The Conversation

Can health insurance companies charge the unvaccinated higher premiums? What about life insurers? 5 questions answered

Written by Kosali Simon, Professor of Health Economics, Indiana University

Laws restrict the ways insurers can use vaccination status to affect coverage or premiums.AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

The current COVID-19 wave in the U.S. is mostly affecting unvaccinated Americans, who represent more than 95% of current cases of hospitalization and death.

Given the average cost of a COVID-19 hospitalization in 2020 ran about...

Mexico, facing its third COVID-19 wave, shows the dangers of weak federal coordination

Written by Adolfo Martinez Valle, Head of Academic Unit, Health Public and Population Research Center, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

Mexico City on Aug. 8, 2021: lots of masks, not so much social distancing.Luis Barron / Eyepix Group/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Cases of COVID-19 are surging around the world, but the course of the pandemic varies widely country to country. To provide you with a global view as we approach a year and a half since the official declaration of the...

Fish fins are teaching us the secret to flexible robots and new shape-changing materials

Written by Francois Barthelat, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder

Flying fish use their fins both to swim and glide through the air. Smithsonian Institution/Flickr

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

The big idea

Segmented hinges in the long, thin bones of fish fins are critical to the incredible mechanical properties of fins, and this design could inspire improved underwater...

Tick bites: Every year is a bad tick year

Written by Jory Brinkerhoff, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Richmond

Black-legged ticks carry Lyme disease, which continues to spread widely across the United States.CDC/Michael Levin

It’s summer, a time to hike, garden, vacation – and to be on the lookout for ticks.

From Lyme disease to lesser-known illnesses like Heartland virus disease, ehrlichiosis and Colorado tick fever, tick-borne disease cases...

Afghanistan only the latest US war to be driven by deceit and delusion

Written by Gordon Adams, Professor Emeritus, American University School of International Service

On Aug. 16, 2021, thousands of Afghans trapped by the sudden Taliban takeover rushed the Kabul airport tarmac.AP Photo/Shekib Rahmani

In Afghanistan, American hubris – the United States’ capacity for self-delusion and official lying – has struck once again, as it has repeatedly for the last 60 years.

This...

Will recent political instability affect Haiti's earthquake response? We ask an expert

Written by Louise K. Comfort, Professor of Public and International Affairs, former Director of the Center for Disaster Management, University of Pittsburgh

Natural disasters are not uncommon in Haiti; neither is political instability.Reginald Louissaint JR/AFP via Getty Images

Parts of Haiti were reduced to rubble by a powerful earthquake that hit the impoverished nation on Aug. 14, 2021, resulting in a death toll that has climbed rapidly to nearly 1,500 with many more bodies expected to be recovered...

America's moral responsibility for the tragedy unfolding in Afghanistan

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

Thousands of Afghans rushed to Kabul's airport trying to flee the country as the Taliban seized power.Wakil Kohsar / AFP via Getty Images

Chaotic scenes in Kabul accompanied the return to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan. The fundamentalist Islamic group was able to retake power after President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw the...

Climate change is relentless: Seemingly small shifts have big consequences

Written by Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Scholar, National Center for Atmospheric Research

Excess energy has warmed the oceans, building up fuel for cyclones.NASA Earth Observatory/Joshua Stevens

Climate change has been accumulating slowly but relentlessly for decades. The changes might sound small when you hear about them – another tenth of a degree warmer, another centimeter of sea level rise – but seemingly small changes...

Nursing home residents and staff are traumatized from the pandemic - collaborative care can help with recovery

Written by Nancy Kusmaul, Associate Professor of Social Work, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Trauma-informed care ensures that both patients and staff feel supported in their care decisions.Owen Franken/Corbis Documentary via Getty Images

For older adults, social isolation may have dredged up past traumas that are difficult to come back from. And for those living in nursing homes that have been the center of outbreaks throughout the...

Organic food has become mainstream but still has room to grow

Written by Kathleen Merrigan, Executive Director, Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems, Arizona State University

Organic vegetables at the Center for Urban Agriculture at Fairview Gardens, Goleta, Calif.Citizen of the Planet/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

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Organic food once was viewed as a niche category for health nuts and hippies, but today it’s a routine choice for millions of Americans. For years following passage of...