The Conversation

Hard-to-treat traumas and painful memories may be treatable with EMDR – a trauma therapist explains why it is gaining popularity

Written by Laurel Niep, Bilingual Trauma Therapist, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

EMDR was developed in 1987.Laurence soulez/iStock via Getty Images Plus

If you’ve been to a therapist’s office in the past few years, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, therapy.

Most commonly used for treating long-standing and acute traumas, EMDR is also being shown...

US has its first national strategy to reduce plastic pollution − here are 3 strong points and a key issue to watch

Written by Sarah J. Morath, Professor of Law and Associate Dean for International Affairs, Wake Forest University

Trash litters the banks of Ballona Creek in Culver City, Calif., after a storm.Citizen of the Planet/UIG via Getty Images

Plastic waste is piling up at a daunting pace around the world. The World Bank estimates that every person on the planet generates an average of 1.6 pounds (0.74 kilograms) of plastic waste daily.

To curb this flow, 175 nations...

US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal

Written by Sefa Secen, Postdoctoral Scholar in Political Science, The Ohio State University

A U.S. military vehicle drives past a poster showing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. AP Photo/Baderkhan Ahmad, File

U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria launched a major attack on three posts manned by pro-government gunmen on Aug. 12, 2024, killing at least 18 fighters in a rare provocation near the border with Iraq.

The assault marked the worst...

What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin

Written by Rodney E. Rohde, Regents' Professor & Chair, Medical Laboratory Science, Texas State University

Mpox causes lesions that resemble pus-filled blisters, which eventually scab over.CDC/Getty Images

On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. There have been over 15,600 cases and over 530 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring countries in...

In praise of the weird

Written by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Professor of English, Central Michigan University

The three witches in 'Macbeth' – also known as the 'weird,' or 'wyrd,' sisters – are prophetesses who often do the opposite of what's expected of them.Royal Shakespeare Company Collection

Republicans, as you’ve probably heard, are being called “weird.”

In a quip that launched a million memes, Minnesota...

Catholics are debating whether to remove paintings by a priest accused of abusing women − but let’s not confuse the artist and the art, writes an art historian

Written by Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, College of the Holy Cross

Logo of the Catholic Church's Holy Year of Mercy, 2015-2016, which was created by Marko Rupnik, atop a monument in Poland.Aw5 via Wikimedia CommonsMarko Rupnik/ Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, CC BY-NC-SA

Marko Rupnik, a Catholic priest, was expelled from the Jesuit order because he’d allegedly abused women. He was later...

Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work

Written by Kimberly Przeszlowski, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, Quinnipiac University

A bank of video monitors allows the police department in Albuquerque, N.M., to keep an eye on surveillance cameras throughout the city.AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan

In 2021, a driver in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ran a red light, striking and killing a 7-year-old and injuring his father. The suspect fled the scene and eventually escaped to Mexico....

Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention

Written by Heather Hendershot, Professor of Communication Studies and Journalism, Northwestern University

Viewers in Chicago await a screening of the film 'Medium Cool,' focused on the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. Heather Hendershot, CC BY

On the third day of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago police beat protesters in a free-for-all on Michigan Avenue. The iconic images of that melee have since been incorporated into almost...

Hispanic women are less likely to get PrEP treatment − new intervention could change that

Written by Maria Jose Baeza Robba, Postdoctoral Fellow and Adjunct Instructor of Nursing, University of Michigan

Latinas make up 17% of U.S. women but 21% of those living with HIV.Klebercordeiro/Getty Images

In the U.S., Hispanic women have been disproportionately affected by the HIV epidemic in recent years. Yet they’ve been less likely to take advantage of PrEP, a medication that significantly reduces the risk of getting HIV.

So we created a pilot...

Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might

Written by Dudley L. Poston Jr., Professor of Sociology, Texas A&M University

Not boxing clever? Is there a better solution to China's aging population?Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)

Chinese workers may soon have to work just a little bit longer.

In late July 2024, China’s ruling Communist Party adopted a resolution that would see the country’s statutory retirement age gradually rise over the next five years.

The...