The Conversation

Insulin was discovered 100 years ago – but it took a lot more than one scientific breakthrough to get a diabetes treatment to patients

Written by James P. Brody, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine

A single brilliant insight is only part of the story of how diabetes became a manageable disease.Douglas Grundy/Three Lions via Getty Images

Diabetes was a fatal disease before insulin was discovered on July 27, 1921. A century ago, people diagnosed with this metabolic disorder usually survived only a few years. Physicians had no way to treat their...

Lawsuits over bans on teaching critical race theory are coming – here's what won't work, and what might

Written by Frank LoMonte, Director of the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, University of Florida

Republican politicians have championed legislation to limit the teaching of material exploring how race and racism influence American politics, culture and law. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File

As states and school districts started threatening teachers with disciplinary action for teaching about systemic racism, the question naturally arose: Does...

COVID-19 recession: One of America's deepest downturns was also its shortest after bailout-driven bounceback

Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Questrom School of Business, Boston University

The U.S. economy bounced back in record time. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Thanks to a roaring economy, plunging joblessness and a consumer spending spree, it probably won’t come as a surprise that the COVID-19 recession is officially over.

We didn’t know this, formally, however, until July 19, 2021, when a group of America’s top...

Effects of childhood adversity linger during college years

Written by Toni Watt, Professor of Sociology, Texas State University

A study found that 22.8% of college students had experienced at least four adverse childhood experiences. Carol Yepes/Getty Images

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

The big idea

College students who experienced a high level of adversity in childhood have lower levels of social support, such as having someone to...

Why a 19th-century Russian anarchist is relevant to the mask and vaccine debate

Written by Michael Locke McLendon, Professor of Political Science, California State University, Los Angeles

Beards? Yes. Masks? Perhaps not.Wikimedia Commons

Americans who refused to don masks or get vaccinated during the pandemic don’t have an easy task constructing a valid philosophical defense of their behavior.

The go-to philosophical authorities typically cited to defend individual liberty in the U.S. – John Locke and John Stuart Mill...

How to avoid food-borne illness – a nutritionist explains

Written by Ruth S. MacDonald, Associate Dean, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University

After the meal, putting food away quickly is key to keeping it free from pathogens.Getty Images / Thomas Barwick

Summer means cookouts, picnics and backyard barbecues. But a generous spread of food eaten outside raises some serious health questions. Nobody wants food poisoning – or to make their guests sick. But how do you know when...

Free school meals for all children can improve kids' health

Written by Matthew J. Landry, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Stanford University

Many children, especially from low-income communities or communities of color, eat up to half their daily calories in school. SDI Productions/E+ via Getty Images

Recognizing that millions of U.S. children are at risk of hunger, Maine and California have approved funding to offer free school meals to all students within their state. Meanwhile, a bill...

The US Army tried portable nuclear power at remote bases 60 years ago – it didn't go well

Written by Paul Bierman, Fellow of the Gund Institute for Environment, Professor of Natural Resources, University of Vermont

Part of a portable nuclear power plant arrives at Camp Century in 1960.Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

In a tunnel 40 feet beneath the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, a Geiger counter screamed. It was 1964, the height of the Cold War. U.S. soldiers in the tunnel, 800 miles from the North Pole, were dismantling the Army’s first portable...

Why the US won't be able to shirk moral responsibility in leaving Afghanistan

Written by Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington

A handover ceremony as U.S. troops prepare to leave Afghanistan.Afghan Ministry of Defense Press Office via AP

The majority of the remaining American troops in Afghanistan were withdrawn recently, with the rest due to leave by the end of August 2021. This withdrawal marks the end of nearly 20 years of American military presence in Afghanistan.

Suppor...

Energy pipelines are controversial now, but one of the first big ones helped win World War II

Written by W. Bernard Carlson, Professor of Humanities and Chair of the Department of Engineering and Society, University of Virginia

The "Big Inch" oil pipeline at Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, around 1943. Betttman via Getty Images

Oil and gas pipelines have become flashpoints in discussions of climate change. From the Atlantic coast to the Dakotas, pipelines that would deliver fossil fuels to customers have sparked protests and legal challenges. The Keystone XL pipeline, which...