The Conversation US - Explore Magazine

UF for The Conversation

Experts at University of Florida share their knowledge

An image of a young girl holding her right arm in pain, wearing a bike helmet with her bike the background.

Why does it hurt when you get a scrape? A neuroscientist explains the science of pain —Yenisel Cruz-Almeida

Nobody likes to feel pain, but it’s something every person will experience...

A photo of a special edition of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo commemorates 10 years since an Islamist attack in 2015.

10 years after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France, conversations about free speech are still too black and white — Armin Langer

In January 2015, 12 people were killed at the French satirist magazine Charlie...

A black and white photo of a white male sitting at a typewriter with a cigarette in his mouth.

The power of friendship: How a letter helped create an American bestseller about antisemitism — Rachel Gordan

Eighty years ago, the Jewish American novelist Laura Z. Hobsonwas contemplating her next...

An illustration of a fully-grown male Palaeoloxodon turkmenicus wandering the Kashmir Valley, 400,000 years ago, towering over a herd of Central Asian red deer.

How a giant prehistoric elephant skull helped untangle an evolutionary mystery — Steven Zhang and Advait M. Jukar

400,000 years ago, early humans in Europe, Asia and Africa lived alongside...

Brain inflammation may be the reason behind muscle fatigue after infection and injury — Diego E. Rincon-Limas and Aaron N. Johnson

Infectious or chronic diseases such as long COVID, Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic...

An illustration of greenwashing involves giving false impressions about a company’s impact on the environment

Companies are buying up cheap carbon offsets − data suggest it’s more about greenwashing than helping the climate — Sehoon Kim

Carbon offsets have become big business as more companies make promises to...

A photo of commemorating the anniversary of the 1938 pogrom in Hamburg, on the former site of the Bornplatz Synagogue, in November 2018.

Kristallnacht’s legacy still haunts Hamburg − even as the city rebuilds a former synagogue burned in the Nazi pogrom — Yaniv Feller

Johanna Neumann was 8 when she witnessed a mob of local citizens...

A photo of Quincy Jones.

Quincy Jones mastered the art of arrangement, transforming simple tunes into epic soundscapes —Jose Valentino Ruiz

On the sleeve notes of some of the most memorable and best-selling...

A photo of a person holding a flyer with important dates to remember about the election.

Abortion and marijuana ballot measures may bring out Florida Democrats, but the GOP has 1M more active voters in the Sunshine State — Daniel Smith

The number of voters registered as Democrats has tumbled in recent years...

A photo of high-rise condos being built by construction workers in Miami Beach.

Florida’s new condo laws recognize the total price of living on the beach — Bill Hughes

Nearly a million Florida condo owners face an important deadline at the end of...

An image of a blue typewriter and white robot hands typing against a yellow background.

Your next favorite story won’t be written by AI – but it could be someday — Haoran Chu and Sixiao Liu

Stories define people – they shape our relationships, cultures and societies. Unlike...

Gut microbe imbalances could predict a child’s risk for autism, ADHD and speech disorders years before symptoms appear — Angelica P. Ahrens, Eric W. Triplett and Johnny Ludvigsson

Early screening for neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism is important to ensure...

A photo of Tommy John pitching in his final season in 1989, 15 years after his career-saving surgery.

50 years after the first procedure, Tommy John surgery is more common than ever − especially for young athletes — Ted Spiker and Kevin W. Farmer

Tommy John pitched in the big leagues from 1963 to 1989 and won...

An image of researchers studying rice cultivation in the Everglades Agricultural Area.

Good flooding? Scientists use rice cultivation to preserve soil in Florida’s Everglades Agricultural Area — Jehangir Bhadha

Each summer, nearly 25,000 acres (10,000 hectares) of rice is cultivated in...

An image of demonstrators protest against Nicolás Maduro’s government in Caracas

Massive protests erupt again over disputed Venezuelan elections – but they look different this time — Rebecca Hanson and Verónica Zubillaga

Post-election protests are far from uncommon in Venezuela. In 2018, people took...

An image of a bee on a flower.

Fewer bees and other pollinating insects lead to shrinking crops — Rachel Mallinger

Many plants, from crops to carnations, cannot bear fruit or reproduce without...

A photo of Ecowas president Omar Touray speaking at a meeting of heads of state and government in Abuja on 24 February 2024.

West Africa is changing: five essential reads on breakaways from Ecowas — Olivier Walther

The Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) has been in the news lately...

An image of an older man on the phone, holding a credit card.

Are older adults more vulnerable to scams? What psychologists have learned about who’s most susceptible, and when — Natalie C. Ebner and Didem Pehlivanoglu

About 1 in 6 Americans are age 65 or older, and that percentage is...

A photo of Basketball player Diaba Konate in the first round of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament at McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington.

France’s headscarf ban in the 2024 Summer Olympics reflects a narrow view of national identity, writes a scholar of European studies — Armin Langer

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris have sparked a discussion about whether...

An image of eight teenagers sitting in a circle, one is holding a guitar.

Why do religious teens engage in less risky behavior? A psychologist explains — James A. Shepperd

Researchers have long known that religious teens are less likely to engage...

An image of a person wearing a black shirt and a picture and text of Keith Titmuss.

An NRL player died at training due to exertional heat stroke. What is it and what should coaches and athletes know? — Samuel Chalmers and Orlando Laitano

The tragic death of Manly rugby league player Keith Titmuss in 2020...

An image of a boy laying his left side of his face on his arms against a table.

Florida’s school safety dashboard helps parents and teachers address root causes of bullying, fighting and other misbehavior —F. Chris Curran

What can this dashboard show parents about how safe a school is...

An image of brain scans and a syringe.

Brain cancer in children is notoriously hard to treat – a new mRNA cancer vaccine triggers an attack from within — Christina von Roemeling and John Ligon

Brain cancers remain among the most challenging tumors to treat. They often...

A photo of Haggadah shel Pesah, translated by Sonia Gronemann and illustrated by Otto Geismar. Made in Berlin, 1927. Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica.

From sumptuous engravings to stick-figure sketches, Passover Haggadahs − and their art − have been evolving for centuries — Rebecca J.W. Jefferson

The Jewish festival of Passover recalls the biblical story of the Israelites enslaved by...

An image of wild turkeys.

Wild turkey numbers are falling in some parts of the US – the main reason may be habitat loss — Marcus Lashley and William Gulsby

Birdsong is a welcome sign of spring, but robins and cardinals aren’t...

An image of a dark haired woman, wearing a yellow sweater, shrugging her shoulders.

Foundations are using so many confusing words that few people can figure out what they’re doing — Aaron Zeiler and Ann Searight Christiano

The United States has the largest philanthropic sector in the world. Foundations...

An image of multiple gene variants.

Newly discovered genetic variant that causes Parkinson’s disease clarifies why the condition develops and how to halt it — Matthew Farrer

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that progresses relentlessly. It gradually impairs...

An image of two basketball players.

College athletes still are not allowed to be paid by universities – here’s why — Cyntrice Thomas

Ever since July 1, 2021, student-athletes have been able to pursue endorsement deals....

An image of brain waves emblematic of generalized epilepsy.

A century after the EEG was discovered, it remains a crucial tool for understanding the brain — Giridhar Kalamangalam

Jena, Germany, 1924: Working in near-isolation and with painstaking tediousness, the psychiatrist Hans...

An image of horse fossils.

Horses lived in the Americas for millions of years – new research helps paleontologists understand the fossils we’ve found and those that are missing from the record — Stephanie Killingsworth and Bruce J. MacFadden

Many people assume that horses first came to the Americas when Spanish...