The Conversation U.S. - News written by researchers and scientists to help you understand

El Niño is back, and ocean temperatures are already near record highs – that can spell disaster for fish and corals

Dillon Amaya, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

How the US finally fell in love with soccer

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

Efforts to combat climate change often exclude Indigenous people – and they may not have any recourse

Buket Altınçelep, UMass Boston

Two people pick through debris left from the destruction of a home.

Most Pittsburgh-area communities are losing residents – here’s why that might be OK

Christopher Briem, University of Pittsburgh

People walking along a river on a sunny day with a city view in the background.

SpaceX raised $75B in record IPO – here’s why insiders like Elon Musk are much likelier than public stock buyers to get rocket-powered returns these days

Brad Badertscher, University of Notre Dame

A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket can be seen lifting off amid a engine fire at the bottom and billowing gray smoke next to a building that says spacex

For Iran’s diaspora, a tough World Cup call: To support the national team or protest – or both?

Shirvin Zeinalzadeh, Arizona State University

The Constitution promises an interpreter for fair trials – US courts often can’t deliver

Carol Rose Little, University of Oklahoma

A man reviewing a printed interpreting schedule posted in an office

Trump’s AI security order acknowledges risks but stops short of regulating industry

Anjana Susarla, Michigan State University

a large white building lit up at night seen through an iron fence

Killing cancer requires immune cells to infiltrate tumors’ hostile microenvironment – sugar shields can help them break in

Charles J. Dimitroff, Florida International University and Lee Seng Lau, Florida International University

Digital illustration of a hostile tumor microenvironment depicted as a dark, ruined alleyway. A blue-glowing CAR-T cell soldier attacks a red cancer cell while green galectin-3 (Gal-3) blobs are released from a “Gal-3 Nest” and spread through the environment; warning signs label the area as a “Cancer Zone” and “Immune Suppression.” A translucent blue glycan shield protects the CAR-T cell from an incoming Gal-3 molecule secreted by a cancer cell.

Why corporate inclusion policies are moral decisions, not just business ones

Shreyans Goenka, Virginia Tech and Sankar Sen, Baruch College, CUNY

Ropes of many different colors are interwoven to create a strong circle.

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Two men one with a motorcycle stand in front of a poster of soccer players.

Haiti at the World Cup is more than an underdog tale – it is the story of global migration

Laurent Dubois, University of Virginia

World Cup 2026 quiz

Test your knowledge of the beautiful game with this special World Cup trivia quiz based on The Conversation’s articles.

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Conspiracy theories that emerged from a civil rights shooting 60 years ago resonate today

Aram Goudsouzian, University of Memphis

Using cannabis for sleep isn’t harmless – a neurologist explains how it can trap people in a cycle of dependency

Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, University of Pittsburgh

Projected image of a half-moon on a bedspread, with a cannabis plant, a handful of gummies and a pill bottle lying on it.

Trump’s ‘narco-terrorism’ war in Latin America evokes Reagan – then as now, it’s more about fighting leftists than drug runners

Michelle D. Paranzino, US Naval War College

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Painting of Black woman ladling out soup as white customers surround her and eat it

Pepper pot stew was survival food for the poor and a path to freedom for Black women in early Philadelphia

Carolyn Zola, California State University, East Bay

How Colorado hospitals are caring for pregnant patients with substance use disorders by overcoming stigma

Karli Swenson, University of Colorado Anschutz

A pregnant woman sits in a hospital gown and chats with a man in scrubs.

How Pennsylvania towns are protecting themselves from the noise, heat and utility costs of massive data centers

Michael Helbing, Penn State

Man stands on front porch above yellow sign that says 'No Data Centers'

Drone use poised to soar as FAA homes in on rule change allowing pilots to fly them out of sight

Agamemnon Crassidis, Rochester Institute of Technology

two small windowless aircraft in the air with a tree line in the background

Life after death: From burned trees to bleached corals, how dead organisms live on as the building blocks of new life

Kai Kopecky, University of Colorado Boulder and John Kominoski, Florida International University

A new seedling grows at base of a burned tree.

