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Category: Reportage

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’ by Caravaggio was Pope Francis’ favorite painting − an art historian explains

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Virginia Raguin, Distinguished Professor of Humanities Emerita, College of the Holy Cross

    ‘Calling of Saint Matthew,’ in Chapel San Luigi. Virginia Raguin, CC BY

    Pope Francis left a lasting legacy, not least his appreciation for art.
    In his 2025 biography, “Hope,” Francis spoke of his admiration for the Baroque painter Caravaggio. He recalled that during his travels to Rome as a cardinal, he prayed in front of the painting by Caravaggio – “The Calling of Saint Matthew.”

    The painting is found in the chapel dedicated to St. Matthew in the Church of San Luigi dei Francesi. The donor of the chapel was a French cardinal, Matthieu Cointerel, who died in 1585. This was the first commission for Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, who was hired in July 1599. A year later, “The Calling of Saint Matthew” and “The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew,” depicting the beginning and the end of the apostle Matthew’s ministry, were installed.

    The motto that Francis selected for his papacy, “miserando atque eligendo,” translated as “looking at him with mercy, he chose him,” is directly connected with this painting. The words “miserando atque eligendo” come from a sermon on the calling of Matthew written in the eighth century by the celebrated monk and historian Bede the Venerable. It is used in the readings for the Feast of St. Matthew on Sept. 21.

    ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’

    Matthew is described in the Bible as a tax collector, viewed at the time as a highly dubious occupation. In the painting, Christ enters the room from the right. We see only his silhouetted head and outstretched arm pointing in Matthew’s direction.

    The ‘Calling of Saint Matthew,’ by Caravaggio.
    Caravaggio via Wikimedia Commons

    Light from the window behind Christ, which aligns with the actual light from the window in the chapel, falls on a group of men, including some handsome youths in fancy clothes, counting money. Matthew, the bearded man in the center, makes a gesture that suggests, “Who, me?”

    Matthew became one of four disciples of Christ – along with Mark, Luke and John – whose accounts of Christ’s life, called Gospels, are included in the Bible.

    Francis and Jesuit training

    Francis’ thinking about this painting was shaped by his training as a Jesuit, a Catholic order that he entered in 1958. Jesuits practice something called a process of “discernment.” The painting represents God calling to Matthew to show him his will for the future, one that requires discernment. The founder of the order, Ignatius of Loyola, stressed a humble but vigorous effort to understand God’s will for each individual, as part of this process.

    Ignatius’ own life demonstrated this search for God’s will. His initial career as a soldier ended when he was gravely wounded in the battle of Pamplona in 1521, permanently damaging his leg. He subsequently tried to follow the life of a hermit, meditating in solitude, and then tried to become a missionary to the Holy Land.

    At the age of 33, he entered a university in order to become a priest, ultimately initiating the most influential transformation of religious education since the Middle Ages. Jesuits became a great teaching force, stressing individual study and debate over memorization. Ignatius was named a saint in 1622.

    ‘The Inspiration of St. Matthew’

    Caravaggio’s ‘The Inspiration of St. Matthew.’
    Gonzaloferjar via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The central painting in the chapel, “Inspiration of Saint Matthew” is Caravaggio’s third painting, which was put in place in 1602. The patrons originally planned to install statues at the center, but upon their arrival they rejected the idea and commissioned Caravaggio instead. This painting also shows the saint searching to understand God’s directions.

    In this painting, Matthew is in conversation with his symbol, a winged man. Each of the four evangelists are represented in art through symbols. The winged man symbol for Matthew refers to the beginning of his Gospel that records the genealogy of Christ.

    The angel-like figure, resembling one of the young men depicted alongside the saint in Caravaggio’s “The Calling of St. Matthew,” appears to hold his left index finger with his right hand, as if to signal that this is the first and most important point. Matthew seems careworn, even distracted, struggling to write while leaning his knee on a bench.

    Francis remarked in his biography that Caravaggio increased viewers’ empathy by using “contemporary figures from the artist’s own time.” The figures in the painting are dressed in clothes worn in Italy in the late 16th century, so that the viewers in Caravaggio’s time could see themselves in the painting.

    Viewers come to art with different perspectives derived from their own experiences and challenges. Francis, too, connected to art through his own experiences.

    Virginia Raguin does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Why ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’ by Caravaggio was Pope Francis’ favorite painting − an art historian explains – https://theconversation.com/why-the-calling-of-saint-matthew-by-caravaggio-was-pope-francis-favorite-painting-an-art-historian-explains-255577

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Buddha’s foster mother played a key role in the orphaned prince’s life – and is a model for Buddhists on Mother’s Day

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Megan Bryson, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, University of Tennessee

    Prince Siddhartha with his foster mother Mahaprajapati. A 1910 painting by Maligawage Sarlis. Photo by MediaJet, 2009 via Wikimedia Commons

    Mother’s Day offers an opportunity to reflect on what motherhood means in different religions and cultures. As a scholar of Buddhism and gender, I know how complicated Buddhist attitudes toward mothers can be.

    The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, taught that family ties were obstacles to enlightenment. According to the Buddha, attachment to family causes suffering because family relationships eventually end and cannot offer lasting contentment. The main goal of Buddhism is to break the cycle of rebirth, which is characterized by suffering.

    However, one family tie remained important for the Buddha – his relationship with his mother. Even after the Buddha left home, he continued to honor two mother figures – his biological mother, Maya, and his foster mother, known as Mahaprajapati Gautami in Sanskrit and Mahapajapati Gotami in the Pali language, which was used for early Buddhist scriptures in ancient India. These women played key roles in the Buddha’s life story, and they continue to inspire Buddhists today. Mahaprajapati specifically inspires women as the first Buddhist nun.

    Many Buddhist scriptures describe reproduction and pregnancy in negative terms because they continue the cycle of rebirth. But Buddhist scriptures also express love and gratitude for mothers, especially the Buddha’s two mother figures.

    Maya, the birth mother

    Maya and Mahaprajapati were sisters who both married the Buddha’s father, Suddhodana, who ruled the region of Kapilavastu along the India-Nepal border. Maya’s name means “illusion,” which refers to a Hindu and Buddhist concept that the material world conceals the true nature of reality.

    Maya’s dream of the Buddha’s conception. Pakistan, second to third centuries C.E.
    © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA

    Miracles related to Maya appear throughout stories of the future Buddha Siddhartha’s conception, gestation and delivery. Siddhartha is the Buddha of the current world cycle, but in Buddhist tradition there were other Buddhas in the past and there will be more Buddhas in the future. Each one goes through many rebirths before they attain Buddhahood, and each Buddha’s final rebirth follows the same pattern. According to Buddhist texts, Buddhas-to-be wait for the right time to be born, they choose their own parents, and they are not conceived through sexual intercourse.

