The Conversation

The Large Hadron Collider gets reset and refreshed each year – a CERN physicist explains how the team uses subatomic splashes to restart the experiments

Written by Riccardo Maria Bianchi, Particle Physicist working at CERN on the ATLAS experiment, Research Associate, University of Pittsburgh

Particles rush through a long tunnel in the Large Hadron Collider.Maximilien Brice/CERN, CC BY-SA

When you push “start” on your microwave or computer, the device flips right on – but major physics experiments like the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN, don’t work that way....

America faces a power disconnection crisis amid dangerous heat: In 27 states, utilities can shut off electricity for nonpayment even in a heat wave

Written by Sanya Carley, Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning, University of Pennsylvania

When homes lose power, they lose cooling, too.Edmund Lowe Photography/Moment via Getty Images

Coast to coast, millions of Americans are experiencing sweltering temperatures this summer, with seemingly little relief in sight. For people who struggle to access or afford air conditioning, the rising need for cooling is a growing crisis.

An alarming...

Social media and political violence – how to break the cycle

Written by Richard Forno, Principal Lecturer in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

With effort, it's possible to shift the national discourse and reduce political violence.Gajus/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, added more fuel to an already fiery election season. In this case, political violence was carried out against the party that is most often found espousing it. The...

Nutrition Facts labels have a complicated legacy – a historian explains the science and politics of translating food into information

Written by Xaq Frohlich, Associate Professor of History of Technology, Auburn University

The Nutrition Facts label is designed to meet shifting dietary trends and public health goals.NoDerog/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The Nutrition Facts label, that black and white information box found on nearly every packaged food product in the U.S. since 1994, has recently become an icon for consumer transparency.

From Apple’s...

Target just became the latest US retailer to stop accepting payment by checks. Why have so many stores given up on them?

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor of Markets, Public Policy and Law, Boston University

Can you still use a check to make purchases? In increasing numbers of stores across the U.S., the answer is “no.” The large retailer Target stopped accepting checks on July 15, 2024. It follows decisions a decade earlier by supermarket chains Whole Foods and Aldi to no longer accept this form of payment.

Target said it was phasing out...

Trump-appointed federal judge rules Trump’s classified document case is unconstitutional – here’s how special counsels have been authorized before

Written by Joshua Holzer, Assistant Professor, Westminster College

In this handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a storage room at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. U.S. Department of Justice/Getty Image

The federal judge presiding over the classified documents case against former President Donald Trump dismissed the case on July 15, 2024.

U.S....

How to protect your home from wildfires – here’s what fire prevention experts say is most important

Written by Bryce Young, Graduate Student Researcher, Fire Center, University of Montana

Extreme heat has already made 2024 a busy wildfire year. More acres had burned by mid-July than in all of 2023, and several communities had lost homes to wildfires.

As fire season intensifies across the West, there are steps homeowners can take to make their homes less vulnerable to burning and increase the likelihood that firefighters can protect...

New research suggests estrogen and progesterone could play role in opioid addiction and relapse

Written by Jessica Loweth, Assistant Professor of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences, Rowan University

Neuroscientists are investigating how and when hormones affect the risk for relapse to prescription opioids.ArtistGNDphotography/E+ Collection via Getty Images

As opioid overdose deaths in the U.S. rose dramatically from 2014 to today, both Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey, cemented reputations as hotspots of the crisis.

In...

Trump’s assassination attempt reveals a major security breakdown – but doesn’t necessarily heighten the risk for political violence, a former FBI official explains

Written by Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign event on July 13, 2024.Associated Press

As investigators analyze what led 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to assassinate former president Donald Trump – and how Crooks was able to fire at the former president at a heavily...

Trump assassination attempt reveals a major security breakdown – but doesn’t necessarily heighten the risk for political violence, a former FBI official explains

Written by Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice of Public Policy, University of Michigan

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign event on July 13, 2024.Associated Press

As investigators analyze what led 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks to try to assassinate former president Donald Trump – and how Crooks was able to fire at the former president at a heavily...