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U.S.-Iran war

A group of people in traditional Saudi dress walk up stairs.

How are Saudis viewing the US-Iran war? Our polling suggests Gulf kingdom is split on key issues

Robert Kubinec, University of South Carolina and Alexis Montambault-Trudelle, Université Laval

In Iran war’s shadow, Israel’s renewed Lebanon campaign risks repeating failed lessons – and occupations – of the past

Asher Kaufman, University of Notre Dame

The war in Iran – again – points to the strategic shortcomings of assassination as policy of foreign affairs

Brian O'Neill, Georgia Institute of Technology

Men with guns stand in front of a large poster at a rally.

Why the Iran war is breaking the US-European strategic alliance

Farah N. Jan, University of Pennsylvania

Four heads of state walk in between dozens of flags representing European countries.

The method in Iran’s madness? Closure of Strait of Hormuz echoes a centuries-old Danish play − and is a tragedy for the world order

Vivek Krishnamurthy, University of Colorado Boulder

The shadow of a man in seen pointing at a map

World Cup

Two soccer fans wear patriotic English and American clothing and face paint.

Is soccer taking over America … or are Americans taking over football?

Kirk Bowman, Georgia Institute of Technology

We ran 100,000 computer simulations of the World Cup. And the winner will be …

Achim Zeileis, University of Innsbruck

An octopus sits on. abox with a yellow and red flag.

World Cup creates perfect conditions for infectious diseases to spread – here are the biggest threats health experts are watching for

Andrés Henao, University of Colorado Anschutz

A soccer ball in the grass wearing a respiratory mask

World Cup quiz

Matt Williams, The Conversation

Test your knowledge

Graphic showing a soccer ball with flags and the world cup trophy

What the tattoos of World Cup players say about their love, life and religious beliefs

Gustavo Morello, Boston College

Tattooed legs of a football player running on the field.

250th anniversary of American revolution

A black and white postage stamp with a small red illustration of a hand holding a flaming sword, and the words 'I have sworn...Hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.'

What Jefferson and Madison would have thought about ‘rededicating’ the US to God

Steven K. Green, Willamette University

America’s founding promise of religious freedom has long coexisted with prejudice, even as many Christians have worked to confront it

David Mislin, Temple University

Several people view artwork displayed on screens outside a brick building.

How America’s independence from England revolutionized US philanthropy

Amanda Moniz, Smithsonian Institution

John Hancock brandishes a document bearing his large signature.

The American Revolution’s triumphant story of democracy and freedom overlooks loyalists who paid a steep price for allegiance to Britain

Kimberly Nath, San Juan College

Black and white illustration of large crowd in colonial dress gathered outside of stately building

America’s musical founding father: ‘Liberty songs’ by a self-taught singer and tanner helped fuel the Revolution

David W. Stowe, Michigan State University

A faded illustration of seven men in formal coats sitting around a table, with a musical score surrounding the image.

Extreme weather and natural disasters

People stand on a train platform in very smoky, orange air.

Wildfires are reversing America’s progress on ozone pollution, the main ingredient in smog

Weizhi Deng, University of Iowa; Jun Wang, University of Iowa, and Meng Zhou, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Federal flood insurance carries 2 moral hazards – which you face depends largely on how wealthy you are

Ivis García, Texas A&M University

Waterfront mansions on Miami Beach, Florida.

The US is seeing stronger storms, so why are droughts getting worse?

David Boutt, UMass Amherst

Two women carrying umbrellas laugh as they run through ankle-deep puddles in a city street.

Hurricane forecasts have improved dramatically, saving lives, but federal cuts threaten to stretch NOAA resources to breaking point

Brian Tang, University at Albany, State University of New York

A view of a hurricane across an airplane wing

A ‘super El Niño?’ Why it’s too early to forecast one with certainty, but not too soon to prepare

Pedro DiNezio, University of Colorado Boulder

A street scene on a rainy night. One person's umbrella has blown in reverse. A cyclist pedals into the rain. Another person leans into the downpour.