    Early Buddhist texts claim that Siddhartha chose Maya as his mother because of her purity and entered her right side in the form of an elephant while she was sleeping. According to some Buddhist scriptures, during Maya’s pregnancy the future Buddha never actually touched her womb, which was considered impure in early Indian Buddhism. When Siddhartha was born, he is said to have emerged from Maya’s right side as she stood, holding onto a tree branch.

    The future Buddha Siddhartha being born from Maya’s right side as she stands, holding the tree. India, 11th century C.E.
    Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Purchase, Gift of Dr. Mortimer D. Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 2007

    Maya died seven days after her son’s birth, meaning that she did not live to see him become an enlightened Buddha. As the Buddha, even though Siddhartha encouraged his followers to leave domestic life and cut family ties, he never forgot his birth mother.

    Thanks to her good karma, Maya had been reborn in the heavens as a god, but in Buddhism gods are not as spiritually advanced as Buddhas. The Buddha used his spiritual powers to travel to the heavens, where he preached to Maya and encouraged her progress on the Buddhist path.

    One Chinese text claims that Maya spontaneously lactated upon hearing her son’s words, showing that the bond between mother and son remained strong even after her death.

    Mahaprajapati, the foster mother

    Siddhartha’s aunt Mahaprajapati became his foster mother after Maya died. She cared for the young Siddhartha and breastfed him, having just given birth to her own biological son, Nanda.

    When Siddhartha was preparing to leave home to follow a spiritual path, the chariot driver tried to convince him to stay by reminding Siddhartha how Mahaprajapati nursed him and telling Siddhartha he should be grateful for her motherly kindness.

    Siddhartha left home anyway, which caused Mahaprajapati to collapse out of grief. According to the Mahavastu, the earliest Sanskrit biography of the Buddha, her “eyes, as a result of her tears and grief, had become covered as with scales, and she had become blind.” It was only after Siddhartha returned as the Buddha that her sight was restored.

    A scene depicting the Buddha in the center with Mahaprajapati to his right, pleading with him to establish a nuns’ order. Pakistan, second to third centuries C.E.
    © The Trustees of the British Museum, CC BY-NC-SA

    At around the same time as the Buddha’s return to his kingdom of Kapilavastu, his father Suddhodana died, making Mahaprajapati a widow. The books with rules for Buddhist monks and nuns, known as the Vinaya, report that Mahaprajapati approached the Buddha to ask whether women like her, as well as women whose husbands had become monks, could leave home to join the Buddha’s monastic order.

    The Buddha eventually agreed to this request but warned that including women as nuns would cut short the lifespan of Buddhist teachings in the world from 1,000 years to 500 years. Mahaprajapati became the first Buddhist nun, reaching enlightenment before passing away at the age of 120.

    Scholars of Buddhism do not necessarily treat this episode as literally true, but instead see it as a reflection of mixed attitudes toward admitting women as nuns in the early Buddhist community. These mixed attitudes can still be seen today – for example, in the unwillingness to reinstate the order of nuns in Southeast Asia, which died out centuries ago.

    In Buddhism, nuns must be ordained by a group of 10 fully ordained monks and fully ordained nuns. An order of nuns still survives in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam, where Mahayana Buddhism is practiced. However, the monastic leaders in Southeast Asia, where Theravada Buddhism is practiced, decided that Mahayana nuns could not ordain Theravada nuns, leaving countries such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar without fully ordained nuns.

    Legacies of the Buddha’s mothers

    Both Maya and Mahaprajapati were loving mothers in the Buddha’s life story, but it is Mahaprajapati who has remained more of an inspiration for Buddhist women.

    Reiko Ohnuma, a scholar of South Asian Buddhism, argues that Maya is remembered in Buddhist tradition as an idealized, if passive, maternal figure. Her death shortly after the future Buddha’s birth serves as a reminder that life is impermanent and characterized by suffering.

    In contrast, Mahaprajapati lived a full life and played an active role in both raising the future Buddha and in advocating for women to join the monastic community. Early Buddhists may not have fully supported the inclusion of women in the Buddhist monastic community, but the nuns’ order was established nonetheless.

    Mahaprajapati made this opportunity possible thanks to her unique position as the Buddha’s foster mother.

    Megan Bryson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Buddha’s foster mother played a key role in the orphaned prince’s life – and is a model for Buddhists on Mother’s Day – https://theconversation.com/buddhas-foster-mother-played-a-key-role-in-the-orphaned-princes-life-and-is-a-model-for-buddhists-on-mothers-day-255368

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Popes have been European for hundreds of years. Is it time for one from Africa or Asia?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Historian, Australian Catholic University

    Catholicism did not begin as a “white” faith. Born on the eastern rim of the Mediterranean, it spread through the trading routes and legions of the Roman Empire into Africa, Asia and, only later, what we now call Europe.

    Three early bishops of Rome: Victor I (c. 189–199), Miltiades (311–314) and Gelasius I (492–496), were Africans whose teaching shaped the church’s developing doctrine.

    They are venerated as saints, a reminder the papal office has never been racially defined.

    However, that history sits uneasily with the unbroken run of European popes that stretches from the early Middle Ages to the death of Francis last month. Francis, an Argentine, was the first pope from Latin America, but he was the son of an Italian immigrant family.

    Why, in a global communion of 1.4 billion faithful, has the modern conclave not looked beyond Europeans for a new pope? And what would need to change for it to do so?

    Change has been gradual

    The explanation lies less in colour than in logistics and culture.

    Europe was the political and demographic centre of Catholicism for centuries. Until the 19th century, travel to Rome from beyond Europe was protracted, dangerous and expensive. An elector who missed the start of a conclave was simply excluded.

    Papal politics, therefore, became tightly entwined with Italian city factions and, after 1870, the diplomatic rivalries of European powers.

    Even after steamships and railways made travel easier, longstanding practice and patronage ensured most future cardinals were trained at Roman universities, served in the Curia (the bureaucracy of the Vatican), and moved within a Euro-centric network of friendships. The College of Cardinals became overwhelmingly European in composition and culture.

    The 20th-century popes began to chip away at this European dominance in internal church governance:

    • Pius X abolished the secular veto in 1903 (used by Catholic monarchs to veto papal candidates)
    • Pius XI named the first modern Chinese cardinal in 1946
    • Paul VI limited papal electors to those under the age of 80 and started appointing non-European bishops in greater numbers.

