The Conversation

• When government websites become campaign tools: Blaming the shutdown on Democrats has legal and political risks
  When websites and email systems become partisan platforms, the line blurs between state and party, diluting public trust in the idea of impartial governance.
• Winning with misinformation: New research identifies link between endorsing easily disproven claims and prioritizing symbolic strength
  Conversations around misinformation that assume everyone cares about literal truth may be missing the point.
• Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary: How a technological marvel for trade changed the environment forever
  The Erie Canal solidified New York’s reputation as the Empire State, but it also opened up an expressway for invasive species to reach the Great Lakes and Hudson River.
• Why higher tariffs on Canadian lumber may not be enough to stimulate long-term investments in US forestry
  The US has ample forest resources, but replacing imports with domestic lumber isn’t as simple as it sounds.
• Detroit parents face fines if their children break curfew − research shows the policy could do more harm than good
  The fines of $250 for a first offense and $500 for a second hit low-income families the hardest.
• Concerns about AI-written police reports spur states to regulate the emerging practice
  AI-generated police reports promise to save cops time, but they also raise a host of legal and technical concerns.
• Focused sound energy holds promise for treating cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases
  Ultrasound is perhaps best known as an imaging technique to monitor pregnancy or disease. When these sound waves are highly concentrated, however, they can be used to treat a host of diseases.
• Our team of physicists inadvertently generated the shortest X-ray pulses ever observed
  Super short X-ray pulses help scientists study materials at the atomic level. Researchers found that certain lasing effects can make these pulses even shorter.
• Jean-Jacques Dessalines: Reassessing the Haitian revolutionary leader’s legacy
  Historian Julia Gaffield discusses her recent biography on Haiti’s first leader, whose life she argues was unfairly tarnished by biased verdicts of history.
• Yes, ADHD diagnoses are rising, but that doesn’t mean it’s overdiagnosed
  ADHD symptoms occur on a continuum and can fluctuate dramatically based on life circumstances such as transitions to middle school, stress levels and even sleep.
• Flamingos are making a home in Florida again after 100 years – an ecologist explains why they may be returning for good
  The gradual return of flamingos to Florida coincides with long-term efforts to restore the Everglades and the state’s coastal ecosystems.
• Typhoon leaves flooded Alaska villages facing a storm recovery far tougher than most Americans will ever experience
  ‘As the storm approached Alaska, everything went sideways,’ leaving people no time to evacuate and little time to prepare. An Alaska meteorologist explains what happened and the challenges ahead.
• The limits of free speech protections in American broadcasting
  Pressuring broadcasters by leveraging the powers of the Federal Communications Commission occurs no matter which party controls the White House.
• What the First Amendment doesn’t protect when it comes to professors speaking out on politics
  American colleges and universities have traditionally encouraged free speech. Recent dismissals of professors are eroding their commitment to this core mission.
• New student loan limits could change who gets to become a professor, doctor or lawyer
  Tighter federal borrowing limits may deepen inequities, especially for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
• In defense of ‘surveillance pricing’: Why personalized prices could be an unexpected force for equity
  Fans of redistribution may find something good in the latest AI-powered development in pricing.
• Starbucks wants you to stay awhile – but shuttering its mobile-only pickup locations could be a risky move
  The coffee giant is pivoting back to its ‘third place’ roots – but the shift away from grab-and-go customers could open the door for rivals.
• Industrial facilities owned by profitable companies release more of their toxic waste into the environment
  Companies with relatively many patents and more employees own facilities that tend to release lower proportions of their toxic waste into the environment.
• Supreme Court redistricting ruling could upend decades of voting rights law – and tilt the balance of power in Washington
  A case being argued at the US Supreme Court could undo one of the last remaining protections for minority voters in a Civil Rights-era voting law.
• ‘Space tornadoes’ could cause geomagnetic storms – but these phenomena, spun off ejections from the Sun, aren’t easy to study
  Unprecedented simulations show the formation of space tornadoes capable of causing strong geomagnetic storms around Earth, calling for earlier and more accurate warnings.
• Far fewer Americans support political violence than recent polls suggest
  Well-known flaws in conventional polling methods may be creating the incorrect perception that many Americans think political violence is justified.
• 3-legged lizards can thrive against all odds, challenging assumptions about how evolution works in the wild
  Most lizards probably don’t survive devastating injuries. But a new study documents 122 cases of limb loss across 58 species – these exceptions shine a new light on natural selection.
• Why are elements like radium dangerous? A chemist explains radioactivity and its health effects
  Unstable atoms emit fast-moving particles that can damage cells in the human body. Some atoms are far more unstable than others.
• What are climate tipping points? They sound scary, especially for ice sheets and oceans, but there’s still room for optimism
  A report warns that coral reefs may have reached their tipping point, and ice sheets, ocean currents and the Amazon are at growing risk. But, what does that actually mean?
• How the government shutdown is making the air traffic controller shortage worse and leading to flight delays
  Air traffic controllers are considered essential workers and required to work without pay during the shutdown, but there are reports some are calling in sick in greater numbers than usual.
