The Conversation

The Southwest is on fire, with iconic deserts and towns at risk – 3 reasons the 2022 fire season is so early and intense

Written by Molly Hunter, Associate Research Professor in Environment and Natural Resources, University of Arizona

Wind quickly spread a blaze that burned homes near Flagstaff, Ariz., in April 2022.Coconino National Forest via AP

New Mexico and Arizona are facing a dangerously early fire season. It has left neighborhoods in ashes and is having such devastating effects that President Joe Biden issued a disaster declaration for New Mexico. Over 600 fires had...

Fed hopes biggest rate hike in 22 years tames inflation without recession or stagflation: 3 essential reads on what it all means

Written by Bryan Keogh, Senior Editor, Economy + Business

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has a tough job in bringing down inflation without killing the economy. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The Federal Reserve on May 4, 2022, lifted its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point to a range of 0.75% to 1%, its biggest increase in 22 years. The aggressive move, which has been expected for many months, is part of...

Nanoparticles are the future of medicine – researchers are experimenting with new ways to design tiny particle treatments for cancer

Written by Duxin Sun, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Michigan

Nanoparticles can help cancer drugs home in on tumors and avoid damaging healthy cells. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

When you hear the word “nanomedicine,” it might call to mind scenarios like those in the 1966 movie “Fantastic Voyage.” The film portrays a medical team shrunken down to ride a...

Western river compacts were innovative in the 1920s but couldn't foresee today's water challenges

Written by Patricia J. Rettig, Head Archivist, Water Resources Archive, Colorado State University

Colorado River water flows through a canal that feeds farms in Casa Grande, Ariz., on July 22, 2021. AP Photo/Darryl Webb

The Western U.S. is in a water crisis, from California to Nebraska. An ongoing drought is predicted to last at least through July 2022. Recent research suggests that these conditions may be better labeled aridification –...

Some funders are embracing 'trust-based philanthropy' by giving money without lots of obligations

Written by Emily Finchum-Mason, Doctoral candidate in Public Policy and Management, University of Washington

Taking grantees' word that they will spend money responsibly frees up time and can strengthen relationships.Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

With most foundations, the board of directors and top executives set all funding priorities. Nonprofits seeking money from those funders, in turn, must demonstrate an intention to do work that...

Rural superintendents lament: 'We went from being heroes to villains'

Written by Gerald K. LeTendre, Professor of Educational Administration, Penn State

Teachers in Pennsylvania and around the world adapted to handle the pandemic.AP Photo/Matt Rourke

When the pandemic first closed schools in March 2020, it was an emergency response that upended the typical priorities of public education. Schools suddenly needed to distribute laptops and tablets, set up Wi-Fi hot spots, check on families and...

What makes religious relics – like pieces of the 'true cross' and hair of saints – sacred to Christians

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

Christian clergymen carry a wooden relic believed to be from Jesus' manger at the Notre Dame church in Jerusalem in 2019.AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean

A Russian missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea fleet, sunk after it was heavily damaged in April 2022. Kremlin officials said that a fire on board caused munitions to explode, while Ukraini...

Will new vaccines be better at fighting coronavirus variants? 5 questions answered

Written by Vaibhav Upadhyay, Postdoctoral Fellow of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Dozens of coronavirus vaccines are in clinical trials in the U.S.Joao Paulo Burini/Moment via Getty Images

The first three coronavirus vaccines earned Emergency Use Authorization more than a year ago. To date, no other vaccines have been put into use in the U.S – but that will soon change. More than 40 vaccines are undergoing clinical trials i...

A boom in fitness trackers isn't leading to a boom in physical activity – men, women, kids and adults in developed countries are all moving less

Written by Scott A. Conger, Associate Professor of Exercise Physiology, Boise State University

Since the mid-1990s, people have been doing less and less walking or bicycling to work and school and spending a lot more time staring at screens. RainStar/E+ via Getty Images

Worldwide sales of fitness trackers increased from US$14 billion in 2017 to over $36 billion in 2020. The skyrocketing success of these gadgets suggests that more people than...

Wastewater monitoring took off during the COVID-19 pandemic – and here's how it could help head off future outbreaks

Written by Susan De Long, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado State University

Sampling wastewater can be time-intensive.John Eisele/Colorado State University

A community’s sewage holds clues about its COVID-19 burden. Over the course of the pandemic, wastewater surveillance has become an increasingly popular way to try to understand local infection trends.

Microbiologists Susan De Long and Carol Wilusz met and became...