The Conversation

Is the omicron variant Mother Nature’s way of vaccinating the masses and curbing the pandemic?

Written by Prakash Nagarkatti, Professor of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of South Carolina

Preliminary research suggests that the omicron variant may potentially induce a robust immune response.Olga Siletskaya/Moment via Getty Images

In the short time since the omicron variant was identified in South Africa in November 2021, researchers have quickly learned that it has three unique characteristics: It spreads efficiently and quickly, it...

Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates 'soon' to fight inflation: What that means for consumers and the economy

Written by Alexander Kurov, Professor of Finance and Fred T. Tattersall Research Chair in Finance, West Virginia University

All eyes are on Fed Chair Jerome Powell as the central bank prepares to raise rates for the first time in three years. Brendan Smialowski/Pool via AP

The Federal Reserve on Jan. 26, 2022, signaled plans to begin raising interest rates “soon” – possibly in March – in a bid to tamp down inflation before it poses a serious risk...

Stephen Breyer is set to retire – should his replacement on the Supreme Court have a term limit?

Written by Paul M. Collins, Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

Will Stephen Breyer's replacement on the Supreme Court serve for so long?AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

A vacancy sign hangs above the Supreme Court bench following reports on Jan. 26, 2022, that long-serving liberal justice Stephen Breyer is set to retire.

Names are already being thrown around in the media as to who will replace him, aided by helpful...

Russia could unleash disruptive cyberattacks against the US – but efforts to sow confusion and division are more likely

Written by Justin Pelletier, Professor of Practice of Computing Security, Rochester Institute of Technology

The Department of Justice indicted six officers of Russia's GRU military intelligence service in October 2020 on charges of hacking and deploying malware.Andrew Harnik - Pool/Getty Images

As tensions mount between Russia and the West over Ukraine, the threat of Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. increases. The Department of Homeland Security...

'Teaching has always been hard, but it's never been like this' – elementary school teachers talk about managing their classrooms during a pandemic

Written by Laura Wangsness Willemsen, Associate Professor of Education, Concordia University, Saint Paul

Joy Harrison, a second grade teacher in Oakland, California, helps a student.Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

As the omicron wave spikes across the United States, K-12 education is one of many systems buckling under the weight of expanding needs. Recent headlines highlight staff and busing shortages, parental anxieties about both...

The herbicide dicamba was supposed to solve farmers' weed problems – instead, it's making farming harder for many of them

Written by Bart Elmore, Associate Professor of History and Core Faculty in the Sustainability Institute, The Ohio State University

Soybean plants on an Arkansas farm. Those at left show signs of damage from dicamba; others at right were planted later in the season.Washington Post via Getty Images

In October 2021 I was a guest on a popular podcast to discuss my recently published book, “Seed Money: Monsanto’s Past and Our Food Future,” which examines the...

New federal wildfire plan is ambitious – but the Forest Service needs more money and people to fight the growing risks

Written by Ryan E. Tompkins, Cooperative Extension Forester and Natural Resources Advisor, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources

Forest thinning and prescribed burns leave less fuel to burn.Escaflowne via Getty Images

People living in the western U.S. have been concerned about wildfires for a long time, but the past two years have left many of them fearful and questioning whether any solutions to the fire crisis truly exist.

The Dixie Fire in the Sierra Nevada burned nearly 1...

US has taken FARC off its terrorist list, giving insight into Biden's foreign policy

Written by Jason M. Blazakis, Professor of Practice and Director of Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism, Middlebury

The Biden administration has signaled how it will use its power to designate different groups as terrorists as part of its foreign policy efforts.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the Colombian rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, off the U.S. Foreign Terrorist Organizations list at the end of 2021.

I know...

Russia's recent invasions of Ukraine and Georgia offer clues to what Putin might be thinking now

Written by Liam Collins, Founding Director, Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy West Point

A Ukrainian military serviceman walks along a snow-covered trench in the eastern Lugansk region on Jan. 21, 2022.Photo by Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

Given that Russia has amassed 100,000 troops along its nearly 1,200-mile border with Ukraine, a look at two recent invasions by Russia against neighboring territories offers insight to what...

It's just a 'panic attack' – Russian media blames US for escalating Ukraine crisis

Written by Cynthia Hooper, Associate Professor of History, College of the Holy Cross

A live broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking is shown on Dec. 23, 2021, from a media control room in Russia.Eric Romanenko/TASS via Getty Images

As Western news outlets warn of a “countdown to war,” Kremlin-controlled Russian television has a different take, accusing the U.S. of “hysteria” in its insistence...