The Conversation

Suspect in the Colorado LGBTQ shootings faces hate crimes charges – what exactly are they?

Written by Jeannine Bell, Professor of Law, Loyola University Chicago

Club Q co-owners Nic Grzecka, left, and Matthew Haynes listen during a police news conference on Nov. 21, 2022, in Colorado Springs, Colo. Scott Olson/Getty Images

The 22-year-old suspected shooter at a gay night club in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who allegedly killed five and injured dozens faces five counts of murder and hate crimes charges.

Hate...

Vitamin B12 deficiency is a common health problem that can have serious consequences – but doctors often overlook it

Written by Diane Cress, Associate Professor of Nutrition and Food Science, Wayne State University

Fatigue can be a sign of a potential B12 deficiency.Maca and Naca/E+ via Getty Images

For several months during the summer of 2022, my dog Scout vomited at 3 a.m. nearly every day. If you have a dog, you know the sound. And each time, she gobbled up her mess before I could get to it, making diagnosis of the cause difficult.

The vet and I eventually...

After COP27, all signs point to world blowing past the 1.5 degrees global warming limit – here's what we can still do about it

Written by Peter Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University

Young activists have been pushing to keep a 1.5-Celsius limit, knowing their future is at stake.AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty

The world could still, theoretically, meet its goal of keeping global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, a level many scientists consider a dangerous threshold. Realistically, that’s unlikely to happen.

Part of the problem...

Student loan cancellation got blocked. Now what? 3 questions answered

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

Questions remain about whether President Joe Biden has the authority to cancel student loan debt.Paul Morigi via Getty Images

When the Biden administration announced in August 2022 that it was canceling up to $20,000 in student loan debt per borrower, it said the idea was to provide families with “breathing room as they prepare to start...

Railroad unions and their employers at an impasse: Freight-halting strikes are rare, and this would be the first in 3 decades

Written by Erik Loomis, Professor of History, University of Rhode Island

The federal government sent troops to crush an 1877 rail strike.Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The prospect of a potentially devastating rail workers strike is looming again.

Fears of a strike in September 2022 prompted the Biden administration to pull out all the stops to get a deal between railroads and the largest unions...

4 plays that dramatize the kidnapping of children during wars

Written by Magda Romanska, Associate Professor of Theatre and Dramaturgy, Emerson College

During the Russian occupation of Luhansk Oblast, 15 kids were allegedly taken from this rehabilitation center and moved to Russia.Wojciech Grzedzinski/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Since February 2022, Western and Ukrainian media have reported on the kidnapping and forced adoption of Ukrainian children by Russians.

The exact number of...

Scientists uncovered the structure of the key protein for a future hepatitis C vaccine – here's how they did it

Written by Lisa Eshun-Wilson, Postdoctoral Scholar in Molecular and Cell Biology, The Scripps Research Institute

Imaging the proteins on the surface of HCV has been challenging because of the virus's shape-shifting nature.Juan Gaertner/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, causes a chronic liver infection that can lead to permanent liver scarring and, in dire cases, cancer. It affects around 71 million people worldwide and...

Red flag laws and the Colorado LGBTQ club shooting – questions over whether state's protection order could have prevented tragedy

Written by Alex McCourt, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University

Flowers at a memorial near Club Q RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

The killing of five patrons in a Colorado LGBTQ bar on Nov. 19, 2022, is the latest mass shooting to garner headlines in the U.S.

Police have said they have yet to determine a motive. But one thing that has emerged is that the suspect had a history of...

Thanksgiving hymns are a few centuries old, tops – but biblical psalms of gratitude and praise go back thousands of years

Written by David W. Stowe, Professor of Religious Studies, Michigan State University

King David playing the lyre in a scene from a 15th-century manuscript of the Book of Psalms.Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

Thanksgiving doesn’t ring in the ear for months on end, unlike another holiday that lies just ahead. Yet readers may remember a couple of hymns that roll around each November...

COP27's ‘loss and damage’ fund for developing countries could be a breakthrough – or another empty climate promise

Written by Adil Najam, Professor of International Relations, Boston University

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry closes COP27 in the early hours of Nov. 19, 2022. Christophe Gateau/picture alliance via Getty Images

Developing nations were justifiably jubilant at the close of COP27 as negotiators from wealthy countries around the world agreed for the first time to establish a dedicated “loss and damage” fund f...