The Conversation

Russia's false claims about biological weapons in Ukraine demonstrate the dangers of disinformation and how hard it is to counter – 4 essential reads

Written by Eric Smalley, Science + Technology Editor

Russian disinformation, amplified by China, is raising fears that the war in Ukraine could escalate.AP Photo/Vincent Yu

On March 11, 2022, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, told the U.N. Security Council that Russia had discovered evidence of U.S.-funded biological weapons research in Ukraine. U.S. officials denied the claims,...

Settler colonialism helps explain current events in Xinjiang and Ukraine – and the history of Australia and US, too

Written by John Rennie Short, Professor, School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Demonstration for the rights of the Uyghurs in Berlin, 2020.Leonhard Lenz, Wikimedia Commons , CC BY-SA

Global flashpoints, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Chinese actions in Xinjiang, share a common background: a previous history of invasion and occupation.

The northwestern region of Xinjiang, for example, became an autonomous region...

The promise and folly of war – why do leaders enter conflict assuming victory is assured?

Written by Gregory A. Daddis, Professor and USS Midway Chair in Modern U.S. Military History, San Diego State University

V is for victory? Or vanquished? Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Amid a staunch and passionate defense that has slowed the Russian advance to Kiev and global condemnation, Vladimir Putin’s motivation for invading has been subject to speculation: Just what does he hope to achieve by war in Ukraine?

Some have argued that Putin was responding to NATO...

5 ways college instructors can help students take care of their mental health

Written by Max Coleman, Ph.D Candidate in Sociology, Indiana University

Mental health issues for college students have been on the rise. monkeybusinessimages via iStock/Getty Images Plus

A few years ago, a student showed up in my class looking distraught. “I don’t think I can be in class today,” the student told me.

No explanation, no elaboration. Yet I knew from our previous conversations that this...

Why do flocks of birds swoop and swirl together in the sky? A biologist explains the science of murmurations

Written by Tom Langen, Professor of Biology, Clarkson University

Murmurations can have as many as 750,000 birds flying in unison.mikedabell/iStock via Getty Images

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.

Why do flocks of birds swoop and swirl together in the sky? – Artie W., age 9, Astoria,...

Smart devices spy on you – 2 computer scientists explain how the Internet of Things can violate your privacy

Written by Roberto Yus, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Appliances that make your life easier could also put your privacy at risk.Eric Kayne/AP Images for Samsung

Have you ever felt a creeping sensation that someone’s watching you? Then you turn around and you don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Depending on where you were, though, you might not have been completely imagining it. There...

What classic literature knows about refugees fleeing persecution and war

Written by Robert F. Barsky, Professor of Humanities, and Professor of Law, Vanderbilt University

A Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces member hugs a resident leaving his hometown following Russian artillery shelling in Irpin on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, March 9, 2022.AP Photo/Oleksandr Ratushniak

The United Nations has warned that the war in Ukraine could create “the biggest refugee crisis this century.” Two and a half...

11 things you can do to adjust to losing that hour of sleep when daylight saving time starts

Written by Deepa Burman, Co-Director Pediatric Sleep Evaluation Center and Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh Health Sciences

The time change can make you feel jet-lagged.Laura Olivas/Moment via Getty Images

As clocks march ahead and daylight saving time begins, there can be anxiety around losing an hour of sleep and how to adjust to this change.

Usually an hour seems like an insignificant amount of time, but even this minimal loss can cause problems. There can be significa...

MLB's new collective bargaining agreement fails to address players' biggest grievances

Written by Victor Matheson, Professor of Economics and Accounting, College of the Holy Cross

Players voted to accept Major League Baseball's offer on a new labor deal, paving the way to end the 99-day lockout and salvage the season.AP Photo/Gregory Bull

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball,” second baseman Rogers Hornsby once said. “I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and...

St. Brigid, the compassionate, sensible female patron saint of Ireland, gets a lot less recognition than St. Patrick

Written by Lisa Bitel, Professor of History & Religion, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

St. Brigid of Kildare's shrine in Faughart, County Louth, Ireland.(Photo by RDImages/Epics/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images

On March 17, the world celebrates the feast day of St. Patrick, a zealous British bishop of the fifth century who became famous for spreading Christianity in Ireland. Patrick is Ireland’s main patron saint.

But as a medie...