    John Paul II and Benedict XVI continued this trend, while Francis made a point of elevating pastors from places as varied as Tonga, Lesotho and Myanmar.

    While Europe still claims the single largest bloc of votes in the conclave, there has been a decline in its cardinal representation from almost 70% in 1963 to 39% in 2025. The representatives from Africa and Asia have steadily increased.

    Of the 135 electors who are eligible to enter the Sistine Chapel to cast ballots for the new pope on May 7, 53 are European. Africa has 18 electors, Asia 23, Latin America 21, North America 16, and Oceania four. (Two, however, are sick and will not attend – one from Europe and one from Africa).

    This representation is disproportionately European, reflecting the gradual nature of shifts in the church’s structures.

    Shifting demographics

    The demographics of the Catholic church, meanwhile, are changing rapidly.

    Between 1980 and 2023, the Catholic population of Europe fell from 286 million to just under 250 million. Weekly mass attendance declined even more steeply.

    Over the same period, the number of Catholics in Africa almost tripled to 255 million. Asia climbed to about 160 million. And Latin America, though no longer expanding, remains home to roughly 40% of all Catholics, at 425 million.

    Vocations follow the same curve: seminaries in France and Germany are closing for lack of students, while Nigeria, India and the Philippines are sending their priests abroad to ease shortages in Europe.

    Africa and Asia have also significantly increased their representation among Cardinals at the highest level of the Church, from less than 10% in 1963 to more than 30% in 2025.

    Ultimately, these numbers will expand even further, catching up with baptismal registers in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

    What matters most during the conclave

    Observers often describe papal candidates as “progressive” or “conservative”, or speculate about a “Global South bloc” ready to storm the papal throne. Such language obscures what the electors actually consider when casting a ballot.

    Five practical questions tend to be important:

    1. Is the candidate known and trusted, and a man of faith and wisdom?

    Personal acquaintance still matters. Cardinals who have worked in Rome are well-placed because most electors have met them repeatedly.

    2. Can he govern the Curia?

    Leading the world’s oldest bureaucracy demands stamina, political tact, leadership acumen, relational skills and fluency in Italian, the everyday language of Vatican administration.

    There is also the ongoing issue of reform, particularly around the church’s sexual abuse crisis and financial matters.

    3. Will he be heard beyond Rome?

    A pope must travel, address parliaments and give press conferences. Because communication and symbolism are important, a command of English and comfort in front of the global media matter greatly.

    4. Is he a pastor?

    The ability to preach the Gospel compellingly, comfort the afflicted and speak credibly about the poor has been vital since John Paul II.

    5. Does he know and inhabit the tradition of the church?

    As part of this, a pope should also be able to represent and deepen the church’s teachings.

    Non-European papal candidates

    These criteria help explain why previous non-European hopefuls have fallen short.

    In 1978, for instance, Cardinal Aloísio Lorscheider of Brazil was judged too youthful and untested.

    In 2005, Cardinal Francis Arinze of Nigeria, though admired, was seen as a transition figure at the age of 72. He also lacked experience in the Curia.

    In 2013, Cardinal Odilo Scherer of Brazil was persuasive on pastoral questions but hampered by his limited English and Italian, and by concerns the Vatican Bank needed a strong financial reformer.

    Could it change this year? There are several non-European candidates in the current conclave:

    • Luis Antonio Tagle (Philippines): the former archbishop of Manila, he is a gifted communicator in Italian and English. Some voters may fear he is not administratively capable and too closely identified with Francis, yet others see that continuity as an advantage.

    • Fridolin Ambongo Besungu (Democratic Republic of the Congo): a leading African voice on ecology and conflict mediation, he is admired for his courage and leadership in strife-torn Congo. Sceptics point to his limited network outside Africa and France. He may also be too conservative for some cardinals.

    • Peter Turkson (Ghana): a long-time curial prefect and articulate champion of economic justice. Age counts against him (he is 76), yet he could emerge as a compromise if the conclave stalls, as he seen to be doctrinally solid, open and charismatic.

    Any one of them would break the post-medieval pattern. None, however, would (or should) campaign as a flag-bearer for his continent.

    The church neither keeps a scorecard by hemisphere nor anoints popes to gratify civil notions of representation.

    The most important thing is whether a candidate can carry forward the mission of the church and speak in an effective way in an era marked by war, the climate crisis and rapid secularisation.

    Would a non-European pope be seismic?

    Symbolically, yes.

    A Filipino or Congolese pope would signal that Catholicism’s demographic heart now beats in Manila and Kinshasa, rather than Milan and Cologne.

    Practically, though, the change might be less dramatic.

    Whoever is elected inherits the same threefold task:

    • to guard church unity while being a place for all nations and peoples
    • to preach convincingly in a sceptical age and serve the poor and marginalised
    • to lead the a very diverse institution and reform the Curia so it serves rather than stifles evangelisation.

    Those challenges transcend region and skin tone.

    If the next pope happens to be African, Asian or Latin American, history will have turned a page. The universal body will have recognised, in the face of its evolving demographics, the gifts of a shepherd able to speak to followers in Kinshasa, Manila, Sao Paulo and Munich with equal conviction.

    The mystery of the conclave is that when the doors close, regional and political calculations fade. What remains is prayerful discernment about who can carry Saint Peter’s keys into an uncertain future.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Popes have been European for hundreds of years. Is it time for one from Africa or Asia? – https://theconversation.com/popes-have-been-european-for-hundreds-of-years-is-it-time-for-one-from-africa-or-asia-255506

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The election of a new pope is announced with smoke: what do the colours mean, and how are they made?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Clare Johnson, Professor of Liturgical Studies and Sacramental Theology and Director of the ACU Centre for Liturgy, Australian Catholic University

    For nearly 800 years the Catholic Church has utilised the process of the conclave to elect a new pope. “Conclave” means “with a key”, indicating the cardinal-electors are locked up with a key to conduct their deliberations.

    With no direct communication to the outside world, a key feature of the papal election process is the use of smoke to signal the result of ballots and to announce the election of a new pope.

    Black smoke means a new pope has not been elected. White smoke means there is a new pope.

    So where does this tradition come from – and how do they achieve the different coloured smoke?

    Sending messages with smoke

    Smoke signals are one of the oldest forms of long-distance communication between humans. For millennia, smoke signals have been used to indicate danger, to call for a gathering of tribes/nations, to transmit news and to warn of enemy invasions

    Many indigenous peoples (such as those of North America, South America, China and Australia) are known for their sophisticated use of smoke signalling techniques to indicate specific messages to those at a distance.

