The Conversation

Even mild cases of COVID-19 can leave a mark on the brain, such as reductions in gray matter – a neuroscientist explains emerging research

Written by Jessica Bernard, Associate Professor, Texas A&M University

A new brain-imaging study finds that participants who had even mild COVID-19 showed an average reduction in whole brain sizes.Kirstypargeter/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Researchers have been steadily gathering important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. Two years into the pandemic, these findings are raising concerns...

Why did Russia invade Ukraine?

Written by Kathryn David, Mellon Assistant Professor of Russian and East European Studies, Vanderbilt University

Memorial tanks at the Ukrainian Motherland Monument in Kyiv.Madeleine Kelly/SOPA Images/LightRocket 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 did Russia invade Ukraine? – Artie W., age 9, Astoria, New York

Ukra...

After Hollywood thwarted Anna May Wong, the actress took matters into her own hands

Written by Shirley J. Lim, Professor of History, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)

Anna May Wong appears alongside Akim Tamiroff in a promotional poster for the 1939 film 'King of Chinatown.'LMPC/Getty Images

The U.S. Mint will, over the next four years, issue quarters featuring the likenesses of American women who contributed to “the development and history of our country.”

The first batch of the American Women...

Many Ukrainians face a future of lasting psychological wounds from the Russian invasion

Written by Arash Javanbakht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Wayne State University

Local militiaman Valery, 37, carries a child as he helps a fleeing family across a bridge destroyed by artillery, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Wed., March 2, 2022.AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

“Polina came to our bedroom awakened by the sound of explosions. I didn’t know and still don’t know what to tell her. Her eyes today...

SEC is considering climate disclosure rules for US companies – and facing threats of lawsuits

Written by Daniel E. Walters, Assistant Professor of Law, Penn State

Some corporate climate risks are easy to spot. Others are less evident.Paul Souders via Getty Images

Better information leads to better decisions – this is the idea behind a regulatory device known as “mandated disclosure.” Mandated disclosures are all around you, from calorie counts on fast food restaurant menus to conversations...

Deer have antlers, walruses have tusks – here’s why so few birds have weapons of their own

Written by Alexandre V. Palaoro, Post-doctoral Fellow in Materials Sciences & Engineering, Clemson University

There's plenty of aggression in the bird world, but little armed violence.Velvet Shearer, USFWS/Flickr, CC BY

Mating season in the animal kingdom can be dramatic, and sometimes violent. As an example, take deer clashing their antlers during the rut – nostrils flaring, hooves hammering the ground, grass flying everywhere, and that eerie...

SEC will consider climate disclosure rules for US companies on March 21 – it's already facing threats of lawsuits

Written by Daniel E. Walters, Assistant Professor of Law, Penn State

Some corporate climate risks are easy to spot. Others are less evident.Paul Souders via Getty Images

Battles over book bans reflect conflicts from the 1980s

Written by Fred L. Pincus, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

At least seven states have banned the teaching of critical race theory. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

A conservative leader found fault with how “respect for our nation’s heritage” had been mostly stripped from the textbooks of public schools.

“From kindergarten right through the total school system, it almost seems as...

Russia is blocking Security Council action on the Ukraine war – but the UN is still the only international peace forum

Written by Shelley Inglis, Executive Director, University of Dayton Human Rights Center, University of Dayton

People gather outside the U.N. headquarters in New York City to protest the war in Ukraine on March 2, 2022.Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

When Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 23, 2022, the U.N. Security Council was conducting an emergency late-night meeting chaired by...

How do Russia's reasons for war stack up? An expert on 'just war' explains

Written by Valerie Morkevicius, Associate Professor, Political Science, Colgate University

Two men speak in the backyard of a house damaged by a Russian airstrike, according to locals, in Gorenka, Ukraine, March 2, 2022. AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

War is always a tragedy. It sometimes seems inevitable. But is it ever justified?

Philosophers, theologians, politicians and military leaders have wrestled with this question for millennia. And to a...