The Conversation

Can we curb the opioid abuse epidemic by rethinking chronic pain?

Written by The Conversation Contributor

Rethinking chronic pain.Doctor and patient image via www.shutterstock.com.

Over the last few decades, medicine has witnessed a sea change in attitudes toward chronic pain, and particularly toward opioids. While these changes were intended to bring relief to many, they have also fed an epidemic of prescription opioid and heroin abuse.

Curbing abuse...

What Pantone's colors of 2016 mean for the future of design

Written by The Conversation Contributor

Shades of pink and blue: for the first time, Pantone has chosen a blending of two colors. 'Landscape' via www.shutterstock.com

Pantone, the global authority on color standards for the design industries, recently announced its colors of the year for 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity, which are muted shades of pink and blue, respectively.

It’s the...

How the homeless population is changing: it's older and sicker

Written by The Conversation Contributor

Homeless in Los Angeles: Bernard Leatherhood (62) and Arthur Johnson (72). Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

On any given night in the United States, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, over half a million people are without a home. That number may have decreased nationwide in the past few years, but California remains on the...

The Paris Agreement: the first _local_ global environmental pact

Written by The Conversation Contributor

Solar downtown: state-level policies led to a surge in solar adoption and energy efficiency measures in the late 2000s.Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, CC BY-NC

Nearly 200 national governments have committed to make cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in an ambitious global deal. But the task will in many ways fall to cities,...

Can 10,000-character tweets boost Twitter's flatlining user growth?

Written by The Conversation Contributor

I have so much more to say.Dado Ruvic/Reuters

On January 5, Twitter founder and recently reappointed CEO Jack Dorsey appeared to confirm a story on Re/Code claiming that the micro-blogging site is planning to change its signature feature: the 140-character tweet. According to Re/Code, Twitter is planning to increase the character limit on tweets to...

Hong Kong copyright battle tests U.S. candidates' commitments to free speech

Written by The Conversation Contributor

The copyright debate has brought back protesters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy Occupy MovementReuters

Earlier this week, the Hong Kong legislature resumed its debate on a new copyright amendment bill, which aims to strengthen protection in the digital environment. The debate abruptly adjourned on Thursday – for an unusual second time –...

Quest to find bitcoin's founder highlights currency's biggest threat: the taxman

Written by The Conversation Contributor

But for how long?Reuters

Bitcoin enthusiasts have recently been roiled by claims that an Australian named Craig Wright and his deceased partner are the mysterious founders behind the cryptocurrency.

Of course, we’ve been down this path before. The New York Times, Fast Company, The New Yorker and Newsweek have all made similar claims about...

Far more microplastics floating in oceans than thought

Written by The Conversation Contributor

Microplastics sample collected in a plankton net trawl in the North Pacific subtropical gyre from the SSV Robert C Seamans.Giora Proskurowski/Sea Education Association, Author provided

Plastic pollution in the ocean frequently appears as seabird guts filled with cigarette lighters and bottle caps, marine mammals entangled in fishing gear and...

It's too late for a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine

Written by The Conversation Contributor

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter leaves Israel with business undone. July 21, 2015. Carolyn Kaster/REUTERS

Many obstacles stand in the way of a two-state solution to the conflict in Israel and Palestine.

At the moment, negotiations are a nonstarter for all parties.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has only a razor-thin majority in one of...

Playing 'serious games,' adults learn to solve thorny real-world problems

Written by The Conversation Contributor

It takes more than protest: demonstrators at a 2012 climate change conference in Doha, Qatar.Omar Chatriwala/flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

It is never easy for interest groups with conflicting views to resolve public policy disagreements involving complex scientific issues. To successfully formulate complex treaties, such as the recent Paris Climate Change...