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(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Artemis Spyrou, Michigan State University(THE CONVERSATION) When you hear the term “radioactive” you likely think “bad news,” maybe along the lines of fallout from an atomic bomb.But radioactive materials are actually used in a wide range of beneficial applications. In medicine, they routinely help diagnose and treat disease. Irradiation helps keep a number of foods free from

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Austin Sarat, Amherst College(THE CONVERSATION) When Donald Trump announced Jeff Sessions’s nomination as his attorney general, the position was seen as a reward for Sessions’s early endorsement of the president’s 2016 campaign. “The only reason I gave him the job,” Trump said, “was because I felt loyalty. He was an original supporter. He was on the campaign.” And the president

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) C. Michael White, University of Connecticut(THE CONVERSATION) Many consumers consider dietary supplements to be natural and, therefore, safe. In fact, the Council for Responsible Nutrition reported in 2017 that 87 percent of U.S. consumers have confidence that dietary supplements, such as vitamins, minerals, herbs, botanicals, oils, microbiome bacteria and amino acids, are safe and

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Anthony M. Nadler, Ursinus College and Matthew Crain, Miami University(THE CONVERSATION) Facebook is in crisis mode, but the company can take major steps to fix itself – and the global community it says it wants to promote. Facebook founder, CEO and majority shareholder Mark Zuckerberg need not wait for governments to impose regulations. If he and other industry leaders wanted to,

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Derek W. Black, University of South Carolina(THE CONVERSATION) A new fight to secure a federal constitutional right to education is spreading across the country. This fight has been a long time coming and is now suddenly at full steam.In 1973, plaintiffs in San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez argued that school funding inequities violated the right to education. The

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.) Lewis Barnett, University of Richmond(THE CONVERSATION) As a birder, I had heard that if you paid careful attention to the head feathers on the downy woodpeckers that visited your bird feeders, you could begin to recognize individual birds. This intrigued me. I even went so far as to try sketching birds at my own feeders and had found this to be true, up to a point. In the meantime,

A walkout by rail workers over pay is disrupting Portuguese train services amid a spate of year-end strikes by government employees

Rebels in Indonesia's troubled Papua province are demanding that the government hold negotiations on self-determination for the province and warned of more attacks

A winner of this year's Nobel Prize for Economics who advocates for carbon taxes as the best way to address the problems of greenhouse gas emissions says he does not expect President Donald Trump to make any moves toward accepting that view

Among 10 Things to Know: Details of Robert Muller's Russia investigation coming soon; Arrest of Huawei exec adds intrigue to US-China conflicts; George H.W. Bush's remains reach final resting place; The AP uncovers evidence of torture in Yemen

The Copa Libertadores final is set for a conclusion in Madrid this weekend

UN refugee agency: Nearly 1,500 civilian casualties in Yemen from August through October this year

Australian leader says new cybersecurity laws urgently needed

Croatian police say they have arrested two former Serb paramilitary fighters suspected of committing war crimes during the 1991-95 war

China says North Korea's foreign minister has told his Chinese counterpart that his country remains committed to ending its nuclear weapons programs

Greek authorities say more than 100 people were detained during rioting in Athens and the northern city of Thessaloniki following events marking the 10th anniversary of the fatal police shooting of a teenager

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has asked Congress to extend martial law in the country's south by another year amid concerns over possible militant attacks, although democracy advocates fear it could worsen human rights conditions

New Zealand has set itself apart from neighboring Australia by declaring climate change a top priority. But despite some lofty goals, greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise in the South Pacific nation and could do so for years to come

Arsenal says the club will talk to the players who were recorded apparently inhaling nitrous oxide in a London nightclub

Slovakia's Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak says he is withdrawing his resignation over his disagreement with his country's negative stance on a United Nations pact on safe and orderly migration