The Conversation - How the NRA has changed

How important is the COVID-19 booster shot for 5-to-11-year-olds? 5 questions answered

Debbie-Ann Shirley, University of Virginia

The COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective against severe illness leading to hospitalization and death in all age groups, including children ages 5 to 11.

After mass shootings like Uvalde, national gun control fails – but states often loosen gun laws

Christopher Poliquin, University of California, Los Angeles

After mass shootings, politicians in Washington have failed to pass new gun control legislation, despite public pressure. But laws are being passed at the state level, largely to loosen restrictions.

How college students can help save local news

Lara Salahi, Endicott College; Christina Smith, Georgia College and State University

Partnerships between universities and local media outlets are key ways to sustain local news where coverage is diminishing.

A quest for significance gone horribly wrong – how mass shooters pervert a universal desire to make a difference in the world

Arie Kruglanski, University of Maryland

There is a mental and psychological dimension to what leads people to commit mass killings. But it is not mental illness or pathology.

How ‘gate’ became the syllable of scandal

Roger J. Kreuz, University of Memphis

Many of the coinages fail to differentiate the mundane from the momentous. Has the suffix’s overuse rendered it essentially meaningless?

Genetic mutations can be benign or cancerous – a new method to differentiate between them could lead to better treatments

Ryan Layer, University of Colorado Boulder

Tumors contain thousands of genetic changes, but only a few are actually cancer-causing. A quicker way to identify these driver mutations could lead to more targeted cancer treatments.

Want to expand computer science education? Educate more teachers

Aman Yadav, Michigan State University; Michael Lachney

Without university-level programs to provide teacher training for advanced computer science, states will not be able to offer high-quality computer science education to all students.

3 in 4 fundraisers have experienced sexual harassment on the job – often because of inappropriate behavior from donors

Erynn Beaton, The Ohio State University; Megan LePere-Schloop, The Ohio State University

After studying this #MeToo problem for years, two researchers have drafted a toolkit to help nonprofits address it.

AI and machine learning are improving weather forecasts, but they won’t replace human experts

Russ Schumacher, Colorado State University; Aaron Hill, Colorado State University

Would you trust a weather forecast made by a machine that had learned how weather systems behaved by reviewing thousands of past weather maps?

What is monkeypox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin

Could people breathe the air on Mars?

Putin’s key mistake? Not understanding Ukraine’s blossoming national identity - even in the Russian-friendly southeast