The Conversation

Ancient DNA from the teeth of 14th-century Ashkenazi Jews in Germany already included genetic variations common in modern Jews

Written by Shai Carmi, Associate Professor of Population and Statistical Genetics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Partial layout of the graves discovered during the excavation at the medieval Jewish cemetery of Erfurt.Thuringian State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology/Karin Sczech + Katharina Bielefeld

About two-thirds of Jews today – or about 10 million people – are Ashkenazi, referring to a recent origin from Eastern and Central...

Oath Keepers convictions shed light on the limits of free speech – and the threat posed by militias

Written by Amy Cooter, Senior Research Fellow in Terrorism, Extremism and Counterterrorism, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Members of the Oath Keepers stand in front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

The verdicts in a high-profile, monthslong trial of Oath Keepers militia members were, as one defense lawyer acknowledged, “a mixed bag.” Leader Stewart Rhodes was found guilty on Nov. 29, 2022, of the most serious charge –...

Where Mauna Loa’s lava is coming from – and why Hawaii’s volcanoes are different from most

Written by Gabi Laske, Professor of Geophysics, University of California, San Diego

Magma fountains through a fissure on Mauna Loa, becoming lava, on Nov. 30, 2022. K. Mulliken/USGS

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, began sending up fountains of glowing rock and spilling lava from fissures as its first eruption in nearly four decades began on Nov. 27, 2022.

Where does that molten rock come from?

We...

Pregnancy is a genetic battlefield – how conflicts of interest pit mom's and dad's genes against each other

Written by Jessica D. Ayers, Assistant Professor of Psychological Science, Boise State University

Paternal and maternal genes drive fetal development in different directions.Valentina Kruchinina/iStock via Getty Images

Baby showers. Babymoons. Baby-arrival parties. There are many opportunities to celebrate the 40-week transition to parenthood. Often, these celebrations implicitly assume that pregnancy is cooperative and mutually beneficial to...

What's a polycule? An expert on polyamory explains

Written by Riki Thompson, Associate Professor of Digital Rhetoric and Writing Studies, University of Washington

Given the complexity of polycules, it's important for participants to be on the same page.Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post via Getty Images

With the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX, the media shined a spotlight on the personal lives of founder Sam Bankman-Fried and his inner circle.

It turns out that Bankman-Fried, his on-and-off...

Beware of 'Shark Week': Scientists watched 202 episodes and found them filled with junk science, misinformation and white male 'experts' named Mike

Written by David Shiffman, Post-Doctoral and Research Scholar in Marine Biology, Arizona State University

Hammerhead sharks schooling near Costa Rica's Cocos Island.John Voo/Flickr, CC BY

The Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week is the longest-running cable television series in history, filling screens with sharky content every summer since 1988. It causes one of the largest temporary increases in U.S. viewers’ attention to any science or...

Sci-fi books for young readers often omit children of color from the future

Written by Emily Midkiff, Instructor of Children's Literature, University of North Dakota

Children of color are hardly ever central characters in sci-fi books for kids.SDI Productions via Getty Images

While visiting an elementary school library in 2016 to count the fantasy books for a graduate class on fantasy literature, I noticed there were hardly any science fiction books for readers under 12. This discovery prompted me to spend the...

Black Twitter's expected demise would make it harder to publicize police brutality and discuss racism

Written by Deion Scott Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Argumentation & Advocacy, Emerson College

#blacktwitter helped mobilize social protests against police brutality across the country, like this one in New York City in July 2020. Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images

Before the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile and Sandra Bland were propelled into the media spotlight, their names were Twitter #hashtags.

In 2020,...

Fatherhood changes men's brains, according to before-and-after MRI scans

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

Fathers' brains adjust their structure and function to parenthoodMaría Paternina-Die, CC BY-ND

The time fathers devote to child care every week has tripled over the past 50 years in the United States. The increase in fathers’ involvement in child rearing is even steeper in countries that have expanded paid paternity leave or created...

More than 4 in 5 pregnancy-related deaths are preventable in the US, and mental health is the leading cause

Written by Rachel Diamond, Clinical Training DIrector and Assistant Professor of Couple and Family Therapy, Adler University

According to the CDC's latest numbers, 65% of pregancy-related deaths occur in the first year following childbirth.Petri Oeschger/Moment via Getty Images

Preventable failures in U.S. maternal health care result in far too many pregnancy-related deaths. Each year, approximately 700 parents die from pregnancy and childbirth complications. As such,...