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The Conversation

Academic rigor, journalistic flair

The Conversation is a nonprofit, independent news organization dedicated to unlocking the knowledge of experts for the public good. We publish trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists.

The Conversation's Posts:

people protesting data centers

The Defender

People of All Political Stripes Join Fight Against AI Data Centers

magnifying glass and words "social media"

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Social Media and Kids’ Mental Health: Why Bans May Not Be the Answer

farm worker spraying pesticides

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What the U.S. Supreme Court’s Ruling on Glyphosate Means for Canada’s Gardeners and Farmworkers

robot vacuum in house

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Your Robotic Vacuum Is Watching You — Could It Someday Testify Against You in Court?

teen on phone and facebook and instagram logos

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Meta Can Still Collect Kids’ Data, Despite $17.1 Billion Settlement

soccer ball and drone

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U.S. Spends $1 Billion on Over-the-Top World Cup Surveillance — With Little Oversight

hand holding corn seeds and money

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Big Corporations Get Rich From Their Secret Seed Patents — Taxpayers and Farmers Pay the Price

sign that reads "no data centers" and woman covering her ears from loud noise

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Noise, Heat, Depleted Water Reserves — How to Protect Your Town From Unwanted AI Data Centers

blood under microscope and "pfas" letters

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PFAS Is Everywhere, Even in Newborns — and It’s Leaving Fingerprints in Our Blood

doctor and marijuana leaf

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DOJ Reclassifies Marijuana, Paving Way for More Research Into the Drug’s Medical Benefits and Risks

words "online predators"

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Code for ‘Predator’: Kids Are Fluent in Secret Online Phrases, Parents Need to Catch Up

cameras AI city view

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‘Eyes on the Road’: Thousands of U.S. Cities Merging Cameras With AI to Surveil Americans in Their Cars

meta and google logos and gavel

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Tech Giants Designed Instagram and YouTube to Addict Kids — Will Anything Change After Landmark Jury Decision?

cfc and pfas

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Regulators Phased Out This Dangerous Chemical — Then Replaced It With a ‘Forever Chemical’

air pollution and human heart

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Air Pollution Damages Nearly Every Major System in the Human Body

nail polish

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Why the EU Banned a Common Nail Polish Ingredient — But U.S. Regulators Didn’t

money and pollution

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Big Profits, Big Pollution: Study Finds Top-Earning Companies Release the Most Toxic Waste

pregnant woman and pills

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Exclusion From Clinical Trials for Many Medications Puts Pregnant Women at Risk

oil gas wells

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Risk of Rare Leukemia Higher for Kids Living Near Oil and Gas Wells

wifi symbol on kitchen appliances

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From Cars to Jewelry to Appliances — How the Internet of Things Invades Your Privacy Without Your Consent

sperm and test tube with word "toxoplasma"

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Decapitated Sperm? How a Common Parasite Affects Male Fertility

u.s. flag and words "wealth" and "health"

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Americans Die Younger Than Europeans. Why?

child outside in sun

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Many Kids Don’t Get Enough Vitamin D — Here’s Why It Matters

pollution and epa website

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Trump’s EPA ‘Reconsidering’ 30+ Air Pollution Regulations — What Could It Mean for Americans’ Health?

doctor and patient

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How Eroding Trust in Healthcare Affects Doctors and Their Patients

plastic pollution and globe

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57 Million Tons of Plastic Pollution Created Every Year — Is There a Solution?

dolphin and microplastics in bottle

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Dolphins Are Exhaling Microplastics. Here’s Why That Matters

coca-cola in child's hand

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There’s Another Kind of Epidemic: Companies That Sell Harmful Products

doctor and junk food

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Bad Diets Kill More People Than Smoking — Yet Doctors Get Almost No Training in Nutrition

landfill and symbol with "PCB" on it

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‘Forgotten Legacy’: PCBs Were Banned 40 Years Ago But Health Threats Linger

research lab and magnifying glass with biohazard symbol inside of it

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The Nuremberg Code Prohibits Unethical Experiments on Humans. Maybe It Should Also Prohibit Gain-of-Function Research?

child eating sugar breakfast cereal

Community

Worried About Sugar in Your Kids’ Breakfast Cereals? Not Much Has Changed Since the Days of Pop-Tarts

hand holding phone with words "paris 2024" and Olympics logos with surveillance camera next to it

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AI Mass Surveillance at Paris Olympics Will Continue Even After Games End

child and sand castle

Community

Building Sandcastles: How to Keep Your Kids Safe on the Beach

face and magnifying glass with "pfas" inside

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Human Skin Can Absorb Toxic PFAS ‘Forever Chemicals,’ New Study Shows

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Supreme Court Kicks Social Media Censorship Cases Back to Lower Courts

grandma teaching granddaughter how to cook

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How What You Eat May Change Your Unborn Children’s Genes — and Affect Their Health

little girl holding cup of milk and background image is money with red question mark

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Why Is Ultra-Processed ‘Toddler Milk’ So Popular? Follow the Money

danger lead paint sign with mom holding child

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Lead Poisoning: Why Is This Deadly Hazard Still Threatening So Many Children?

