The Conversation

Arsenic contamination of food and water is a global public health concern – researchers are studying how it causes cancer

Written by Cristina Andrade-Feraud, Ph.D. Candidate in Environmental Health Sciences, Florida International University

One symptom of arsenic poisoning is the growth of plaques on the skin called arsenical keratosis.Anita Ghosh/REACH via Flickr, CC BY

Arsenic is a naturally occurring element found in the Earth’s crust. Exposure to arsenic, often through contaminated food and water, is associated with various negative health effects, including cancer.

Arsenic...

Is there life in the sea that hasn't been discovered?

Written by Suzanne OConnell, Harold T. Stearns Professor of Earth Science, Wesleyan University

The Rose-veiled fairy wrasse, a small reef fish discovered in 2022.Luiz A. Rocha/Wikimedia Commons

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.

Is there life in the sea that hasn’t been discovered? – Haven W., age 12,...

How hip-hop learned to call out homophobia – or at least apologize for it

Written by Matthew Oware, Professor of Sociology, University of Richmond

Rapper Offset apologized over a homophobic slur.Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images

In the 2018 song “Boss Life,” the rapper Offset, part of the multiplatinum-selling rap group Migos, rhymed: “I do not vibe with queers.”

Such casual use of a perceived anti-gay slur is not uncommon in the history of hip-hop. But...

Sudan’s war is wrecking a lot, including its central bank – a legacy of trailblazing African American economist and banker Andrew Brimmer

Written by Christopher Tounsel, Associate Professor of History, University of Washington

Andrew Brimmer gets sworn in as a member of the Federal Reserve Board. President Lyndon Johnson, right, Brimmer's wife and daughter look on. Robert L. Knudsen via Wikimedia Commons

The war in Sudan between two rival generals for control of the country is devastating in so many ways. Hundreds of civilians have been killed, thousands injured and more...

Saying that students embrace censorship on college campuses is incorrect -- here's how to discuss the issue more constructively

Written by Bradford Vivian, Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State

It's not true that college students reject challenging ideas wholesale and oppose conservative views.SDI Productions/E+/Getty Images

The claim that college students censor viewpoints with which they disagree is now common. Versions of this claim include the falsehoods that students “shut down” most invited speakers to campuses, reject...

Baseless anti-trans claims fuel adoption of harmful laws – two criminologists explain

Written by Henry F. Fradella, Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Affiliate Professor, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law., Arizona State University

Kansas legislators Brenda Landwehr, left, and Chris Croft confer during a vote on an anti-transgender bathroom bill, which both support.AP Photo/John Hanna

It has been seven years since North Carolina made headlines for enacting a “bathroom bill” – legislation intended to prevent transgender people from using restrooms that align...

Birth of a story: How new parents find meaning after childbirth hints at how they will adjust

Written by Darby Saxbe, Associate Professor of Psychology, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Having a new baby can upend everything about your old life.Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

Gather a group of new parents and the conversation will likely turn to their childbirth stories – ranging from the joyful to the gnarly to the positively traumatic. Birth story podcasts and websites feature a curated range of birth experiences, and...

Charities can get a 6% donations boost when Charity Navigator gives them more stars – but to get there, they might game the system

Written by Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Missouri-Columbia

Getting all four stars has its rewards.ikonacolor/iStock via Getty Images Plus

CC BY-ND

With multitudes of worthy charities to choose from – and the possibility that a poorly run or fake nonprofit might trick you into thinking it’s a good cause – it’s sometimes hard to know which ones to support.

That’s why many donors...

Judging the judges: Scandals have the potential to affect the legitimacy of judges – and possibly the federal judiciary, too

Written by Ali S. Masood, Assistant Professor of Politics, Oberlin College and Conservatory

Activists call for ethics reform in the Supreme Court at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on May 2, 2023. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to controversy.

In 1991, during his confirmation hearings in the Senate, Thomas faced accusations of sexual harassment from a former colleague and law...

How AI could take over elections – and undermine democracy

Written by Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School

An AI-driven political campaign could be all things to all people.Eric Smalley, TCUS; Biodiversity Heritage Library/Flickr; Taymaz Valley/Flickr, CC BY-ND

Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways?

Sen. Josh Hawley asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this question in a May...