Cherry blossoms and the value of impermanence

How Florida’s home insurance market became so dysfunctional, so fast

Latisha Nixon-Jones, Jacksonville University

Florida home insurance premiums have shot up threefold in just five years.

Sharks, turtles and other sea creatures face greater risk from industrial fishing than previously thought − we estimated added pressure from ‘dark’ fishing vessels

Heather Welch, University of California, Santa Cruz

The toll on wildlife from illegal fishing, bycatch and entanglement in fishing gear is likely underestimated, because it doesn’t account for ‘dark’ fishing vessels, a new study finds.

SEC approves first US climate disclosure rules: Why the requirements are much weaker than planned and what they mean for companies

Sehoon Kim, University of Florida

Climate disclosure rules are meant to help investors understand their risks, but they come with costs for companies, as a finance scholar explains.

Titanosaurs were the biggest land animals Earth’s ever seen − these plant-powered dinos combined reptile and mammal traits

Kristi Curry Rogers, Macalester College

Some of these giant vegetarians were as tall as a 3-story building. Microscopic analysis of their teeth, bones and eggshells reveals how they grew, what they ate and even their body temperature.

High-energy laser weapons: A defense expert explains how they work and what they are used for

Iain Boyd, University of Colorado Boulder

Militaries around the world are rapidly developing science fiction-like laser weapons, motivated in part by the growing threat from swarms of drones.

I watched Hungary’s democracy dissolve into authoritarianism as a member of parliament − and I see troubling parallels in Trumpism and its appeal to workers

Gábor Scheiring, Harvard University

One of Donald Trump’s favorite politicians is the Hungarian authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. Would a country led again by Trump embrace similar antidemocratic politics?

What is a frozen embryo worth? Alabama’s IVF case reflects bigger questions over grieving and wrongful death laws

Katherine Drabiak, University of South Florida

Alabama’s case began when three couples sued an IVF clinic where their frozen embryos had accidentally been dropped.

A Barbie dollhouse and a field trip led me to become an architect − now I lead a program that teaches architecture to mostly young women in South Central Los Angeles

Lauren Matchison, University of Southern California

Women are underrepresented in architecture, occupying just 25% of jobs in the field. An architecture professor shares insights from her childhood on how those numbers can be turned around.

Lead from old paint and pipes is still a harmful and deadly hazard in millions of US homes

Aaron Specht, Purdue University

Although the US banned lead-based paint in 1978, homes built before then commonly contain lead paint.

Lebanese-Israeli fighting looks set to scuttle plans for historic land border settlement

Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College

A maritime border agreement signed by Lebanon and Israel seemed like a step toward peaceful relations. But now both countries are getting ready for what looks like an unavoidable war.

North Korean women are now the breadwinners – and shifting this deeply patriarchal society towards a matriarchy

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Bronwen Dalton and Kyungja Jung explain how North Korean women are driving a new form of grassroots capitalism. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

The IRS already has all your income tax data – so why do Americans still have to file their taxes?

Mounting research shows that COVID-19 leaves its mark on the brain, including with significant drops in IQ scores

Lithium-ion batteries don’t work well in the cold − a battery researcher explains the chemistry at low temperatures