    These techniques can include changing the location of the fire (such as halfway up or at the top of a hill), adjusting the colour of smoke (using different types of foliage or damp/dry foliage) and the interruption or diversion of the smoke column at different intervals to produce particular patterns of smoke.

    Catholic incense

    Catholics utilise smoke in many rituals in the form of incense.

    Incense (from the Latin incendere, meaning “to burn”) signifies prayer, sacrifice and reverence for people and objects. This fragrant smoke symbolises the prayer of the assembly rising up to God. Psalm 141:2 asks “may prayer be set before you like incense”. In Revelations 8:3–5, an angel is “given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people”.

    Catholics use incense during entrance processions, as with these altar boys swinging the thurible.
    Bilderstoeckchen/Shutterstock

    Catholics inherited their use of incense from its use in Jewish temple rituals and Greek imperial court rituals.

    The smoke from the incense is used to show reverence toward the Gospel book, the presiding celebrant, the gifts of bread and wine offered at Mass, the altar, cross, the Easter Candle and the body of the deceased at a funeral.

    This holy smoke is a visual and olfactory signal of the congregation’s offerings of supplication and praise rising up to God.

    Crafting the smoke

    Once the conclave begins, the only form of communication between the cardinal-electors and the outside world will be smoke signals sent through the chimney of a stove specially installed in the Sistine Chapel for the duration of the conclave.

    The 1878 conclave was held at the Sistine Chapel. Smoke, depicted here, indicated there was no new pope.
    Wikimedia Commons

    The tradition of burning the ballots goes back to at least 1417, though it wasn’t until the 18th century that the first chimney was installed in the Sistine Chapel. At this time, the appearance of smoke at set times indicated no new pope had been elected; while the absence of smoke indicated there was a new pope.

    Prior to this it is likely that a new pope was simply announced from the loggia (central balcony) of St Peter’s Basilica and a written announcement was posted outside for people to read.

    Since 1914, white smoke has indicated the election of a new pope. A stereotypical association of the colour of the smoke – white (positive) and black (negative) – lies behind the use of the two contrasting smoke colours.

    In 1904, Pius X (who was pope from 1903–14) mandated that all notes taken by cardinals during the election were to be burned along with the ballots themselves. This burning of notes also increased the volume of smoke, making it clearly visible to the public outside when his successor Pope Benedict XV was elected in 1914.

    The use of chemicals to ensure either black or white smoke was introduced after the 1958 conclave when damp straw added to papers from an unsuccessful ballot did not ignite at first. White smoke appeared before eventually turning black, causing confusion among the crowd gathered outside.

    A crowd watches as black smoke rises from the Sistine Chapel at the 1922 conclave.
    Wikimedia Commons/Bibliothèque nationale de France

    In 2013, the Vatican Press Office released the chemical formulae used to create black and white smoke.

    To generate black smoke, potassium perchlorate and anthracene (a component of coal tar) fuelled with sulfur are electrically ignited. To generate white smoke, potassium chlorate, milk sugar and pine rosin are ignited.

    Using these smoke signals, the cardinals can communicate from within the conclave immediately and directly to the faithful awaiting the announcement of the Church’s 267th Pope.

    Clare Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. The election of a new pope is announced with smoke: what do the colours mean, and how are they made? – https://theconversation.com/the-election-of-a-new-pope-is-announced-with-smoke-what-do-the-colours-mean-and-how-are-they-made-255595

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: India and Pakistan have fought many wars in the past. Are we on the precipice of a new one?

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Ian Hall, Professor of International Relations, Griffith University

    India conducted military strikes against Pakistan overnight, hitting numerous sites in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir and deeper into Pakistan itself. Security officials say precision strike weapon systems, including drones, were used to carry out the strikes.

    Pakistan says at least eight civilians have been killed and many more injured.

    While there’s still much uncertainty around what’s happened, it is clear both sides are closer to a major conflict than they have been in years – perhaps decades.

    We’ve seen these kinds of crises before. India and Pakistan have fought full-scale wars many times over the years, in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999.

    There were also cross-border strikes between the two sides in 2016 and 2019 that did not lead to a larger war.

    These conflicts were limited because there was an understanding, given both sides possess nuclear weapons, that escalating to a full-scale war would be very dangerous. That imposed some control on both sides, or at least some caution.

    There was also external pressure from the United States and others on both occasions not to allow those conflicts to spiral out of control.

    While it’s possible both sides will exercise similar restraint now, there may be less pressure from other countries to compel them to do so.

    In this context, tensions can escalate quickly. And when they do, it’s difficult to get both sides to back down and return to where they were before.

    Why did India strike now?

    India says it was retaliating for a terror attack last month on mostly Indian tourists in heavily militarised Kashmir, which both sides claim. The attack left 26 dead.

    There was a claim of responsibility after the attack from a group called the Resistance Front, but it was subsequently withdrawn, so there’s some uncertainty about that.

    Indian sources suggest this group, which is relatively new, is an extension of a pre-existing militant group, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which has been based in Pakistan for many years.

    Pakistan has denied any involvement in the tourist attack. However, there’s been good evidence in the past suggesting that even if the Pakistani government hasn’t officially sanctioned these groups operating on its territory, there are parts of the Pakistani establishment or military that do support them. This could be ideologically, financially, or through other types of assistance.

    In previous terror attacks in India, weapons and other equipment have been sourced from Pakistan. In the Mumbai terror attack in 2008, for instance, the Indian government produced evidence it claimed showed the gunmen were being directed by handlers in Pakistan by phone.

    But as yet, we have no such evidence demonstrating Pakistan is connected to the tourist attack in Kashmir.

    India has also repeatedly asked Pakistan to shut down these groups. While the leaders have occasionally been put in jail, they’ve later been released, including the alleged mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attack.

    And madrassas (religious schools) that have long been accused of supplying recruits for militant groups are still permitted to operate in Pakistan, with little state control.

    Pakistan, meanwhile, claims that attacks in Kashmir are committed by local Kashmiris protesting against Indian “occupation” or Pakistanis spontaneously moved to take action.

    These two positions obviously don’t match up in any way, shape or form.

    A political cost to pay for not acting

    It remains to be seen what cost either side is willing to pay to escalate tensions further.

    From an economic standpoint, there’s very little cost to either side if a larger conflict breaks out. There’s practically no trade between India and Pakistan.

    New Delhi has likely calculated that its fast-growing economy will not be harmed by its strikes and others will continue to trade and invest in India. The conclusion of a trade deal with the United Kingdom, after three years of negotiations, will reinforce that impression. The deal was signed on May 6, just before the Pakistan strikes.

    And from the standpoint of international reputation, neither side has much to lose.