• Natural World Heritage sites under growing threat, but bright spots remain
  Many of these extraordinary places are increasingly at risk due to escalating climate change, invasive species, and and a lack of consistent funding to protect them.
• María Corina Machado’s peace prize follows Nobel tradition of awarding recipients for complex reasons
  Venezuelan opposition leader is the latest in a long list of controversial laureates.
• From artificial atoms to quantum information machines: Inside the 2025 Nobel Prize in physics
  2025’s Nobel Prize in Physics is a tribute to the scientists who first discovered quantum behaviors in a macroscopic electrical circuit.
• Government shutdown hasn’t left US consumers glum about the economy – for now, at least
  Consumer sentiment remained flat in October, compared to the previous month. But history shows a prolonged federal shutdown can impact how people feel about the economy.
• A white poet and a Sioux doctor fell in love after Wounded Knee – racism and sexism would drive them apart
  Elaine Goodale and Charles Eastman’s 19th-century interracial marriage made them a media sensation. But tensions over gender, race and identity ultimately proved too hard to overcome.
• New president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inherits a global faith far more diverse than many realize
  The church, whose members are often known as Mormons, has grown from a small community to 17.5 million members around the world – but not without some tensions.
• Trump is cutting funding to universities with large Hispanic student populations – here’s what to know
  Hispanic-Serving Institutions enroll over 60% of all Hispanic undergraduates in the US and include large schools like Florida International University.
• Political violence: What can happen when First Amendment free speech meets Second Amendment gun rights
  Political violence, made easier to carry out by the proliferation of guns, harms democracy by shifting the field of political disagreement from debate to aggression.
• Our engineering team is making versatile, tiny sensors from the Nobel-winning ‘metal-organic frameworks’
  By trapping different molecules, metal-organic frameworks could make for efficient breath sensors that predict lung disease, cancer or diabetes.
• Friendships aren’t just about keeping score – new psychology research looks at why we help our friends when they need it
  Friendship isn’t a tit-for-tat balance sheet, but that’s how researchers have traditionally defined it. New studies are refining the model to be less about transactions and truer to real life.
• How pollution and the microbiome interact with Tregs, the immune system regulators whose discovery was honored with the Nobel Prize
  Researchers are gaining insights into how external factors like air pollutants, diet and medications, and even microbes in the gut interact with regulatory T cells, for better or for worse.
• Flu season has arrived – and so have updated flu vaccines
  Despite some confusion around changing vaccine guidelines, the CDC still recommends an annual flu shot for everyone 6 months and older.
• Can you really be addicted to food? Researchers are uncovering convincing similarities to drug addiction
  A consensus is emerging among scientists that certain foods are addictive for some people. But questions remain about which foods, which people and why.
• For war-weary Syria, potential benefits of security pact with Israel comes with big risks
  A US-backed diplomatic push is trying to end months of Israeli attacks on Syria with a bilateral security pact. But concluding an agreement may prove a tall order.
• A Denver MD has spent 2 decades working with hospitalized patients experiencing homelessness − here’s what she fears and what gives her hope
  Homelessness is solvable through affordable and supportive housing. Hospitals should be part of the solution.
• Refinery fires, other chemical disasters may no longer get safety investigations
  Because of the federal government shutdown and proposed budget, key federal investigations may stop, including into what happened at a Chevron refinery in California in October 2025.
• In 1776, Thomas Paine made the best case for fighting kings − and for being skeptical
  ‘In America, the law is king!’ ‘No King! No Tyranny!’ For a skeptical Thomas Paine, every day was ‘No Kings Day.’
• Gaza peace plan risks borrowing more from Tony Blair’s failures in the Middle East than his success in Northern Ireland
  The former British leader was tapped to lead redevelopment efforts in Gaza if a deal is agreed upon.
• Metal-organic frameworks: Nobel-winning tiny ‘sponge crystals’ with an astonishing amount of inner space
  Just a gram of these tiny crystals can have an internal surface area as big as a soccer field. A materials expert explains the almost magical chemistry of MOFs.
• Nobel Prize in physics awarded for ultracold electronics research that launched a quantum technology
  The discovery that superconducting circuits can behave like quantum particles was a revolutionary development in the field of quantum technologies.
• For Trump’s perceived enemies, the process may be the punishment
  Even when a prosecution fails to convict someone, the process of defending against charges can itself can be a form of punishment.
• James Comey’s indictment is a trademark tactic of authoritarians
  The former FBI director’s indictment breaks a principle that has protected American democracy for 50 years.
• Why higher ed’s AI rush could put corporate interests over public service and independence
  Higher education’s embrace of AI reveals deeper trends in institutional priorities − and what’s at risk.
• Jane Fonda, other stars, revive the Committee for the First Amendment – a group that emerged when the anti-communist panic came for Hollywood
  Even after the original group fizzled, many of its members were able to keep making films with progressive messages.
• Winning a bidding war isn’t always a win, research on 14 million home sales shows
  In hot housing markets, buyers who outbid rivals often overpay – and face higher risks of loss and foreclosure.