The Conversation

Ukraine has a mixed record of treating its citizens fairly – that could make it harder for it to maintain peace, once the war ends

Written by David Cingranelli, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Ukraine has a mixed human rights record over the past several decades, new data shows.Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the dominant Western media narrative has been clear – Russia is the “global villain,” and Ukraine a model country victimized by an unjust war. But while the war...

People blame and judge parents for children's heavier weights

Written by Jaimie Arona Krems, Assistant Professor of Psychology, Oklahoma State University

Would you hold the mother responsible for her daughter's weight?Courtesy of Steve Neuberg, Arizona State University, and Jaimie Krems, Oklahoma State University

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Americans stigmatize parents of heavier children, specifically blaming them for their children’s weights,...

How California's ambitious new climate plan could help speed energy transformation around the world

Written by Daniel Sperling, Distinguished Blue Planet Prize Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Founding Director, Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis

Electrifying trucks and cars and shifting to renewable energy are crucial for California's zero-emissions future.Sergio Pitamitz / VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

California is embarking on an audacious new climate plan that aims to eliminate the state’s greenhouse gas footprint by 2045, and in the process, slash emissions far...

Debates over sacred images in the Byzantine Empire show why it's hard to appease any side

Written by Paroma Chatterjee, Associate Professor of History of Art, University of Michigan

The depiction of Prophet Muhammad at Hamline University has opened up a debate about what sacred images can or cannot be shown in a classroom.Friscocali via Flickr, CC BY-NC

An adjunct lecturer at Hamline University recently lost her job for showing an image of Prophet Muhammad in an art history class, which some students and administrators...

Prince Harry's kill count revelation could spark important discussions about war's effects on soldiers

Written by L. William Uhl, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, United States Air Force Academy

Prince Harry's new book "Spare" is stirring discussion about whether he should have revealed the number of warfighters that he killed.Anwar Hussein / Getty Images

When Prince Harry revealed in his new book, “Spare,” that he killed 25 Taliban fighters as an Apache helicopter pilot, he compared their deaths to “chess pieces removed...

US will give military tanks to Ukraine, signaling Western powers' long-term commitment to thwarting Russia

Written by Monica Duffy Toft, Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

M1 Abrams, a third-generation American main battle tanks, are seen in Poland in September 2022. Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

President Joe Biden announced on Jan. 25, 2023, that the U.S. would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine – following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s repeated requests for more military tanks...

COVID-19 deaths in the US continue to be undercounted, research shows, despite claims of 'overcounts'

Written by Andrew Stokes, Assistant Professor of Global Health, Boston University

An accurate count of COVID-19 deaths is critical both scientifically and politically. Douglas Rissing/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, a recurring topic of debate has been whether official COVID-19 death statistics in the U.S. accurately capture the fatalities associated with SARS-CoV-2, the virus...

Even bivalent updated COVID-19 boosters struggle to prevent omicron subvariant transmission – an immunologist discusses why new approaches are necessary

Written by Matthew Woodruff, Instructor of Human Immunology, Emory University

The FDA is proposing an annual shot against COVID-19, signaling that a new approach is needed.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

By almost any measure, the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has been a global success.

As of January 2023, more than 12 billion vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have been...

Fossil teeth reveal how brains developed in utero over millions of years of human evolution – new research

Written by Tesla Monson, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Western Washington University

Any hominid fossil find with molar teeth can be plugged into a new equation that reveals its species' prenatal growth rate.Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP via Getty Images

Fossilized bones help tell the story of what human beings and our predecessors were doing hundreds of thousands of years ago. But how can you learn about important parts of our...

The SAT and ACT are less important than you might think

Written by Mary L. Churchill, Associate Dean, Strategic Partnerships and Community Engagement and Professor of the Practice, Boston University

Whether on paper or computerized, standardized tests may be in decline.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

College admission tests are becoming a thing of the past.

More than 80% of U.S. colleges and universities do not require applicants to take standardized tests – like the SAT or the ACT. That proportion of institutions with...