    In past crises, Western countries were quick to condemn and criticise military actions committed by either side. But these days, most take the view that the long-simmering conflict is a bilateral issue, which India and Pakistan need to settle themselves.

    The main concern for both sides, then, is the political cost they would suffer from not taking military action.

    Before the terrorist attack on April 22, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had claimed the security situation in Kashmir was improving, and ordinary Indians could safely travel in the region. Those claims were undermined by what occurred that day, making it crucial for the government to respond.

    And now, if Pakistan doesn’t react to the Indian strikes, its government and especially its military would have a cost to pay, too.

    Despite a patchy record of success, Pakistan’s army has long justified its outsize role in national politics by claiming that it alone stands between the Pakistani people and Indian aggression. If it fails to act now, that claim might look hollow.

    Little external mediation to bank on

    So, how does this play out? The hope would be there’s limited military action, lasting a few days, and then things calm down rapidly, as they have in the past. But there are no guarantees.

    And there are few others willing to step in and help deescalate the dispute. US President Donald Trump is mired in other conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and with the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and his administration’s diplomacy has so far been inept and ineffective.

    When asked about the Indian strike today, Trump replied it was a “shame” and he “hopes” it ends quickly.

    That’s very different from the strong rhetoric we’ve seen from US presidents in the past when India and Pakistan have come to blows.

    New Delhi and Islamabad will likely have to settle this round themselves. And for whoever decides to blink or back down first, there may be a substantial political cost to pay.

    Ian Hall receives funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is also an honorary academic fellow of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne.

    – ref. India and Pakistan have fought many wars in the past. Are we on the precipice of a new one? – https://theconversation.com/india-and-pakistan-have-fought-many-wars-in-the-past-are-we-on-the-precipice-of-a-new-one-256080

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The Conversation Africa’s first 10 years: a story of new media powered by generosity

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Candice Bailey, Strategic Initiatives Editor

    Starting from scratch is daunting. And exhilarating. Your heart pounds, you can taste adrenaline, the sense of urgency and anticipation makes you high. I can recall each of these sensations 10 years after the thrilling moment when The Conversation Africa went live, and our first newsletter was sent out. Thanks to some nifty software, we were able to watch readers open their emails in real time in cities and towns in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Malawi, Zimbabwe as well as beyond in the US, the UK, India, France, Japan and Australia.

    We’d gone live. People were reading us. We’d launched and there was no going back.

    It was a tiny team that celebrated the moment: nine of us in an office in Johannesburg plus two colleagues from TC Australia who’d flown over to show us the ropes. Our promise when we launched was that we would “work with academics across Africa and internationally to bring informed expertise to a global audience”.

    It’s a promise we’ve kept. From a small team in an office in Johannesburg we’ve gone on to open offices in Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. We’ve published 11,775 articles about African research, written by 7,540 academics, attracting over 180 million reads, helped by 935 republishers.

    It’s a model that works because of the generosity of donors, universities, academics and readers. And because we offer evidence-based insight you can trust.

    In retrospect the whole idea might have seemed mad. The impact of the 2008 financial crisis was still being felt. Nobody was in an expansive mood: governments were cutting budgets, economic growth was slow. At the time the media landscape was in bad shape as more titles hit the wall and those that elected to keep going were shrinking their operations.

    What tipped the balance to go for it was that The Conversation offered the opportunity of building – at scale – a partnership between academics and journalists anchored on the simple premise that researchers would be the writers, and the journalists would be the editors.

    The second factor was that the prototype had been built and was working extremely well. Four years prior to our launch The Conversation Australia (the mothership) had gone live. This was followed by editions in the UK, then in the US.

    All three were incredibly successful. It was clear to me that tapping into the vast world of academic research as the primary source of articles, and coupling this with the skills of journalists trained as editors, was a winning formula. Academics were keen to write (without being paid), there were journalists eager to apply their editing skills, and media outlets were hungry to pick up articles put out under a Creative Commons licence.

    The “why” all made sense. The “how” proved to be trickier.

    Money was a problem. The university sectors in other regions were the mainstay of the earlier editions. But universities on the continent were cash-strapped and hardly in a position to bankroll our endeavour. The answer was two-fold: find donors that were supporting the higher education sector in the hope that they would see the merits of the project; and secondly, ask universities for support, either in the form of money or by offering us rent-free accommodation.

    Both strategies worked. We raised enough cash to pay for the small team based in rent-free offices at the University of the Witwatersrand.

    The second tricky bit was fulfilling the promise of being The Conversation Africa. An office in Johannesburg wasn’t going to cut it. We set about finding more money so that we could expand our footprint. By 2017 our team could boast a colleague in Kenya working from an office gifted by the African Population and Health Research Centre. It took another two years to fulfil the promise with colleagues in Lagos (in an office at the Nigerian Academy of Sciences) and a colleague in Accra. The final piece of the puzzle fell into place with the launch of TC Afrique in 2023 with a team of two in Dakar.

    I put The Conversation Africa’s success down to generosity. The generosity of spirit of my colleagues. The generosity of donors. The generosity of universities. The generosity of academics who have volunteered to share their knowledge and approached the rigours of our editing with grace and forbearance. And finally the generosity of you, our readers, who express your appreciation in a host of different ways, not least by sharing articles you come across far and wide. Thank you.

    It’s been a remarkable and hugely fulfilling 10 years. The Conversation Africa has established itself as the source of articles you can trust. A rare commodity in these tricky times. Please continue to support us. We need you in our corner.

    – ref. The Conversation Africa’s first 10 years: a story of new media powered by generosity – https://theconversation.com/the-conversation-africas-first-10-years-a-story-of-new-media-powered-by-generosity-256011

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Choosing singlehood? Here are 5 tips for thriving while being single

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Yuthika Girme, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University

    Many people spend their 20s and 30s figuring out who they are and building a life as an independent adult. At the same time, society often tells them they should be looking for love, settling down and starting a family. These milestones are still widely seen as markers of adulthood and success.

    But what does this mean for the growing number of singles in their 20s and 30s?

    In Canada, singlehood among young adults has been steadily increasing. Despite these changing trends, cultural narratives continue to centre romantic relationships as the ideal. Being single is still often seen as a temporary stage, rather than a legitimate or fulfilling way of life.

    As an associate professor, I lead the Singlehood Experiences and Complexities Underlying Relationships lab at Simon Fraser University. My research focuses on understanding when single and coupled people can thrive and be happy.

    Here is what I’ve learned over the years about the experiences of single adults in their 20s and 30s.

