The Conversation

Our analysis of 7 months of polling data shows friendships, the economy and firsthand experience shaped and reshaped views on COVID-19 risks

Written by Wanyun Shao, Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Alabama

Political leanings and community features predicted support of COVID-19 mitigation measures.wildpixel/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Even though Americans shared the experience of living through a global pandemic, their individual attitudes towards it differed and evolved – sometimes dramatically.

We study risk perception. Using public opinion...

Scientists understood physics of climate change in the 1800s – thanks to a woman named Eunice Foote

Written by Sylvia G. Dee, Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, Rice University

Eunice Foote described the greenhouse gas effects of carbon dioxide in 1856.Carlyn Iverson/NOAA Climate.gov

Long before the current political divide over climate change, and even before the U.S. Civil War (1861-1865), an American scientist named Eunice Foote documented the underlying cause of today’s climate change crisis.

The year was 1856....

AI spots shipwrecks from the ocean surface – and even from the air

Written by Leila Character, Doctoral student in Geography, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

It should be obvious to this diver that this is a shipwreck and not a reef, but what about to someone looking at a image of this spot taken from an aircraft?LookBermuda/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

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

The big idea

In collaboration with the United States Navy’s Underwater Archaeology Branch,...

Afghanistan after the US withdrawal: The Taliban speak more moderately but their extremist rule hasn't evolved in 20 years

Written by Sher Jan Ahmadzai, Director, Center for Afghanistan Studies, University of Nebraska Omaha

In early 2021, some Taliban fighters surrendered their weapons to support peace talks with the Afghan government. Today the Islamic extremist group is battling government forces to control the country. Xinhua/Emran Waak via Getty Images

The Taliban are rapidly gaining territory in Afghanistan as the United States withdraws its forces from the...

US is split between the vaccinated and unvaccinated – and deaths and hospitalizations reflect this divide

Written by Rodney E. Rohde, Professor of Clinical Laboratory Science, Texas State University

As coronavirus cases surge, unvaccinated people are accounting for nearly all hospitalizations and deaths. Fat Camera/E+ via Getty Images

In recent weeks, one piece of data has gotten a lot of attention: 99.5% of all the people dying from COVID-19 in the U.S. are unvaccinated.

We are two researchers who work in public health and study immunity,...

Are middle lanes fastest in track and field? Data from 8,000 racers shows not so much

Written by David R. Munro, Assistant Professor of Economics, Middlebury

The fastest runners are usually rewarded with the middle lanes. Michael H/Stone vie Getty Images

As a short-distance track and field runner in high school and college, I often found myself wondering which of the eight or sometimes nine lanes on the track was the fastest. It was conventional wisdom that the middle lanes – lanes three through...

Why Gil Scott-Heron's 'Whitey on the Moon' still feels relevant today

Written by A.D. Carson, Assistant Professor of Hip-Hop, University of Virginia

Recent space flights by multi-billionaires highlight the extreme economic inequality in America.Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Not long after the July 20, 1969, Moon landing, Gil Scott-Heron – a poet hailed as the “Godfather of Rap” – released a scathingly critical song called “Whitey on the Moon.”

While others lauded...

Why women need male allies in the workplace – and why fighting everyday sexism enriches men too

Written by Meg Warren, Associate Professor of Management, Western Washington University

Women who perceive their male colleagues as allies are more likely to feel included in a workplace. 10'000 Hours/DigitalVision via Getty Images

Women and groups advocating for gender equality are increasingly urging men to become allies in the fight.

Research has shown that in the absence of male support, women have to shoulder the burden of...

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...