AI background image with worried looking woman

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50% of U.S. Employers Already Using AI to Track Employees’ Emotions

face recognition tracking people feature

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Face Recognition Technology Becoming More Sophisticated — And Better at Tracking You

flame retardant toxic chemicals feature

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Toxic Chemicals in Flame Retardants Cause Serious Health Risks

kids screen time research feature

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What 70 Years of Research Says About Kids and Screens

smart toaster internet privacy feature

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From Smart Toasters to Fitness Collars for Dogs — Who’s Listening in on Your Conversations?

lead poison children risk feature

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50 Years After One of Largest Lead-Poisoning Cases in U.S. History, Children Still at Risk

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3M Offers $10.3 Billion to Settle PFAS Contamination Suit — But It Could Cost ‘Many Times’ That to Clean Up Public Water Supplies

chemicals cosmetics beauty products feature

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Chemicals in Cosmetics May Interfere With Fertility, Fetal Growth and Infant Development

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Arsenic-Contaminated Food and Water Linked to Cancer

mind reading technology orwell feature

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Mind-Reading Technology: Orwell Warned Us. Now It’s Here.

face masks microplastics thames river feature

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Discarded Face Masks Contributed to 77% Increase in Microplastics in Thames River

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Fracking Chemicals Are a Public Health Risk — But Congress Won’t Regulate Them

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Eating Disorders Among Teens More Than Doubled During Pandemic — Here’s Why That’s a Deadly Problem

digital distraction kids reading feature

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‘Digitally Distracted’ Kids Aren’t Reading Anymore — Here’s Why That’s a Problem

daylight saving time clock feature

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Daylight Saving Time Linked to Serious Negative Health Effects

big oil trade groups billions feature

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Big Oil Trade Groups Spend Billions to Shape Federal Policy

east palestine ohio train derailment feature

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Plastics Chemical Released When Train Derailed in Ohio Can Cause Liver Cancer

nature positive life old idea feature

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Living a ‘Nature-Positive’ Life: An Old Idea Attracts New Followers

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You Can’t See, Smell or Taste These Toxic Chemicals — But They’re Everywhere

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4 in 5 Maternal Deaths Are Preventable, Mental Health Cited as Leading Cause

climate change biotech technology feature

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Beware: The Technology Industry’s Push to ‘Solve’ Climate Change May Make Things Worse

food allergens brain symptoms feature

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Food Allergens Can Affect Your Brain — Even if You Don’t Have Typical Food Allergy Symptoms

gas stove health hazard feature

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Is Your Gas Stove a Health Hazard?

children meditation trauma stress feature

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How Meditation Can Help Kids Deal With Trauma, Depression and Attention Disorders

children health microplastic home feature

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Microplastics Found in Homes Pose Greatest Risk to Kids, Research Shows

supreme court environmental protection agency power plants feature

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Supreme Court Restricts EPA’s Authority to Regulate Power Plants

chemical fertilizers algae blooms dead zones feature

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As Prices Soar, It’s Time to Ditch Chemical Fertilizers

kids adhd classroom feature

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For Kids With ADHD, Medication Alone Doesn’t Improve Classroom Learning

thwaites glacier Antarctica feature

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Collapsing Antarctic Glaciers Could Push Sea Levels to Dangerous New Highs

microplastic particles land feature

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Trillions of Microplastic Particles Spread on Land Used to Grow Food

Lake Mead dead pool feature

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‘Dead Pool’ Sounds Ominous — Here’s Why It Is

media coverage disasters ptsd kids feature

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Media Coverage of Disasters Can Trigger PTSD in Kids 3,000 Miles Away. Here’s What Parents Can Do.

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How Raising Cattle on Native Grasslands Benefits Farmers, Wildlife and Soil

Glyphosate is now showing up in humans, but scientists are still debating its health effects.

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Glyphosate Still Used Everywhere, Despite Evidence It Causes Cancer, Other Illnesses

Last year, Colorado alone saw its three largest fires in recorded state history.

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Historic Wildfires Burn Rocky Mountain Forests Like Never Before

Birth rates are decreasing worldwide.

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Industrial Chemicals Linked to Decreased Fertility in Women

Ecosystems consist of living and non-living components, and their interactions.

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‘Grave Reality’: 19 Australian Ecosystems Already Collapsing

More than 2 million miles of natural gas pipelines run throughout the U.S.

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‘None of This Is Fair’: How Big Energy Bullies Communities

Ecologists are especially concerned about endangered species like the black-footed ferret

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Are Humans Giving COVID to Wild Animals?

Textiles, laundry, municipal wastewater may be a source of pollutants

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The Arctic Ocean Has a Plastics Problem. Your Clothes Might Be Partly to Blame.

Growing concerns: many regions of the world will face water crises

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World Faces Water Crisis: Understanding the Risks