    Ready to make a change? The Quarter Life Glow-up is a new, six-week newsletter course from The Conversation’s UK and Canada editions. Every week, we’ll bring you research-backed advice and tools to help improve your relationships, your career, your free time and your mental health – no supplements or skincare required. Sign up here to start your glow-up at any time.

    Singlehood is increasingly common

    In Canada, 59.8 per cent of 25- to 29-year-olds and 37.6 per cent of 30 to 34-year-olds report not being in a married or common-law relationship.

    The proportion of 20- to 34-year-olds who are not in such relationships increased to 60.3 per cent in 2021 from 50.5 per cent in 1996.

    Even among those who eventually want a committed relationship, many are delaying these decisions. The average age of marriage in Canada has increased by almost eight years since the 1970s, to 31.2 years old in 2020 from 23.3 years old in 1971.

    These trends may reflect a variety of factors: a greater focus on career development, wanting to prioritize travel, having difficulties with dating or simply a preference for singlehood during early adulthood.

    They may also reflect an increasing number of people who identify as “single at heart” and consciously choose to remain single because they value their freedom and solitude.

    The pressure to partner persists

    Despite the growing number of people in their 20s and 30s who are single, whether by choice or circumstance, the societal pressure to partner up and settle down persists. This is largely because our society focuses heavily on coupling, marriage and having children.

    Certainly, wanting romantic partnership and a family are common and valid life choices. But placing romantic relationships on a pedestal can come at the expense of singlehood.

    Single people are often viewed as incomplete simply because they do not have a partner. A research study I conducted with colleagues shows that single people often feel excluded, left out and pitied for being single, which can undermine their well-being. They may also face negative stereotypes, such as being seen as selfish, heartless, loners or antisocial.



    Read more:
    Would you be happy as a long-term single? The answer may depend on your attachment style

    These cultural narratives don’t just come from society — single people can internalize them, too, which can have negative consequences.

    In another research study, we examined what we call “relationship pedestal beliefs” — the extent to which people believe they need to be in a romantic relationship to be truly happy. We found that singles who endorse these beliefs are more likely to fear being single, and in turn, report lower life satisfaction.

    How to be a thriving single?

    How can singles lead happy, secure and satisfying lives, despite facing societal messages about the importance of romantic relationships?

    To explore this question, my colleagues and I reviewed the existing literature on singlehood to better understand when singles are coping versus thriving. We found that, while some single people struggle with solo living and the desire to partner, many are happy and thriving.

    Here are some factors associated with happy singlehood:

    1. Feeling secure with yourself. Single people who are secure and feel comfortable trusting and depending on close relationships are some of the happiest singles. They report the highest levels of life satisfaction and emotion regulation skills. Secure singles are open to the idea of romantic partnership, but are also happy and comfortable being single.

    2. Having supportive friendships. Single people tend to invest in their friendships more than partnered people. Single people who invest in their friendships feel like they belong, report higher self-esteem and are happier with their single status.

    Single people tend to invest in their friendships more than partnered people.
    (Shutterstock)

    1. Being able to meet your needs for intimacy. Single people still have sexual and intimacy needs. Research show that when single adults are able to meet these needs, they are happier being single and desire romantic relationships less. At the same time, sexually satisfied singles are more likely to enter romantic relationships over time.

    2. Being older. As people approach their 40s, they are happier with being single. This is likely because singles in midlife learn to invest in their single lives and are less likely to feel the pressure to conform to societal expectations.

    3. Holding values that prioritize freedom, fun and creativity. Research shows single people who personally value freedom, fun and creativity report greater happiness.

    Being single in one’s 20s and 30s can be a prominent time for people to focus on their self-development, careers, aspirations and relationships with family, friends and community. These are important building blocks to a happy live — regardless of whether people lead their lives single or choose to partner.

    Yuthika Girme receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada

    – ref. Choosing singlehood? Here are 5 tips for thriving while being single – https://theconversation.com/choosing-singlehood-here-are-5-tips-for-thriving-while-being-single-254669

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Friedrich Merz confirmed as Germany’s chancellor – but betrayal by MPs in a secret ballot means he starts from a position of weakness

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ed Turner, Reader in Politics, Co-Director, Aston Centre for Europe, Aston University

    Friedrich Merz has been confirmed as Germany’s new chancellor after a close shave left his future in doubt.

    Merz lost a first round of voting among MPs gathered to confirm his role, and may never know who among his own coalition betrayed him. After the shock of the morning vote, a second vote was called and whoever was blocking his path appears to have stood down.

    Merz’s CDU/CSU had struck a coalition deal with the social democratic SPD. Ministers were nominated and ready to take office and Merz’ election as chancellor was scheduled for the morning of May 6. But for much of the morning, this looked uncertain.

    Candidates for chancellor regularly fall short of the number of votes they’d expect to receive (from MPs in their own party and from their coalition partner), and there have been some close-run races, such as Helmut Kohl in 1994, who made it through by just one vote. But this was the first time a candidate has lost the vote.

    Merz fell dramatically short in the first round, receiving only 310 votes. That’s six below the overall majority he needed, and 18 below the number of MPs in his own CDU/CSU/SPD coalition. Germany’s constitution requires this ballot to be secret so we don’t know and may never find out who voted against Merz.

    In the second round of votes, hastily organised after Merz’s failure in the first, 325 votes, more than 316 required. There were 289 votes against, one abstention and three invalid votes.

    Merz will now hope the first vote can be dismissed as “false start” and that life will quickly move on.

    Why did this happen?

    There are four groups of MPs who might have, in secret, voted against Merz in the first round. It’s possible that all four were represented in the group – and we will never know for sure.

    The first is those CDU/CSU parliamentarians who were unhappy with Merz. In particular, just days after his election when he argued for balanced budgets, he pushed through a reform of Germany’s constitutional restrictions on government debt to allow extra defence and infrastructure spending. This irked fiscal hawks, some of whom may have decided to send him a message during the vote.

    The second is those CDU/CSU MPs who had hoped for ministerial office and missed out. The was inevitable, especially since Merz secured fewer cabinet positions than had been expected for his own party. The third group would be made up for SPD MPs who missed out on a ministerial post or were unhappy at choices of ministers.

    Fourth, suspicion will fall on some of the leftwing MPs who have policy disagreements with Merz. His decision to vote with the far-right AfD on immigration policy before the election caused great anger. There are internal SPD critics who feel the coalition agreement makes too many concessions to Merz, particularly on immigration.

    One message about the new government is clear: it had hoped to be more united than its predecessor, the three-party coalition which was frequently consumed by public quarrelling and in the end collapsed over budget policy. Those ambitions have fallen at the first hurdle.

