The Conversation

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse

Written by Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe, Professor of Geology and Geophysics, Missouri University of Science and Technology

An electron microscope image, colorized, shows different structures of pollen grains, including sunflower, morning glory and primrose. Dartmouth Electron Microscope Facility

If you are sneezing this spring, you are not alone. Every year, plants release billions of pollen grains into the air, specks of male reproductive material that many of us...

Governors are leading the fight against climate change and deforestation around the world, filling a void left by presidents

Written by Mary Nichols, Distinguished Counsel for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, University of California, Los Angeles

Forests like the Amazon play vital roles in balancing the environment, from storing carbon to releasing oxygen. Silvestre Garcia-IntuitivoFilms/Stone/Getty Images

When the annual U.N. climate conference descends on the small Brazilian rainforest city of Belém in November 2025, it will be tempting to focus on the drama and disunity among...

Cutting HIV aid means undercutting US foreign and economic interests − Nigeria shows the human costs

Written by Kathryn Rhine, Associate Professor of General Internal Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A large number of children are born with HIV in Nigeria.Kristian Buus/Corbis News via Getty Images

A little over two decades ago, addressing Nigeria’s HIV crisis topped U.S. President George W. Bush’s priorities. Africa’s most populous nation had 3.5 million HIV cases, and the disease threatened to destabilize the region and ultima...

Tomato trade dispute between the US and Mexico is boiling over again – with 21% tariffs due in July

Written by Andrew Muhammad, Professor of Agriculture and Resource Economics, University of Tennessee

The country of origin – Mexico – is noted on the label of a package of Campari tomatoes for sale in the produce section of a Safeway grocery store on March 4, 2025, in Denver.AP Photo/David Zalubowski

Although technically they’re a fruit, tomatoes are one of the most-consumed vegetables, according to the U.S. Department of...

Leaders can promote gender equity without deepening polarization − here’s how

Written by Colleen Tolan, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Center for Women in Business, Rutgers University

Dialogue can make a difference.Pixelfit/E+/Getty Images

Americans largely agree that women have made significant gains in the workplace over the past two decades. But what about men? While many Americans believe women are thriving, over half believe men’s progress has stalled or even reversed.

To make matters more complex, recent research has...

Trump’s lifting of Syria sanctions is a win for Turkey, too – pointing to outsized role middle powers can play in regional affairs

Written by Hyeran Jo, Associate Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa meet in Turkey on April 11, 2025. TUR Presidency/ Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced while in Saudi Arabia on May 14, 2025, that the United States would lift sanctions on Syria. The turnaround was a huge victory for the...

Space tourism’s growth blurs the line between scientific and symbolic achievement – a tourism scholar explains how

Written by Betsy Pudliner, Associate Professor of Hospitality and Technology Innovation, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Blue Origin's NS-31 flight lifted off on April 14, 2025.Justin Hamel/Getty Images

On April 14, 2025, Blue Origin launched six women – Aisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyễn, Gayle King, Katy Perry, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sánchez – on a suborbital journey to the edge of space.

The headlines called it a historic moment for women in space...

Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis

Written by Eran Ben-Joseph, Professor of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

The U.S. Housing Corporation built nearly 300 homes in Bremerton, Wash., during World War I.National Archives

In 1918, as World War I intensified overseas, the U.S. government embarked on a radical experiment: It quietly became the nation’s largest housing developer, designing and constructing more than 80 new communities across 26 states in...

In what order did the planets in our solar system form?

Written by Christopher Palma, Teaching Professor of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Penn State

An artistic rendition of our solar system, including the Sun and eight planets.vjanez/iStock via Getty Images

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

Are planets in the solar system that are closer to the Sun older than the ones...

H-bomb creator Richard Garwin was a giant in science, technology and policy

Written by Matthew Bunn, Professor of the Practice of Energy, National Security, and Foreign Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Richard Garwin at the White House on Nov. 22, 2016.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

Richard Garwin, who died on May 13, 2025, at the age of 97, was sometimes called “the most influential scientist you’ve never heard of.” He got his Ph.D. in physics at 21 under Enrico Fermi...