seeing a hammerhead...

Centuries after Christine de Pizan wrote a book railing against misogyny, Taylor Swift is building her own ‘City of Ladies’

Written by Jill R. Fehleison, Professor of History and Interdisciplinary Studies, Quinnipiac University

In her work, Taylor Swift has taken inspiration from women of the past, including actress Clara Bow, socialite Rebekah Harkness and her grandmother Marjorie Finlay, who was an opera singer.

But sometimes I wonder what the 34-year-old pop star would think of the life and work of Italian-born French writer Christine de Pizan.

Back in the 15th...

Despite its big night at the Oscars, ‘Oppenheimer’ is a disappointment and a lost opportunity

Written by Naoko Wake, Professor of History, Michigan State University

The U.S. detonates an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll in Micronesia in the first underwater test of the device.Universal History Archive/Getty Images

With 13 Oscars nominations and seven wins – including best picture – “Oppenheimer” was the star of the 96th Academy Awards.

Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster, which told the...