    We should not overstate the risks to government stability. Most votes happen in public, not secret, so MPs are much more likely to tow the government line from here on. And chancellors have often governed with smaller majorities for an extended period.

    However, this debacle is a bad omen. If Merz turns things around quickly, this episode can be forgotten. But if he doesn’t this early blow to his authority will embolden the AfD, which will point to the apparent dysfunction of mainstream parties and capitalise on public dissatisfaction. Nor will this blow to Merz’s authority help him realise his ambition to show leadership in Europe.

    Merz’s poll standing was already weak, and these events risk causing further damage. His first days in the job will now be even more difficult than he expected.

    Ed Turner receives funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

    – ref. Friedrich Merz confirmed as Germany’s chancellor – but betrayal by MPs in a secret ballot means he starts from a position of weakness – https://theconversation.com/friedrich-merz-confirmed-as-germanys-chancellor-but-betrayal-by-mps-in-a-secret-ballot-means-he-starts-from-a-position-of-weakness-255992

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Ben Bond, PhD Candidate in Digital Psychiatry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

    Pavlova Yuliia/Shutterstock

    Mental health services around the world are stretched thinner than ever. Long wait times, barriers to accessing care and rising rates of depression and anxiety have made it harder for people to get timely help.

    As a result, governments and healthcare providers are looking for new ways to address this problem. One emerging solution is the use of AI chatbots for mental health care.

    A recent study explored whether a new type of AI chatbot, named Therabot, could treat people with mental illness effectively. The findings were promising: not only did participants with clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety benefit, those at high-risk for eating disorders also showed improvement. While early, this study may represent a pivotal moment in the integration of AI into mental health care.

    AI mental health chatbots are not new – tools like Woebot and Wysa have already been released to the public and studied for years. These platforms follow rules based on a user’s input to produce a predefined approved response.

    What makes Therabot different is that it uses generative AI – a technique where a program learns from existing data to create new content in response to a prompt. Consequently, Therabot can produce novel responses based on a user’s input like other popular chatbots such as ChatGPT, allowing for a more dynamic and personalised interaction.

    This isn’t the first time generative AI has been examined in a mental health setting. In 2024, researchers in Portugal conducted a study where ChatGPT was offered as an additional component of treatment for psychiatric inpatients.

    The research findings showed that just three to six sessions with ChatGPT led to a significantly greater improvement in quality of life than standard therapy, medication and other supportive treatments alone.

    Together, these studies suggest that both general and specialised generative AI chatbots hold real potential for use in psychiatric care. But there are some serious limitations to keep in mind. For example, the ChatGPT study involved only 12 participants – far too few to draw firm conclusions.

    In the Therabot study, participants were recruited through a Meta Ads campaign, likely skewing the sample toward tech-savvy people who may already be open to using AI. This could have inflated the chatbot’s effectiveness and engagement levels.

    Ethics and Exclusion

    Beyond methodological concerns, there are critical safety and ethical issues to address. One of the most pressing is whether generative AI could worsen symptoms in people with severe mental illnesses, particularly psychosis.

    A 2023 article warned that generative AI’s lifelike responses, combined with the most people’s limited understanding of how these systems work, might feed into delusional thinking. Perhaps for this reason, both the Therabot and ChatGPT studies excluded participants with psychotic symptoms.

    But excluding these people also raises questions of equity. People with severe mental illness often face cognitive challenges – such as disorganised thinking or poor attention – that might make it difficult to engage with digital tools.

    Ironically, these are the people who may benefit the most from accessible, innovative interventions. If generative AI tools are only suitable for people with strong communication skills and high digital literacy, then their usefulness in clinical populations may be limited.

    There’s also the possibility of AI “hallucinations” – a known flaw that occurs when a chatbot confidently makes things up – like inventing a source, quoting a nonexistent study, or giving an incorrect explanation. In the context of mental health, AI hallucinations aren’t just inconvenient, they can be dangerous.

    Imagine a chatbot misinterpreting a prompt and validating someone’s plan to self-harm, or offering advice that unintentionally reinforces harmful behaviour. While the studies on Therabot and ChatGPT included safeguards – such as clinical oversight and professional input during development – many commercial AI mental health tools do not offer the same protections.

    That’s what makes these early findings both exciting and cautionary. Yes, AI chatbots might offer a low-cost way to support more people at once, but only if we fully address their limitations.

    Effective implementation will require more robust research with larger and more diverse populations, greater transparency about how models are trained and constant human oversight to ensure safety. Regulators must also step in to guide the ethical use of AI in clinical settings.

    With careful, patient-centred research and strong guardrails in place, generative AI could become a valuable ally in addressing the global mental health crisis – but only if we move forward responsibly.

    Ben Bond receives funding from Research Ireland.

    – ref. AI therapy may help with mental health, but innovation should never outpace ethics – https://theconversation.com/ai-therapy-may-help-with-mental-health-but-innovation-should-never-outpace-ethics-255090

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Tove Jansson: lessons in life from her beloved Moomin characters

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Barbara Tesio-Ryan, ECDS Postdoctoral Fellow in European Languages, University of Edinburgh

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of The Moomins, the Finnish/Swedish trolls that have delighted generations of children, becoming a cultural phenomenon in their own right. While posterity will likely remember her as the inventor of Moomins, Tove Jansson was in fact a strikingly multi-talented creative force.

    Born in Helsinki in 1914, the daughter of artists, Jansson grew up surrounded by creativity, allowing her to develop her own in many different ways. During a career that spanned over 70 years, her work included illustrations, cartoons, paintings, murals, theatre productions, children’s books and beautifully crafted novels.

    The main thing in life is to know your own mind.

    Snufkin, Moominsummer Madness

    In 1929, aged 15, Jansson began her career as a cartoonist. Her illustrations were first published in Garm, the Finnish satirical magazine for which she later became the in-house illustrator.

    Her work as a cartoonist, before and during the war, gave her an outlet to be outspoken and express her militant anti-fascism and opposition to the war. For a woman at that time to assert her views so boldly and publicly was an act of defiance in itself, and she later recalled how liberating it had been to be able to be “so beastly to Hitler and Stalin” through her daring cartoons.

    This is part of a series of articles celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Moomins. Want to celebrate their birthday with us? Join The Conversation and a group of experts on May 23 in Bradford for a screening of Moomins on the Riviera and a discussion of the refugee experience in Tove Jansson’s work. Click here for more information and tickets.

    No one was spared, and her cartoons captured the megalomania of the main political figures of the time, as well as the impact of the war on everyday life. During the strenuous war years, Jansson refined her craft as an illustrator, and also, crucially, learned the importance of laughter in ushering light into the darkness. This is a skill that would characterise her entire output, both as an artist and as a writer.

