The Conversation

Aging is complicated – a biologist explains why no two people or cells age the same way, and what this means for anti-aging interventions

Written by Ellen Quarles, Assistant Professor in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan

While some people may be older in chronological age, their biological age might be much younger.FangXiaNuo/E+ via Getty Images

You likely know someone who seems to age slowly, appearing years younger than their birth date suggests. And you likely have seen the opposite – someone whose body and mind seem much more ravaged by time than others....

Police treatment in black and white – report on Minneapolis policing is the latest reminder of systemic racial disparities

Written by Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor at the School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University

People in the Brooklyn borough of New York City protest police violence against Black women on Sept. 5, 2020.Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

The latest reminder that police officers around the country routinely deny Black people their constitutional rights comes from the Justice Department. This time, it’s about Minneapolis, the...

_E. coli_ is one of the most widely studied organisms – and that may be a problem for both science and medicine

Written by Megan Keller, Ph.D. Candidate in Microbiology, Cornell University

_E. coli_ as a model organism helped researchers better understand how DNA works.Ed Horowitz Photography/The Image Bank via Getty Images

In 1857, a young pediatrician named Theodor Escherich discovered what may very well be the most well-studied organism today. The rod-shaped bacterium named Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli, is a very...

Christians in Pakistan risk greater persecution from blasphemy laws, while living in poverty

Written by Myriam Renaud, Affiliated Faculty of Bioethics, Religion, and Society, Department of Religious Studies, DePaul University

Pakistani Christians praying at a church.AP Photo/Fareed Khan

Two Christian Pakistani teenagers, one 18 and another 14, were arrested in their homes in Lahore in May 2023 on charges of blasphemy after a policeman claimed he heard them being disrespectful of the Prophet Muhammad.

Among Muslim-majority countries, Pakistan has the strictest blasphemy...

Astro-tourism – chasing eclipses, meteor showers and elusive dark skies from Earth

Written by Vahe Peroomian, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

In 2024, much of the eastern United States will fall in the path of a total solar eclipse, like the one pictured. Diane Miller/The Image Bank via Getty images

For years, small groups of astronomy enthusiasts have traveled the globe chasing the rare solar eclipse. They have embarked on cruises to the middle of the ocean, taken flights into the...

Human exposure to wildfires has more than doubled in two decades – who is at risk might surprise you

Written by Mojtaba Sadegh, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Boise State University

Smoke rises from a brush fire near Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles in 2007Hector Mata/AFP via Getty Images

Over the past two decades, a staggering 21.8 million Americans found themselves living within 3 miles (5 kilometers) of a large wildfire. Most of those residents would have had to evacuate, and many would have been exposed to smoke and...

The Global South is on the rise – but what exactly is the Global South?

Written by Jorge Heine, Interim Director of the Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future, Boston University

The world turned upside downiStock / Getty Images Plus

The unwillingness of many leading countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to stand with NATO over the war in Ukraine has brought to the fore once again the term “Global South.”

“Why does so much of the Global South support Russia?” inquired one recent headline;...

Why are some Beanie Babies worth more than others? Prices for collectibles are about supply and demand

Written by Christophe Spaenjers, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Colorado Boulder

From limited editions to spelling errors, only the rarest Beanie Babies are worth money.iStock, CC BY-SA

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.

Why are some Beanie Babies worth more than others? – Theo R., age 8, Rockford,...

A business can decline service based on its beliefs, Supreme Court rules – but what will this look like in practice?

Written by Charles J. Russo, Joseph Panzer Chair in Education in the School of Education and Health Sciences and Research Professor of Law, University of Dayton

Designing for all couples -- or declining?DawidMarkiewicz/iStock via Getty Images Plus

At issue in one of this year’s most highly anticipated Supreme Court cases, 303 Creative v. Elenis, was what happens when someone’s free speech or beliefs conflict with others’ rights. Specifically, 303 Creative addressed whether a Colorado...

Now that President Biden's student loan cancellation program has been canceled, here's what's next

Written by William Chittenden, Associate Professor of Finance, Texas State University

The Supreme Court rejected President Joe Biden’s plan to eliminate $430 billion in student loan debtOlivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court has struck down the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan. In Biden v. Nebraska, the court ruled 6-3 on June 30, 2023, that the secretary of education does not have...