COVID-19 can lead to significant drops in IQ

This is Texas hold ‘em – why Texas is fighting the US government to secure its border with Mexico

Mark P Jones, Rice University

Texans’ belief in their state’s exceptionalism has helped fuel support for the Republican state government trying to take border security and immigration enforcement into its own hands.

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s legacy is the current Supreme Court and a judiciary reshaped by his ‘calculated audacity’

Al Cross, University of Kentucky

Mitch McConnell, who has announced he will step down from his role as Senate GOP leader, was an uncharismatic Kentucky lawyer who came to rule the Senate and remake the US Supreme Court.

Can Trump be prosecuted? Supreme Court will take up precedent-setting case to define the limits of presidential immunity

Claire Wofford, College of Charleston

In a case that will make legal and political history, the US Supreme Court will consider whether Donald Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for his alleged effort to undermine the 2020 election.

Caitlin Clark’s historic scoring record shines a spotlight on the history of the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women

Diane Williams, McDaniel College

Before being pushed aside by the NCAA, the AIAW, which was designed for and by women, governed women’s college athletics.

How Russia has managed to shake off the impact of sanctions – with a little help from its friends

Keith A. Preble, Miami University; Charmaine N. Willis, Skidmore College

The US has imposed another round of sanctions following the death of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. But will it work?

What is IVF? A nurse explains the evolving science and legality of in vitro fertilization

Heidi Collins Fantasia, UMass Lowell

IVF is a decades-old procedure that has allowed increasing numbers of prospective parents to have children. Evolving legislation may put it under threat.

We’ve been here before: AI promised humanlike machines – in 1958

Danielle Williams, Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis

Enthusiasm for the capabilities of artificial intelligence – and claims for the approach of humanlike prowess –has followed a boom-and-bust cycle since the middle of the 20th century.

Climate comedy works − here’s why, and how it can help lighten up a politically heavy year in 2024

Maxwell Boykoff, University of Colorado Boulder; Beth Osnes, University of Colorado Boulder

Jokes can be a healing contagion as they expose hypocrisy, spark laughter and open minds.

Bias hiding in plain sight: Decades of analyses suggest US media skews anti-Palestinian

Natalie Khazaal, Georgia Institute of Technology

How the media talks about suffering on one side compared with the other can often reveal bias in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict coverage, writes a scholar of media bias and the Arab world.

How teens benefit from being able to read ‘disturbing’ books that some want to ban

Gay Ivey, University of North Carolina – Greensboro

Amid calls to ban certain books from libraries and schools, research shows that students benefit when they have the ability to choose which materials they want to read.

A personal tale of intellectual humility – and the rewards of being open-minded

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Daryl Van Tongeren explains what it means to be intellectually humble, and why it’s so important right now on The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Where does lightning strike? New maps pinpoint 36.8 million yearly ground strike points in unprecedented detail

Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, steps forward to lead the Russian opposition – 3 points to understand

Omega-3 fatty acids are linked to better lung health, particularly in patients with pulmonary fibrosis