
How to Stay Safe during Lightning Storms
Each year in the U.S. lightning strikes 37 million times and kills 21 people on average. Here’s how to stay safe during lightning storms
Curated by professional editors, The Conversation offers informed commentary and debate on the issues affecting our world.
How to Stay Safe during Lightning Storms
Each year in the U.S. lightning strikes 37 million times and kills 21 people on average. Here’s how to stay safe during lightning storms
Badly Designed Streets Are an Overlooked Car Crash Cause, Traffic Engineer Warns
Education and enforcement can only go so far in reducing crashes when badly designed roads are filled with large cars
What Lucy the Ancient Hominin Can Teach Us about Being Naked
Lucy, a 3.2-million-year-old fossilized hominin, may have been much less hairy than we imagine—a perhaps shocking revelation for our modern sense of nakedness
Remembering Lynn Conway, of the Conway Effect, Who Helped Launch the Computing Revolution
Lynn Conway, a trans woman and advocate for LGBTQ rights, was underappreciated and often underrecognized for her work in chip design
Six Ways to Stay Safe Outdoors in Extreme Heat
Sizzling summer days can be a dangerous time to be outside. Here’s what to think about before heading into the heat and how to stay safe
Converting Offices to Apartments Gives Empty Buildings a New Lease on Life
Employees are working remotely, and office buildings are standing empty, inspiring some cities to work through the challenges of converting these structures into new apartments
The Physics of Breakdancing, a New Olympic Sport
Breakdancing will hit the global stage at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, and this physicist is excited to break down the science
How to Avoid Summer Germs
From hiking to barbecuing and gardening to swimming, the opportunities for summer fun can also pose health risks. Here’s how to stay safe this summer
Huge Blobs of Seaweed Are Choking the Caribbean’s Iconic White Sand Beaches
Massive blobs of sargassum seaweed are taking over Caribbean beaches. The seaweed explosion is fueled by pollution washing into the ocean from rivers in the Americas and Africa
How to Improve Prospective Memory, the Ability to Remember to Remember
Prospective memory is a skill that can be practiced, making it more likely that someone can remember an appointment or meet a deadline
Many Prenatal Supplements Don’t Provide Enough of Key Nutrients
Most pregnant people take prenatal supplements, but weak regulation means these products don’t necessarily provide the needed nutrients
Cuckoo Chicks Are Sleeper Agents in Evolutionary Arms Race
Cuckoos are “nest pirates” that lay their eggs in other birds’ nests, setting off an evolutionary arms race that leads to the development of new species
Avocado Farms Aren’t Sustainable Now, but They Could Be
Avocados are marketed as a superfood, but growing them for an expanding world market has turned a rural Mexican state into an unsustainable monoculture
Depression, Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Are Linked with Ancient Viral DNA in Our Genome
Retroviruses, some of which predate the human species, are tied to a genetic susceptibility to major psychiatric disorders
The 2024 Hurricane Season Could Be a Dangerous One
The National Hurricane Center’s hurricane season outlook for the Atlantic Ocean forecasts 17 to 25 named storms in 2024 because of an expected combination of warm ocean temperatures and a La Niña climate pattern
Meet Wind Shear, the Phenomenon That Can Rip a Hurricane Apart
An atmospheric scientist explains what wind shear is and how it influences hurricanes
What Is Pasteurization, and How Does It Keep Milk Safe?
The pasteurization process was invented in the 1860s and continues to keep people safe from a range of foodborne illnesses
This Year’s La Niña Could Worsen Atlantic Hurricane Season
Earth is shifting into a La Niña period, changing climate patterns all around the globe
7 Steps to Disprove a Conspiracy Theory
Conspiracy theories are everywhere. Here's how you can figure out when you're being fooled
The Anthropology of Past Disease Outbreaks Can Help Prevent Future Ones
Three factors determine whether a society experiences disease outbreaks—and how we can fight them
Why Did Ancient Romans Make this Baffling Metal Dodecahedron?
A mysterious 12-sided object called a dodecahedron discovered in England has archaeologists both excited and baffled
‘Protest Paradigm’ Shows What’s Wrong with Media Coverage of Student Activism
Media coverage of university students speaking up against the war in Gaza, just like coverage of other protest movements, has fallen prey to some serious weaknesses
See What Gives Sourdough Its Distinctive Taste and Smell
You can thank yeast and bacteria cultivated over generations for the distinctive taste and smell of the oldest leavened bread in history
The Famine Developing in Gaza Follows a Clear Pattern
Famine is affecting an increasing number of people in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti and elsewhere around the globe, and its development follows a clear pattern