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Trump administration

A photo of people protesting outside the main campus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

How cuts to CDC are dismantling its capacity to protect Americans’ health

Candice Johnson, Michigan State University

The Social Security trust fund will run dry in 2032 – what that means for retirees and workers who hope to retire

John W. Diamond, Rice University

In a 1983 photo, President Ronald Reagan is flanked by congressional leaders on the White House South Lawn as he signs the Social Security reform bill.

National Science Foundation cuts mean researchers like me are losing grants – but impacts extend far beyond academia

Remy Dou, University of Miami

A red brick and glass building has a silver-colored circular plaque that says National Science Foundation

Why the director of national intelligence needs more than political loyalty to do the job

Gregory F. Treverton, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

A man in a blue suit talking into a microphone on a paved street.

US indictment of Raúl Castro comes amid a long history of American aggression against Cuba

Kevin A. Young, UMass Amherst

A man in a suit and tie speaks at a lectern as five people stand behind him.

International

Marjane Satrapi’s masterpiece Persepolis transformed the world’s understanding of Iran

Shadi Rouhshahbaz, The University of Melbourne; University of Newcastle

The forgotten story of abolition in revolutionary France – the first emancipation

Jeremy D. Popkin, University of Kentucky

A sculpture depicting the breaking of chains.

Cuba needs a long-term solution to its energy crisis

Luisa Blanco, Pepperdine University; Institute for Humane Studies and Isabella Elias, Pepperdine University

2 small lights show on a darkened Havana street

Why Javier Milei’s inflation ‘miracle’ in Argentina is more of a mirage

Gemma Ware, The Conversation

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Why has the US indicted former Cuban President Raúl Castro?

James Trapani, Western Sydney University

An old man in military uniform smiles and waves a small Cuban flag

New research in health and science

People walk on a dirt road between many rows of metal posts supporting large metal panels, with livestock and grassland visible in the distance.

How the development of solar and wind farms on the Tibetan Plateau is affecting local communities

Sanggay Tashi, University of Colorado Boulder

Glucosamine supplements may speed memory loss from Alzheimer’s, new research shows

Ramon Sun, University of Florida

Different sized bottles of glucosamine/chondroiton on a supermarket shelf.

Butter or margarine? A food scientist describes their subtle chemical deviations and how they can affect your baked goods

Rosemary Trout, Drexel University

A square pat of margarine melting in a pan

Kids learn to bully from adults’ threats, manipulation and criticism – a child psychologist explains how parents can model better tactics

Angela J. Narayan, University of Denver

Displeased girl leans on table while man and woman have heated discussion in background

Firefighters face a higher risk of skin cancer – nano fabrics with tiny, rough fibers can help keep them safer

Sumit Mandal, Oklahoma State University

A firefighters works with a chainsaw to cut a partially burning tree.

Artificial intelligence

A yellow cartoon of a brain rests on one side of a perfectly balanced beam, set against a teal backdrop.

Why sophrosyne, an ancient Greek virtue, matters more than ever in the age of AI

Ross Channing Reed, Missouri University of Science and Technology

What Pennsylvania’s AI chatbot lawsuit teaches us about the psychology behind medical trust

Gretchen Chapman, Carnegie Mellon University

A man in glasses and a navy blue suit stands behind a microphone.

From oversight to coercion: How authoritarian governments are twisting AI safety to get tech companies to fall in line

Michael Gregory, Clemson University

a seated smiling older man in a business suit holds up a document

Eroding a virtue: AI trains people to expect instant answers – and that’s bad news for patience

Christian B. Miller, Wake Forest University

closeup of fingers on table surface with motion blur effect

Your phone screen doesn’t have the same color range as the human eye – and AI widens the gap between digital images and the real thing

Douglas Goodwin, University of California, Los Angeles; California Institute of the Arts

An abstract image of clouds of different colors

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