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Happy Sunday – and welcome to the best of The Conversation.
Here are a few of our recently published stories:
I was about 8 when a friend’s family took me camping on the northern shore of Lake Superior in Canada. We were 60 miles or so from the nearest town, and I still remember the brilliance of the Milky Way from that isolated shoreline. The captivating sight has haunted me since, because I never experienced anything like it again.
But some people are more intentional in seeking out dark-sky experiences. In one of our editors’ picks last week, Vahe Peroomian, a professor of physics and astronomy at USC Dornsife, describes his own adventures in “astro-tourism” and offers some practical tips for planning a trip to see not only the Milky Way but other delights of the night sky, like eclipses and meteor showers.
Later this week we’ll bring you stories about the few mosquito repellents that actually work, global lithium bottlenecks and affirmative action in Brazil.
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Whole foods like unprocessed fruits, vegetables and grains are typically high in fiber.
Tanja Ivanova/Moment via Getty Images
Christopher Damman, University of Washington
Many processed foods strip carbs of their natural fibers. Eating foods with an ideal total carbohydrate-to-fiber ratio can help with weight management and improve overall health.
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David Hoinski, West Virginia University
Blaise Pascal, a mathematician and a Catholic theologian, born 400 years ago,
left a deep and lasting influence on the world that can be felt today.
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Jorge Heine, Boston University
Terms like ‘Third World’ and ‘developing nations’ have long fallen out of fashion.
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Julian Avery, Penn State
A newborn bison calf in Yellowstone National Park had to be euthanized after a visitor handled it in May 2023 – a recent example of how trying to help wild animals often harms them.
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Chris Impey, University of Arizona
Astronomers have for the first time detected the background hum of gravitational waves likely caused by merging black holes.
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In 2024, much of the eastern United States will fall in the path of a total solar eclipse, like the one pictured.
Diane Miller/The Image Bank via Getty images
Vahe Peroomian, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
With two eclipses and several meteor showers coming up, an astronomy professor shares travel tips for viewing astronomical phenomena.
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Nir Eisikovits, UMass Boston
From open letters to congressional testimony, some AI leaders have stoked fears that the technology is a direct threat to humanity. The reality is less dramatic but perhaps more insidious.
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Maha Nassar, University of Arizona
Israeli troops have withdrawn after two days of fighting in a camp in the occupied West Bank. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that it would not be a ‘one-time action.’
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Daniel Merino, The Conversation; Nehal El-Hadi, The Conversation
Immigrant chefs and cuisines are often constrained by Eurocentric definitions of what constitutes good food. As immigrant groups become more assimilated into US culture, so does their food.
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Christophe Spaenjers, University of Colorado Boulder
An expert in high-end collectibles explains why certain items can become valuable – and also how they can lose worth.
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