The Conversation

Venus is losing water faster than previously thought – here’s what that could mean for the early planet’s habitability

Written by Eryn Cangi, Research Scientist in Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

An artist's illustration of hydrogen disappearing from Venus. Aurore Simonnet/ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics/ University of Colorado Boulder

Today, the atmosphere of our neighbor planet Venus is as hot as a pizza oven and drier than the driest desert on Earth – but it wasn’t always that way.

Billions of years ago, Venus...

Neediest areas are being shortchanged on government funds − even with programs designed to benefit poor communities

Written by Eric Stokan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

If you live in one of the most economically deprived neighborhoods in your city, you might think the government is directing a smaller share of public funds to your community. And you would typically be right.

This is the case even with programs that have been specifically designed to benefit low-income communities. Over the long run, federal funds...

Trump promises to deport all undocumented immigrants, resurrecting a 1950s strategy − but it didn’t work then and is less likely to do so now

Written by Katrina Burgess, Professor of Political Economy, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University

A U.S. Border Patrol officer shows how he found an undocumented Mexican immigrant under the hood of a car along the U.S.-Mexican border in March 1954.Associated Press

While campaigning in Iowa last September, former President Donald Trump made a promise to voters if he were elected again: “Following the Eisenhower model, we will carry out the...

Paying caregivers more could boost Nebraska’s economy − new research

Written by Susan Rebecca Reay, Director and Assistant Professor of Social Work, University of Nebraska Omaha

There's a shortage of workers willing to take jobs as paid caregivers.ktaylorg/E+ via Getty Images

Paid caregivers foster independence and improve quality of life for people with all kinds of disabilities, many of whom need help getting dressed, preparing meals, showering and dealing with other activities of daily living.

There are over 10,000 paid...

Unlicensed teachers now dominate new teacher hires in rural Texas schools

Written by James P. Van Overschelde, Associate professor of secondary education, Texas State University

English language learners are among the most likely to be assigned to unqualified teachers in Texas.Klaus Vedfelt via Getty Images

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015 eliminated the federal requirement that teachers be highly qualified to teach. This regulatory freedom, combined with a shortage of trained and qualified teachers,...

The number of religious ‘nones’ has soared, but not the number of atheists – and as social scientists, we wanted to know why

Written by Christopher P. Scheitle, Associate Professor of Sociology, West Virginia University

Fewer people are affiliated with religion in the United States, but that hardly means that they're all atheists.Anthony Bradshaw/Photographer's Choice RF via Getty Images

The number of individuals in the United States who do not identify as being part of any religion has grown dramatically in recent years, and “the nones” are now larger...

‘Hidden mother’ photos don’t erase moms − rather, they reveal the labor and love that support the child

Written by Andrea Kaston Tange, Professor of English, Macalester College

While the mother's face isn't fully visible, the supportive arms encircling her child are.© Andrea Kaston Tange. All images are from the author’s private collection

Collectors relish so-called “hidden mother photographs” as historical oddities.

These 19th-century images contain very young children held still by half-obscured...

I analyzed 3,356 signs to see how language use is changing in three Latino neighborhoods in Philly

Written by Daniel Guarin, Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant in Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Temple University

A collage of signs collected by the author in various Philadelphia neighborhoods.Photos by Daniel Guarin/Photo illustration by Katrina Aman, CC BY-NC-ND

Signs written in Spanish are becoming less common along North Philadelphia’s Golden Block, or El Bloque de Oro – which runs along North Fifth Street from Lehigh Avenue to Allegheny...

What are nanoplastics? An engineer explains concerns about particles too small to see

Written by Mohan Qin, Assistant Professor oif Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison

You can't see them, but there likely are nanoplastics in this Mediterranean seawater.Lisa Schaetzle, Moment, via Getty Images

It’s become common to read that microplastics – little bits of plastic, smaller than a pencil eraser – are turning up everywhere and in everything, including the ocean, farmland, food and human bodies. Now...

Houston’s flood problems offer lessons for cities trying to adapt to a changing climate

Written by Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, Professor Emeritus of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan

Heavy downpours and flash flooding forced evacuations in parts of the Houston area in early May 2024.Texas Department of Transportation via AP

Scenes from the Houston area looked like the aftermath of a hurricane in early May after a series of powerful storms flooded highways and neighborhoods and sent rivers over their banks north of the city.

Hundr...