The Conversation

When it comes to the rarest of diseases, the diagnosis isn't the answer – it's just the starting point

Written by: Steven Walkley, Professor of Neuroscience, Pathology and Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The National Institutes of Health estimates the existence of 7,000 rare diseases, with some affecting only a handful of people.Alan Phillips/E! via Getty Images

“Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we finally have an answer for you.” The couple, whose real names we are protecting for privacy, looked at me anxiously. I had been evaluating their young...

Biology with Tibetan Buddhist monks: What I'm taking back to my college classroom from teaching at a monastery

Written by: Daniel Pierce, Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Richmond

Tibetan monks at Sera Jey Monastery in Mysore, India, experience using microscopes for the first time.Courtesy of Dan Pierce, CC BY-NC-ND

It would be quite appropriate for a college professor to assume students know that a tree is alive and a rock is not.

Or would it?

For several summers, I have had the pleasure of teaching biology to Tibetan...

Students of color in special education are less likely to get the help they need -- here are 3 ways teachers can do better

Written by: Mildred Boveda, Associate Professor of Special Education, Penn State

Conversations around race and disability often get left out of schools. FG Trade/E+ via Getty Images

When I was a special education teacher at Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Miami in 2010, my colleagues and I recommended that a Black girl receive special education services because she had difficulty reading. However, her mother disagreed. When I...

Marijuana: 4 essential reads on the uses, effects and potential of cannabis

Written by: Leah Samuel, Health + Equity Editor

Health claims around CBD grew after the FDA approved a drug containing CBD to treat seizures from two rare forms of epilepsy.Olena Ruban/Moment via Getty Images

As states have legalized marijuana for medicinal and recreational use, and federal law now allows sale of hemp-derived products, cannabis and its derivatives are getting more attention and...

Payment apps asking for specific tips before service annoy the heck out of users – but still generate bigger gratuities

Written by: Alei Fan, Assistant Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Purdue University

Customers may prefer the old-fashioned tip jar. SDI Productions/iStock via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Asking customers to leave specific tip amounts before food is delivered or provided prompts larger gratuities but also leads to lower satisfaction – especially if the payment...

Jaguars could return to the US Southwest – but only if they have pathways to move north

Written by: Ganesh Marin, Ph.D. Candidate in Wildlife Conservation and Management, University of Arizona

A jaguar in Brazil's Patanal region.Sergio Pitamitz /VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Jaguars are the only species of big cat found on the American continent. They range as far south as Argentina, and once roamed as far north as the Grand Canyon in the U.S. Today the northernmost breeding population is in the northwest Mexican state...

How a South African community's request for its genetic data raises questions about ethical and equitable research

Written by: Dana Al-Hindi, PhD Candidate in Anthropology, University of California, Davis

Many researchers are interested in the genetic history of the Khoe-San.Dana Al-Hindi, CC BY-NC-ND

Scientists believe Africa is where modern humans first emerged. For the past decade, our team of genetic researchers from the Henn Lab have worked among the Khoe-San and self-identified “Coloured” communities in South Africa, which comprise...

Pranks and propaganda: Russian laws against 'fake news' target Ukrainians and the opposition, not pro-Putin pranksters

Written by: Stanislav Budnitsky, Postdoctoral Fellow, Russian and East European Institute, Indiana University

Russian pranksters and anti-free speech advocates Vladimir "Vovan" Kuznetsov, left, and Alexei "Lexus" Stolyarov in Moscow in 2016.Yuri Kadobnovav/AFP via Getty Images

When they launched their war on Ukraine in late February 2022, Russian authorities also unleashed an all-out assault on dissent at home. Within weeks, the Kremlin blocked access to...

Pandemic decision-making is difficult and exhausting – here's the psychology that explains why

Written by: Elizabeth Tricomi, Associate Professor of Psychology, Rutgers University - Newark

So much uncertainty around risk can make it extra hard to decide what to do.Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images

You want to sit down for an indoor dinner with friends. A couple of years ago, this was a simple enough activity that required minimal planning. However, that is not the case in today’s world. Many people now face a stream...

An 11-year-old Prince spoke out in support of his striking Minneapolis teachers – a historian of the city's music scene explains why

Written by: Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor at the School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University

The Minneapolis public school system helped to musically educate artists like Prince, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. John Ferguson/Mirrorpix/Getty Images

For Prince fans around the world, the recent discovery of the singer speaking out at age 11 on behalf of striking Minneapolis public schoolteachers is an exciting piece of Prince pop cultural...