The Conversation

Consumer electronics have changed a lot in 20 years – systems for managing e-waste aren't keeping up

Written by Callie Babbitt, Associate Professor of Sustainability, Rochester Institute of Technology

Most of the world's electronics are not recycled, posing health and environmental risks. catscandotcom/Getty Images

It’s hard to imagine navigating modern life without a mobile phone in hand. Computers, tablets and smartphones have transformed how we communicate, work, learn, share news and entertain ourselves. They became even more essential...

18 million US children are at risk of hunger: How is the problem being addressed and what more can be done?

Written by Heather Eicher-Miller, Associate Professor of Nutrition Science, Purdue University

Despite help from the government and charities, the number of food-insecure kids is rising. NurPhoto/Getty Images

Editor’s note: The economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic has increased the number of Americans who can’t always get enough to eat, including children. The Conversation U.S. asked four experts to explain...

Vitamin K: A little-known but noteworthy nutrient

Written by Kyla Shea, Scientist I, Vitamin K Research Team at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Tufts University

Many plant-based foods are high in vitamin K.ratmaner via Getty Images

When Danish scientist Henrik Dam fed a cholesterol-free diet to baby chicks in his lab about 90 years ago, he noticed excessive bleeding in some of them. It did not stop after he replaced the cholesterol. Dam ultimately concluded the bleeding was related to a “depletion of...

Japan's most famous writer committed suicide after a failed coup attempt – now, new photos add more layers to the haunting act

Written by Kirsten Cather, Associate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

Japanese author Yukio Mishima speaks to Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers at Tokyo's military garrison station on Nov. 25, 1970.JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images

Japanese writer Yukio Mishima has long been a favorite of the international press. In a 1966 edition of Life magazine, he was called “Japan’s Dynamo of Letters” and...

Why Trump's challenges to democracy will be a big problem for Biden

Written by James D. Long, Associate Professor of Political Science, Co-founder of the Political Economy Forum, Host of "Neither Free Nor Fair?" podcast, University of Washington

Just because he's leaving office doesn't mean Donald Trump will stop being a threat to democracy.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

When a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and stopped Congress from certifying Joe Biden as the nation’s next president, it was scary – and fatal for at least five people.

But it did not pose a serious threat...

A scholar of American anti-Semitism explains the hate symbols present during the US Capitol riot

Written by Jonathan D. Sarna, University Professor and Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, Brandeis University

Crowds carrying hate symbols as they stormed the U.S Capitol on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images

One of the many horrifying images from the Jan. 6 rampage on the U.S. Capitol shows a long-haired, long-bearded man wearing a black “Camp Auschwitz” T-shirt emblazoned with a skull and crossbones, and under it...

Federal leaders have two options if they want to rein in Trump

Written by Kirsten Carlson, Associate Professor of Law and Adjunct Associate Professor of Political Science, Wayne State University

President Donald Trump gestures during a Jan. 6 speech in Washington, D.C.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

As the world reacts to the Jan. 6 armed attack on the U.S. Capitol encouraged by President Donald Trump, many Americans are wondering what happens next. Members of Congress, high-level officials and even major corporations and business groups have...

Far-right activists on social media telegraphed violence weeks in advance of the attack on the US Capitol

Written by Alex Newhouse, Research Lead, Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

The people who attacked the U.S. Capitol building lived up to their word to engage in violence.Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

The attack on the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6 was shocking, but no one following right-wing activity on social media should have been surprised. The attempt by President Donald Trump’s far-right supporters...

After a record 22 billion-dollar disasters in 2020, it's time to overhaul US disaster policy – here's how

Written by A.R. Siders, Assistant Professor, Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware

In a year tied for the warmest on record globally, the U.S. was hit with costly hurricanes, wildfires, storms and drought.AP Photo/Noah Berger and Gerald Herbert

The year 2020 broke disaster records across the country in destructive and expensive ways. The Atlantic had so many hurricanes, meteorologists ran out of tropical storm names for only the...

Gaming has benefits and perils – parents can help kids by playing with them

Written by Katie Headrick Taylor, Associate Professor of Learning Sciences and Human Development, University of Washington

Playing games can offer an insider's perspective on screen time quality and quantity.James Sheppard/Future via Getty Images

As the pandemic forced many Americans to hunker down at home, the video game industry saw record spending and profits in 2020. Interacting with other people through gaming became, for some players, essential for social...