The Conversation

Do implicit bias trainings on race improve health care? Not yet – but incorporating the latest science can help hospitals treat all patients equitably

Written by Nao Hagiwara, Professor of Public Health Sciences, Director of the Program on Health Disparities and Community Engagement Research, University of Virginia

Prejudice and stereotyping can negatively affect patient-provider communication.FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

There is increasing evidence that implicit bias – non-conscious attitudes toward specific groups – is a source of racial inequities in certain aspects of health care, and lawmakers are taking note.

Since the tragic murder of...

Nearsightedness is at epidemic levels – and the problem begins in childhood

Written by Andrew Herbert, Professor of Psychology, Visual Perception, Rochester Institute of Technology

Nearsightedness is also known as myopia.Witthaya Prasongsin/Moment via Getty Images

Myopia, or the need for corrected vision to focus or see objects at a distance, has become a lot more common in recent decades. Some even consider myopia, also known as nearsightedness, an epidemic.

Optometry researchers estimate that about half of the global...

Gender-nonconforming ancient Romans found refuge in community dedicated to goddess Cybele

Written by Tina Chronopoulos, Associate Professor of Middle Eastern and Ancient Mediterranean Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York

A relief showing a Gallus making sacrifices to the goddess Cybele and Attis.Saiko via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

A Vatican declaration, the “Infinite Dignity,” has brought renewed attention to how religions define and interpret gender and gender roles.

Approved by the pope on March 25, 2024, the Vatican declaration asserts the...

For millions of Americans, high-speed internet is unavailable or unaffordable − a telecommunications expert explains how to bring broadband to the places that need it the most

Written by Christopher Ali, Pioneers Chair in Telecommunications & Professor of Telecommunications, Penn State

Broadband is noticeably missing in rural, remote or Indigenous areas.Grant Faint/The Image Bank via Getty Images

Millions of Americans still don’t have access to high-speed internet. Christopher Ali, a professor of telecommunications at Penn State University, discusses who lacks access to broadband and how the federal government – with...

Senate approves nearly $61B of Ukraine foreign aid − here’s why it helps the US to keep funding Ukraine

Written by Tatsiana Kulakevich, Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida

Flags for the United States and Ukraine billow outside of the Capitol building on April 23, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Senate overwhelmingly approved a US$95.3 billion foreign aid funding package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan on April 23, 2024, following months of political infighting that stalled the bill in the House of...

Supreme Court appears open to Starbucks’ claims in labor-organizing case

Written by Michael Z. Green, Professor of Law and Director, Workplace Law Program, Texas A&M University

More than 400 Starbucks shops have voted to join a union so far.AP Photo/Joshua Bessex

What factors must a court consider when the National Labor Relations Board requests an order requiring an employer to rehire terminated workers before the completion of unfair labor practice proceedings?

That’s the central question that the Supreme Court...

Should family members be in charge of family businesses? We analyzed 175 studies to understand when having a family CEO pays off

Written by Vitaliy Skorodziyevskiy, Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship, University of Louisville

From Hermes to Smuckers to the fictional Waystar Royco of HBO’s “Succession,” family businesses often choose their CEOs from the ranks of kin. But is this a good business decision? As researchers who study entrepreneurship and management, we wanted to know whether keeping leadership in the family pays off for businesses. So we...

What you eat could alter your unborn children and grandchildren’s genes and health outcomes

Written by Nathaniel Johnson, Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of North Dakota

The relatively new discipline of epigenetics explores how diet and nutrition can affect not only our own health but that of future generations.Drazen Zigic/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Within the last century, researchers’ understanding of genetics has undergone a profound transformation.

Genes, regions of DNA that are largely responsible for...

Can states prevent doctors from giving emergency abortions, even if federal law requires them to do so? The Supreme Court will decide

Written by Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Demonstrators protest outside the Supreme Court building shortly before the court heard arguments about mifepristone on March 26, 2024.Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

Hospitals across the country have long operated under the same federal law that says they must treat and stabilize all patients when they have a medical...

Teacher lawsuits over forced grade inflation won’t fix unfair grading – here’s what could

Written by Laura Link, Associate Professor of Teaching and Leadership, University of North Dakota

Some teachers are resisting efforts to give students grades they believe they haven't earned. skynesher via Getty Images

After refusing to give some students grades they hadn’t earned, high school chemistry teacher Toni Ognibene sued the Clovis Unified School District in California for allegedly retaliating against her. The lawsuit was filed...