What is the metaverse? 2 media and information experts explain

Rabindra Ratan, Michigan State University; Yiming Lei, Michigan State University

Facebook is now Meta, named after the metaverse.

Antibiotic resistance is at a crisis point – government support for academia and Big Pharma to find new drugs could help defeat superbugs

Andre Hudson, Rochester Institute of Technology

If no action is taken to address antibiotic resistance, infections from multidrug-resistant bacteria could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050.

Steve Bannon is held in criminal contempt of Congress, pushing key question over presidential power to the courts

Jennifer Selin, University of Missouri-Columbia

Donald Trump asked his former presidential aides not to testify before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection – testing the limits of congressional oversight.

Breast cancer awareness campaigns can do a better job supporting women who’ve received a stage 4 diagnosis, instead of focusing only on early detection and ‘beating cancer’

Rachel Kraus, Ball State University

A diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer means having cancer for the rest of one’s life – a situation with very different needs and concerns compared to earlier stages of the disease.

How to help kids with ‘long COVID’ thrive in school

Susan Davies, University of Dayton; Julie Walsh-Messinger, University of Dayton

When a student suffers a concussion, their school typically offers certain accommodations – lighter workload, rest breaks, more time to complete tests. Do kids with long COVID need the same?

A Catholic theologian argues for a death row inmate’s right to have the pastor’s touch in the execution chamber

Dorian Llywelyn, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

When death is looming, the warmth of a held hand can communicate deeply where words fail.

Less than 2% of all US giving supports women’s and girls’ charities

Tessa Skidmore, IUPUI; Jacqueline Ackerman, IUPUI; Jon Bergdoll, IUPUI

Even after the #MeToo movement hit its stride, support for these organizations still made up only a sliver of all charitable donations in 2018.

Degrowth: why some economists think abandoning growth is the only way to save the planet

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Daniel Merino, The Conversation

We talk to three experts who argue we governments need to find alternatives for their dependence on economic growth. Listen to episode 39 of The Conversation Weekly.

Dune – a prophetic tale about the environmental destruction wrought by the colonisation of Africa

Oli Mould, Royal Holloway University of London

Africa was divided by European imperialists depending on what each desired in natural resources

Sudan coup: years of instability have made the army key power brokers

Justin Willis, Durham University

From colonial times in Sudan, power has always come from the barrel of a gun.

Young climate activists have far more power than they realize

Anna Pigott, Swansea University

Regardless of the outcomes of COP26, imaginations have already revolted.

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The Conversation Quiz 🧠

Which of the following substances produces yellow hues in leaves during the Fall?

1. A) Chlorophyll
2. B) Carotenoid
3. C) Xanthophyll
4. D) Anthocyanin

Click here for the answer.