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(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Suvrat Dhanorkar, Pennsylvania State University(THE CONVERSATION) The average American generates about 1,500 pounds of garbage annually, and then spends lots of tax dollars disposing of it. Even as recycling has taken off across the country in recent decades, the volume of all this trash has kept growing – albeit at a slower pace. Since I research how people are using the internet

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Peter J Hotez, Baylor College of Medicine (THE CONVERSATION) As a pediatrician-scientist who develops new vaccines for neglected diseases, I spent most of my career in the Boston-Washington, D.C. corridor. While working in the Northeast, I had heard a few things about the anti-vaccine movement. As both a vaccine scientist and a father of four, including a daughter diagnosed with

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Nicole Hynson, University of Hawaii(THE CONVERSATION) You probably learned this basic lesson of biology in elementary school: Plants are self-feeders. These so-called autotrophs use the sun’s energy and water to turn carbon dioxide from the air into food through the process known as photosynthesis. Autotrophic organisms sit at the base of every food chain on Earth and sustain all

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Gabe Osterhout, Boise State University(THE CONVERSATION) On the morning of Election Day, the top trending search on Google was “donde votar,” which means “where to vote” in Spanish.Voter access to the polls was a major issue during the 2018 midterm elections in the U.S. Charges of voter suppression were made in in Georgia and North Dakota. Critics of new voting rules claimed they

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Wendy Cadge, Brandeis University and Michael Skaggs, Brandeis University(THE CONVERSATION) More and more institutions across the United States are hiring chaplains and other spiritual care providers. Some are places that have long employed chaplains, but others may come as a surprise.The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, recently installed a new chaplain. Various

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Ryan Stoa, Concordia University(THE CONVERSATION) You’ve heard of Big Pharma and Big Tobacco. How about Big Marijuana? The drug’s growing legalization is raising concerns among small-scale marijuana farmers and retailers that the corporatization of weed may be right around the corner. For example, earlier this year NASDAQ became the first major U.S. stock exchange to list shares of

Macedonian authorities have temporarily jailed two former government officials on trial for corruption, after the former prime minister fled to Hungary to avoid serving a two-year prison term

Businessman and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has reached an agreement to sell Greektown Casino-Hotel in downtown Detroit for $1 billion

Among 10 Things to Know: Wildfire death toll rises in California as search for missing continues; Pence says Myanmar's handling of Rohingya 'without excuse'; Amazon's 2 chosen cities face higher housing prices and mass transit stress

Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk is warning that trade tensions between the United States and China could weigh on business.

Santa Claus and his helpers have begun answering Christmas letters from children around the world sent to a special post office in the German town of Himmelpfort

Greek authorities say 18 people were hospitalized after the latest in a string of often fatal road accidents involving vehicles smuggling migrants through northern Greece

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigns over Gaza cease-fire, making early elections likely

'Alternative Nobel' foundation appeals on Saudi Arabia to free 3 jailed activists, recipients of 2018 award

Romania's government has appointed a seasoned diplomat as the new government minister tasked with preparing the country to take over the European Union's rotating presidency on Jan. 1

Students and alumni of several Chinese universities are sounding the alarm over the apparent detention of more than a dozen young labor activists who have been missing since the weekend

British Prime Minister Theresa May is set to face her divided Cabinet in a bid to win support for a draft Brexit deal with the European Union

Pope warns against telling lies and says 'to gossip is to kill'

Civil servants in Greece have walked off the job in a 24-hour strike to protest austerity measures, demanding wage and pension increases and the abolition of all legislation imposed as part of the country's international bailouts

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Gaza's militant Hamas rulers "begged for a cease-fire and they know why."