The Conversation

Taking out a student loan for your child can hurt your own financial well-being

Written by Thomas Korankye, Assistant Professor, Personal and Family Financial Planning, University of Arizona

Parents who borrow for their children's college education say finances control their lives.kali9/E+ via Getty Images

When people take out student loans for themselves, certain risks are involved. The debt can negatively affect a person’s mental, emotional and even physical well-being. It can also harm a person’s financial well-being.

But...

Convenient but susceptible to fraud: Why it makes sense to regulate charitable crowdfunding

Written by Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame

A woman searches through debris near where her Dawson Springs, Ky. home stood before a tornado flattened it in December 2021.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Within 24 hours of devastating tornadoes striking six states in December 2021, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear launched the Team Western Kentucky Tornado Relief Fund. That the leader of the state this...

The 'runner's high' may result from molecules called cannabinoids – the body's own version of THC and CBD

Written by Hilary A. Marusak, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University

Exercise spurs the release of the body's natural cannabinoids, which have myriad benefits for mental health and stress relief.Luca Sage/Stone via Getty Images

Many people have experienced reductions in stress, pain and anxiety and sometimes even euphoria after exercise. What’s behind this so-called “runner’s high”? New...

How to help those who have lost loved ones to suicide cope with grief during the holidays

Written by Michael R. Nadorff, Associate Professor of Psychology, Mississippi State University

Nearly 50,000 Americans kill themselves every year, leaving behind millions of family members and friends.svetikd/E+ via Getty Images

No matter the merriment of the season, the holidays remain a struggle for those who have lost a loved one to suicide.

In 2020, COVID-19 isolated many people from their families. Ironically, that isolation may have...

Sold-out supplies, serving a public need and other adventures of doing science during a pandemic – 4 researchers share their experiences

Written by Christian L'Orange, Assistant Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Colorado State University

Like much else, scientific labs have been shut down by the pandemic.Cavan Images/Cavan via Getty Images

Closures, remote work, supply chain issues and changing priorities have affected almost everyone’s lives at some point during the nearly two years of the coronavirus pandemic. The process of science itself was no exception. The many people...

'Twas the night before Christmas' helped make the modern Santa – and led to a literary whodunit

Written by Melissa Chim, Adjunct Professor and Reference Librarian, General Theological Seminary

If you picture Santa Claus as plump and jolly and pulled by reindeer, you may have this poem to thank.Clement Clark Moore/New-York Historical Society

The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” better known by its opening line “‘Twas the Night before Christmas,” has a special place among Christmas traditions, right alongside...

Why spending $2 trillion on child care, health care and fighting climate change won't make inflation any worse than it already is

Written by Michael Klein, Professor of International Economic Affairs at The Fletcher School, Tufts University

You get the metaphor. Edwin Remsberg/The Image Bank via Getty Images

One of the main concerns raised by critics of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better plan is that it will drive up inflation, which is already running at the fastest pace in four decades.

The Senate is currently considering a roughly US$2 trillion bill passed by the House th...

Mistletoe – famous for stolen holiday kisses – is a parasite that steals water and nutrients from other plants

Written by David Hillock, Associate Extension Specialist Horticulture & Landscape Architecture, Oklahoma State University

American mistletoe's genus *Phoradendron* means 'thief of trees' in Greek.Joe Decruyenaere/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

A parasitic plant with potentially poisonous berries might not sound like something that would boost your Christmas decorations to the next level. But, botanically speaking, that’s what mistletoe is.

There are some 1,300...

Surveys of scientists show women and young academics suffered most during pandemic and may face long-term career consequences

Written by Lesley Michalegko, Research Project Manager of Public Policy, Arizona State University

Working from home comes with many distractions.MoMoProductions/Digital Vision via Getty Images

On March 6, 2020, universities across the U.S. announced systematic laboratory closures, social distancing policies and travel bans to cope with the growing coronavirus epidemic. These actions, while prudent and necessary, had immediate negative impacts...

It's all in the flag: Bussa's Rebellion and the 200-year fight to end British rule in Barbados

Written by Lewis Eliot, Assistant Professor, History, University of Oklahoma

Dancers perform during the presidential inauguration ceremony at Heroes Square on November 29, 2021, in Bridgetown, Barbados. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

With much fanfare, Barbados officially became a republic, installing Dame Sandra Mason as the first president of the island nation on Nov. 30 2021. Prince Charles, as a representative of Queen...