The Conversation

When Russia and Ukraine eventually restart peace talks, involving women – or not – could be a key factor in an agreement actually sticking

Written by Briana Mawby, Program Officer for Women, Peace and Security, University of San Diego

A Ukrainian solider is seen in Donetsk, Ukraine, on Aug. 15, 2022.Metin Aktas/Andalou Agency via Getty Images

Ukraine and Russia launched peace talks just days after Russia invaded in early February, 2022 – but since then, peace negotiations have started and stopped multiple times.

Now, more than six months after the invasion, peace between...

Expanding Alzheimer's research with primates could overcome the problem with treatments that show promise in mice but don't help humans

Written by Agnès Lacreuse, Professor of Behavioral Neuroscience, UMass Amherst

Rhesus macaques experience an aging process similar to people's.Goddard Photography/E+ via Getty Images

As of 2022, an estimated 6.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, an illness that robs people of their memories, independence and personality, causing suffering to both patients and their families. That number may double by 2060. The...

Local election offices often are missing on social media – and the information they do post often gets ignored

Written by Thessalia Merivaki, Assistant Professor of American Politics, Mississippi State University

It can take more than just big outdoor signs to encourage people to vote.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Local election officials are trying to share voting information with the public on social media but may be missing some key platforms – and the voters who use them.

In early July 2022, for instance, young voters in Boone County, Missouri,...

When abortion at a clinic is not available, 1 in 3 pregnant people say they will do something on their own to end the pregnancy

Written by Lauren Ralph, Associate Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco

A self-managed abortion is the termination of pregnancy outside the formal health care system, often with self-sourced abortion pills.Liudmila Chernetska/iStock via Getty Images Plus

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

The big idea

One in three people in need of abortion will consider doing something on their own to...

Who is Artemis? NASA's latest mission to the Moon is named after an ancient lunar goddess turned feminist icon

Written by Marie-Claire Beaulieu, Associate Professor of Classical Studies, Tufts University

Diana by Augustus Saint Gaudens, 1928, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.Postdlf via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

Artemis I will send a rocket without a crew on a monthlong journey around the Moon. The program aims to increase women’s participation in space exploration – 30% of its engineers are women. In addition, the Artemis I...

'Smiling Pope' John Paul I takes the next step toward sainthood -- not all pontiffs earn this distinction

Written by Joanne M. Pierce, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies, College of the Holy Cross

Pope John Paul I greets the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in August 1978.Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

On Sept. 4, 2022, Pope John Paul I, born Albino Luciani, will be beatified: proclaimed as “blessed,” the last step before being canonized as a Catholic saint.

Elected head of the Catholic Church in...

A winner is emerging from the war in Ukraine, but it's not who you think

Written by Aaron Pilkington, US Air Force Analyst of Middle East Affairs, PhD Student at Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

In July 2022, Iran provided the Russian military with training for using Iranian-produced weapons, including the Shahed-129 drone, displayed here at a 2019 military show in Tehran.Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The war in Ukraine is helping one country achieve its foreign policy and national security objectives, but it’s neither...

Low vaccine booster rates are now a key factor in COVID-19 deaths – and racial disparities in booster rates persist

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

As of August 2022, COVID-19 vaccination rates in Black and Hispanic people exceeded those of white Americans nationally, but only for the initial shots.FatCamera/E+ via Getty Images

More than 450 people are dying of COVID-19 in the U.S. each day as of late August 2022.

When COVID-19 vaccines first became available, public officials, community...

What to know about the costs of traveling for abortion care in the US – here's what I learned from talking to hundreds of women who've sought abortions

Written by Katrina Kimport, Professor of Sociology, University of California, San Francisco

A plane ticket and hotel stay are not the only costs to consider when traveling to get an abortion.kieferpix/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Abortion travel isn’t new. People have been crossing national and state borders to get abortion care since the 1960s, when air travel became more common and affordable.

The number of people who need to...

FTC lawsuit spotlights a major privacy risk: From call records to sensors, your phone reveals more about you than you think

Written by Susan Landau, Professor of Cyber Security and Policy, Tufts University

Where you've been and who you've interacted with are not difficult for governments and corporations to find out.Maskot via Getty Images

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against Kochava Inc. on Aug. 29, 2022, accusing the data broker of selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. Consumers are often unaware that...