The Conversation

Horseshoe crab blood is vital for testing intravenous drugs, but new synthetic alternatives could mean pharma won't bleed this unique species dry

Written by Kristoffer Whitney, Associate Professor of Science, Technology and Society, Rochester Institute of Technology

Horseshoe crabs in spawning season at Reeds Beach, N.J., on June 13, 2023.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

If you have ever gotten a vaccine or received an intravenous drug and did not come down with a potentially life-threatening fever, you can thank a horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus).

How can animals that are often called living fossils, because they have...

How Chicana women artists have often used the figure of the Virgin of Guadalupe for political messages

Written by Judith Huacuja, Professor of Art History, University of Dayton

Chicana artist Yolanda Lopez's artwork: 'Portrait of the Artist as the Virgin of Guadalupe.'Yolanda Lopez, CC BY-NC-ND

In 1975, Chicano artist Amado M. Peña depicted police brutality by showing the bloodied head of 12-year-old Santos Rodriguez, whom Dallas police had shot for allegedly stealing $8 from a vending machine. The painting “A...

Vaccines against COVID-19, the seasonal flu and RSV are our best chance of preventing a winter surge

Written by Libby Richards, Associate Professor of Nursing, Purdue University

The CDC recommends getting your updated COVID-19 shot and your seasonal flu shot as soon as possible. AngelaMacario/iStock via Getty Images

As cold and flu season ramps up, health care experts are once again on high alert for the possibility of a tripledemic, or a surge brought on by the respiratory viruses that cause COVID-19, the flu and...

What is a strong El Niño? Meteorologists anticipate a big impact in winter 2023, but the forecasts don't all agree

Written by Aaron Levine, Atmospheric Research Scientist, CICOES, University of Washington

The El Niño pattern stands out in the warm sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific in 2023NOAA Climate.gov

Winter is still weeks away, but meteorologists are already talking about a snowy winter ahead in the southern Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. They anticipate more storms in the U.S. South and Northeast, and warmer, drier...

Astronomers have learned lots about the universe − but how do they study astronomical objects too distant to visit?

Written by Luke Keller, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Ithaca College

Telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory near La Serena, Chile.Guillaume Doyen/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA, CC BY

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft flew by Earth on Sept. 24, 2023, dropping off its sample of dust and pebbles gathered from the surface of near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

Analysis of this sample will help scientists understand...

How did Israeli intelligence miss Hamas' preparations to attack? A US counterterrorism expert explains how Israeli intelligence works

Written by Javed Ali, Associate Professor of Practice in Counterterrorism, Domestic Terrorrism, Cybersecurity and National Security Law and Policy, University of Michigan

Israeli soldiers move past a military medical vehicle on Oct. 10, 2023, at Kfar Aza, a kibbutz where Hamas militants killed Israelis days before.Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Israel is widely recognized as having highly sophisticated intelligence capabilities, both in terms of its ability to collect information about potential threats within its...

Rising oil prices, surging inflation: The Arab embargo 50 years ago weaponized oil to inflict economic trauma – sound familiar?

Written by Jim Krane, Fellow in Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Lecturer, Rice University

Cars lined up for gasoline in New Jersey in 1973 as supplies ran low and prices shot upward.Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Fifty years ago, a secret deal among Arab governments triggered one of the most traumatic economic crises to afflict the United States and other big oil importers.

Saudi King Faisal and other Arab leaders launched...

Rising oil prices, surging inflation: The Arab embargo 50 years ago weaponized oil to inflict economic trauma

Written by Jim Krane, Fellow in Energy Studies, Baker Institute for Public Policy; Lecturer, Rice University

Cars lined up for gasoline in New Jersey in 1973 as supplies ran low and prices shot upward.Frederic Lewis/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Fifty years ago, a secret deal among Arab governments triggered one of the most traumatic economic crises to afflict the United States and other big oil importers.

Saudi King Faisal and other Arab leaders launched...

Why the crisis in Israel is putting pressure on GOP to act over vacant House speaker role

Written by Laura Blessing, Senior Fellow, Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University

With Patrick McHenry leading the House as speaker pro tempore, spending and legislative options appear limited.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

In the wake of the Hamas surprise attacks on Israel, and that country’s resulting heavy military response, calls for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives to pick a new speaker quickly have...

Israel has no good options for dealing with Hamas' hostage-taking in Gaza

Written by James Forest, Professor and Director of Security Studies, School of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

Pictures are put together on a pavement beside candles during the 'Jewish Community Vigil' for Israel in London on Oct. 9, 2023. AP Photo/Kin Cheung

Hamas, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group that mounted a deadly surprise attack on Israel that has killed – at last count – at least 1,200 Israelis, has captured what are estimated...