Could placebos play an important role in medicine?

Heat waves hit the poor hardest – a new study calculates the rising impact on those least able to adapt to the warming climate

Mojtaba Sadegh, Boise State University; John Abatzoglou, University of California, Merced; Mohammad Reza Alizadeh, McGill University

The risk from heat waves is about more than intensity – being able to cool off is essential, and that’s hard to find in many low-income areas of the world.

The risk of concussion lurks at the Super Bowl – and in all other sports

Steven P. Broglio, University of Michigan

Millions of sports-related concussions occur in the US every year. Many of them happen to high school and college athletes.

Your sense of privacy evolved over millennia – that puts you at risk today but could improve technology tomorrow

Laura Brandimarte, University of Arizona; Alessandro Acquisti, Carnegie Mellon University

You have a finely honed sense of privacy in the physical world. But the sights and sounds you encounter online don’t help you detect risks and can even lull you into a false sense of security.

Partnering up can help you grow as an individual – here’s the psychology of a romantic relationship that expands the self

Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Monmouth University

It almost sounds like a paradox, but pairing with the right person can help you grow as an individual as you blend your interests with theirs and learn from their strengths.

What the mythical Cupid can teach us about the meaning of love and desire

Joel Christensen, Brandeis University

A scholar of early Greek classics explains what the myth of the weapon-carrying god of love, Cupid, a child of the gods of love and war, conveys about the pleasures and dangers of desire.

This god shoots love darts – but no, it’s not Cupid

Jeffery D. Long, Elizabethtown College

Kamadeva, also known as Madana, is the Hindu god of love, desire and infatuation.

4 ways to help STEM majors stay the course

Esohe G. Irabor, Howard University; Brandyn White, Howard University

Colleges don’t have to sit by and watch STEM majors leave for other fields. Two Ph.D. biology students share tips for encouraging students to stick with STEM despite the difficulty involved.

Whether up in smoke or down the toilet, missing presidential records are a serious concern

Shannon Bow O'Brien, The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts

All presidents must deposit transcriptions of their public statements with the National Archives. But in the case of Donald Trump, there’s something missing.

Supreme Court’s ruling on Alabama voting map could open the door to a new Wild West of state redistricting

Henry L. Chambers Jr., University of Richmond

Alabama will be allowed to keep a congressional map that critics say disadvantages Black voters. That does not bode well for 2022 midterms, argues a law scholar.

Puerto Rico has a plan to recover from bankruptcy — but the deal won’t ease people’s daily struggles

Carlos A Suárez Carrasquillo, University of Florida

Puerto Rico has reached an agreement to partially settle its historic bankruptcy crisis. But public cuts to education and health care are unlikely to ease, creating ongoing challenges for Puerto Ricans

The advantages of museum philanthropy that builds staff diversity rather than new wings and galleries

Lisa M. Strong, Georgetown University

US museums have sought to improve their diversity, equity and inclusion for decades, but progress has been slow.

If Russia invades Ukraine, what could happen to natural gas supplies to Europe?

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation

Plus, the Beijing Winter Olympics are using 100% artificial snow: what does that mean for the environment, and the athletes? Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.

Can China use the Beijing Olympics to ‘sportwash’ its abuses against the Uyghurs? Only if the world remains silent

Childhood adversity is a ‘cause of causes’ of adult illnesses and mental health problems

The Black Death was not as widespread or catastrophic as long thought – new study