Instead of building a wall on the US-Mexico border, a landscape architect calls for restoring the Rio Grande and turning its course into an international park – an idea first proposed in the 1930s.
A recent study of medical students and residents found they were reluctant to engage with parents who have vaccination fears. But listening to parents is important.
Olena Yakobchuck/Shutterstock.com
A recent study suggests that shunning parents who are reluctant to vaccinate their kids isn't the best strategy. A better strategy might be old-fashioned, but it works.
More and more research shows that we are likely to pass the 2 degree Celsius temperature limit much of the world has agreed on. Where did that limit come from, and what if we miss it?
Donald Trump's speech on "principled realism" in Afghanistan contained few surprises. Now, under the aegis of DOD chief Mattis it is the latest stage in America’s "forever war."
Although workers at a Nissan auto plant in Mississippi rejected a proposal to join the United Auto Workers Union, organized labor has reason to be optimistic about its future.
Move over millennials, there's a new generation in town. Dubbed 'iGen,' they differ from their predecessors on a range of measures, from mental health to time spent with friends.
Americans have moved on from worrying about ‘test-tube babies’ – but there are still ethical challenges to resolve as reproductive technologies continue to advance.
In Puerto Rico the Trump administration's 'energy dominance' policy echoes colonial practices by fast-forwarding fossil fuel projects over community resistance.
Matthew Xu-Friedman, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Noise is common, but we don't fully know what that means for our hearing. A recent study suggests how overstimulation of the auditory nerve may be too much for it to handle.
Given recent events, you might have had an inkling that extremist views have been resonating. Researchers from the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention have the hard data to back it up.
Ryan Kelly's iconic photograph from Charlottesville evokes a 'Unite the Right' moment from 1937 – and the anti-war masterpiece by Picasso that emerged from it.
FDA Director Scott Gottlieb has proposed discussions about drastically cutting nicotine levels in cigarettes. This could result in some of the biggest health gains in history.
Race-conscious admissions policies are still the best way to achieve diversity on campus. Yet, some race-neutral methods could help colleges improve diversity – and stand up to legal scrutiny.
Study uses satellite data to add to growing evidence that nighttime light exposure raises risk of breast cancer, with the strongest link among young women.
As we struggle to avoid temptations throughout the day, we often rely on willpower and self-control to back impulses. New research suggests a different way to think about this internal battle.
David King, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Religious values, deeply rooted in texts, serve as an important motivator for giving. Religious Americans volunteer more, give more, and give more often.
Why is it so hard to reach consensus about how to slow climate change? Multiple time lags get in the way: some make it hard to convey the risk, while others prolong the search for solutions.
Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism, taught that a righteous man could help numerous women and children go to heaven by being 'sealed' in plural marriage. Norms have been revised, but tensions remain.
The loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers is getting shaky. History shows from the Arab Spring to Latin American coups, when the military withdraws support for a leader, a fall from power is imminent.
In recent years, the number of people traveling to sites of death, natural disaster, acts of violence, tragedy and crimes against humanity has dramatically increased. Is it immoral?
Giving labor unions a financial stake in a company such as a newspaper can offer unique advantages that could benefit employees, society and the bottom line.
Help us bring The Conversation's unique model of journalism to the attention of more people by voting for the two panels we are proposing at next year's SXSW conference in Austin, TX. Voting closes August 25!
A makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorist attack in Barcelona. Police killed five men August 18 believed to have been involved.
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez
With terrorists striking again in Spain and in Finland, one cannot help but ask -- again -- why people want to follow the Islamic State. Some new theories are emerging.
Five years after a major sexism scandal, Silicon Valley's misogynist culture remains strong and pervasive – and history reveals the stakes could be as high as the entire US tech sector.
The partition of India led to a genocide that was unprecedented in scale. How far was one man, Lord Mountbatten, who hurriedly drew the new borders, responsible?
At midnight on August 15, 1947, India achieved freedom from more than two centuries of colonial rule. Hours earlier, Pakistan was declared a new nation. Was partition inevitable?
More and more states are passing legislation requiring that students and faculty be permitted to carry concealed weapons on campus. But shouldn't universities have a choice when it comes to campus safety?
Who’s inside the hoodie?
BeeBright/Shutterstock.com
The Russian cyberthreat goes back over three decades, extends into the country's educational systems and criminal worlds, and shows no signs of letting up.
Images of Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are shown on a news program in Seoul, South Korea on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017.
AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon
There are some benefits to the uptick in billionaire newspaper and magazine owners, who can weather short-term losses for the sake of long-term gains. But whose interests are really being served?
Are cows sacred to all Hindus?
PRODaniel Incandela
Vigilante Hindu groups in India have lynched several people for eating beef. A scholar traces the history of beef-eating in ancient India.
Paul Wright, in treatment for opioid addiction in June 2017 at the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic in Youngstown Ohio, shows a photo of himself from 2015, when he almost died from an overdose.
AP Photo/David Dermer
The number of people dying from opioid overdose continues to rise, in part because of cheap street drugs. Yet the price of a drug used to treat addiction is out of reach for many.
Can technology free elevators from their up-down cages?
SIAATH/Shutterstock.com
New technology could make it practical to build skyscrapers far taller than even today's highest – and change how people live, work and play in tall buildings.
Trillions of microorganisms live inside your gut.
Anatomy Insider/Shutterstock.com
Trillions of microorganisms living inside your digestive system may influence your health and even your weight. Here's how your gut may communicate with your brain, bone marrow and immune system.
Customers shop during at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Out of the Closet thrift store in Columbus, Ohio.
Jay LaPrete/AP
Over the past 100 years, discarded and secondhand goods have been used by artists to reject mainstream aesthetics.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at an Aug. 1 press conference, the first he held after the defeat of his health care bill.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
With Obamacare in peril and no health care plan in sight, it's logical to ask whether states could design their own single-payer health insurance plans. Efforts in California show why it's unlikely.
Back in the 1930s, people like this pear peddler in New York City’s Lower East Side often got their news from labor-led media.
AP Photo
Brian Dolber, California State University San Marcos
The newspaper's new owners harken back to a tradition of labor-led media in the early part of the 20th century, which represented a bulwark against corporate power.
Green colonies of allergenic fungus Penicillium from air spores on a petri dish. Penicillin was the first antibiotic.
Satirus/Shutterstock.com
We've been told for a long time that we must take all of our antibiotics. But maybe we didn’t need so many to begin with. Here's why.
Far fewer Americans speak a second language than in most other developed countries – and the problem starts in the classroom.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com
Whether it's due to native language loss or unsupported high school curricula, the lack of bilingualism in the US is notable. Why can't more Americans speak another language? How should that change?
President Clinton during his grand jury deposition, Aug 17, 1998.
AP Photo/APTN
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