Nov 05 How NASA's robotic prospectors could pave the way for future asteroid miners By Valerie Payré, The Conversation Upcoming NASA missions will help scientists understand the composition of asteroids – which could inform companies one day hoping to commercially mine asteroids. Continue reading
Nov 04 Analysis: How Biden's new executive order tackles AI risks, and where it falls short By Anjana Susarla, The Conversation The set of guidelines for artificial intelligence that the White House unveiled on Oct. 30 shows that the U.S. government is attempting to address the risks posed by AI. However, it leaves unresolved the issue of comprehensive data privacy legislation. Continue reading
Oct 29 How 'La Catrina' became the iconic symbol for the Day of the Dead By Mathew Sandoval, The Conversation She’s the icon of Day of the Dead, with her visage endlessly reproduced during the holiday. While some people might presume it’s always been this way, La Catrina is actually a transcultural icon whose prestige and popularity are equal parts invention… Continue reading
Oct 28 What an FDA advisory panel's finding that oral phenylephrine is ineffective means for cold and flu meds By Lucas A. Berenbrok, Colleen Culley, Karen Steinmetz Pater, The Conversation The ramp-up to cold and flu season is a bad time for consumers to learn that some of their most trusted go-to products don’t actually work. Continue reading
Aug 01 Who was Henrietta Lacks? Here's how HeLa cells became essential to medical research By Ivan Martinez, The Conversation On Aug. 1, 2023, over 70 years after doctors took Lacks’ cells without her consent or knowledge, her family reached a settlement with biotech company Thermo Fisher. Continue reading
Mar 14 Analysis: Why Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed so fast By Vidhura S. Tennekoon, The Conversation Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed with enormous speed – so quickly that they could be textbook cases of classic bank runs, in which too many depositors withdraw their funds from a bank at the same time. Continue reading
Aug 09 Analysis: 4 things to know about the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate By Clark D. Cunningham, The Conversation The FBI’s raid of former President Donald Trump’s estate on Aug. 8, 2022, caught Trump by surprise – and prompted immediate speculation about exactly why and how the law enforcement agency secured a search warrant. Continue reading
Apr 27 Why this professor no longer grades her students' work – and wishes she had stopped sooner By Elisabeth Gruner, The Conversation Evaluating student work and offering feedback doesn’t mean there has to be a grade. Continue reading
Apr 01 How scientists finally completed the human genomic puzzle By Gabrielle Hartley, The Conversation When the Human Genome Project announced that they had completed the first human genome in 2003, it came with a catch — they weren’t actually able to put together all the genetic information. There were gaps: unfilled, often repetitive regions… Continue reading
Feb 28 Analysis: Putin's claim that war on Ukraine is to target Nazis is absurd. Here's why By Jeffrey Veidlinger, The Conversation Russian President Vladimir Putin’s selective telling of the past exaggerates the legacy of Nazism in Ukraine while ignoring the state’s historic struggle for pluralism and democracy. Continue reading