    Everything looks worse in the dark, you know.

    Moominmama, The Moomins and the Great Flood

    She used humour as a tool to both critique and understand life and the world around her. Through the act of making art, Jansson brought light and lightness when life got darker.

    While Jansson had been sketching some variation of Moomintrolls her whole life, it was during the war that she began creating their Moominvalley world and imagining stories for them.

    In 1991, she wrote that the Moomins had come to her as an escape from the horrors of the war: “Perhaps it was understandable that I suddenly felt an urge to write something that was to begin with ‘once upon a time’.”

    When her first Moomin book, Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen (The Moomins and the Great Flood), was published in 1945, Finland had been through the second world war, as well as the “winter war” and the “continuation war” with Russia. So, while it was published during a time of peace, darkness surrounded the origin of the Moomins.

    This dichotomy of light and darkness pervades all the Moomin books. Often a catastrophe is waiting to happen, or has just happened, and how the Moomins react to those events is central to the story itself. This is what makes those books so universal and so timeless.

    The Moomins are so special because they are normal. Not everyone is a hero and not every day is great. There is space for both sadness and joy in Jansson’s tales, and this is why we keep reading them, because they are just like life itself.

    It would be awful if the world exploded. It is so wonderfully splendid.

    Snufkin, Comet in Moominland

    In the first two Moomin books, Moomins and the Great Flood, and Comet in Moominland, natural catastrophes mirror the horrors of the war and postwar era (such as the atomic bomb). Environmental disasters are also ongoing threats to the the creatures of Moominvalley.

    These are often, and mainly, brought by the sea, and can be fully appreciated only by someone like Jansson who lived between coastal and island landscapes most of her life. The natural landscape of Finland and Sweden, Jansson’s two homelands, are an essential part of her art.

    Moominvalley in particular is a decidedly Nordic landscape, and was in fact inspired by her grandparents’ house on the island of Blidö, and by the Pellinki archipelago. It was here that Jansson spent many happy summers with her family, and later, with her partner Tuulikki Pietilä.

    There is a humbleness to be learned in living by the sea, and a respect for the power of nature that Jansson captured beautifully in so many of her creations, such as The Summer Book.

    In Moominpappa at Sea, where Moominpappa goes on an existential journey to find his purpose in life again, the relationship to the sea also becomes pivotal to his personal development: “There was the sea – his sea – going past, wave after wave, foaming recklessly, raging furiously, but, somehow, tranquil at the same time. All Moominpappa’s thoughts and speculations vanished. He felt completely alive from the tips of his ears to the tip of his tail. This was a moment to live to the full.”

    The Moomins’ unconditional love and respect for nature also translates beautifully into an acceptance of all of life’s diversity. The Moomin’s universe is one where everyone is welcomed and loved for whoever they are and however they feel.

    One of the biggest teachings of Jansson’s work for any reader at any age, is that all feelings are valid, and learning to accept this simple and profound truth makes life so much easier. As Moominpappa says: “For if you’re not afraid, how can you really be brave?”

    You seem to be yourself again. Actually, you’re nicer that way.

    Mymble, Moominvalley in November

    Jansson’s motto, labora et amare (work and love), did indeed mark her existence. She worked incessantly and loved fiercely. Well ahead of her time, Jansson lived her sexuality with a freedom that was truly revolutionary for her time (Finland, like many other countries, decriminalised homosexuality only in 1971).

    What characterised this artist’s life and career was the ambition and the courage to live differently. To create and to love without boundaries and without fear. And this is perhaps Jansson and her Moomins’ most important legacy.

    Barbara Tesio-Ryan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Tove Jansson: lessons in life from her beloved Moomin characters – https://theconversation.com/tove-jansson-lessons-in-life-from-her-beloved-moomin-characters-255280

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: The UK is falling behind in tackling microplastic pollution – here are three ways the government can catch up

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Antaya March, Director – Global Plastics Policy Centre, University of Portsmouth

    SIVStockStudio/Shutterstock

    Microplastics – fragments of plastic smaller than 5mm – are accumulating in the environment. They’re found in soil, water, food, even in human lungs, placentas and blood. These plastic particles shed from items we use daily, such as synthetic clothes, tyres, plastic packaging and paint.

    Scientists, medical professionals and environmental bodies have raised growing concern about the potential impacts of microplastics on environments and human health. Studies suggest that microplastics could affect soil health, reduce food productivity and compromise ecosystem functioning. As a result, economic growth may be hindered.

    Some nations are acting. French regulations require that filters are put on new washing machines to capture microfibres. The EU has recently targeted microplastic inputs from artificial turf and paint and has passed rules to limit microplastic discharges in wastewater treatment.

    US states are beginning to regulate microplastic contamination in drinking water. In fact, California has set some of the world’s first safe water testing requirements for microplastic contamination.

    Yet, the UK hasn’t kept pace. There is still no national plan to reduce emissions. There are no legal targets for reducing microplastic pollution, no limits and no timeline for action. The only regulation to date (a 2017 ban on microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics) addresses just a fraction of the problem. Microbeads only account for less than 5% of the microplastics ending up in the environment.

    With evidence building and risks mounting, the UK urgently needs a more coordinated response. Drawing on insights from leading UK scientists and policy experts, here are three ways the UK can begin to close the gap.

    1. A national roadmap

    The UK has no coordinated plan to reduce microplastic pollution. Microplastics are mentioned in several UK government strategies – such as the Plan for Water and Environmental Improvement Plan – but these don’t have clear targets, timelines or regulatory action.

    A national roadmap can tackle the problem more effectively by expanding the narrow scope of the microbeads ban to cover major sources of both primary (intentionally manufactured) and secondary microplastics (produced from the breakdown of larger plastics).

    To make this feasible, design standards for plastic products need to focus on reducing microplastics shedding upstream, rather than relying on clean-up alone.

    As with any effective regulation, measurable targets to reduce microplastics entering the environment can be paired with a programme for monitoring – so human exposure and microplastic levels in air, water and soil can be tracked to assess whether policies are working.

    2. Regulate the biggest sources

    The ban on microbeads in rinse-off cosmetics was an important early step, but it only scratches the surface. Most microplastic pollution comes from larger, less visible sources: car tyres, synthetic textiles, paint and fertilisers made from sewage sludge. These everyday sources account for most microplastic emissions, yet remain largely unregulated in the UK.



    Read more:
    Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment – urgent action is needed

    By making manufacturers responsible for the highest levels of microplastic pollution, a widespread industry shift can be achieved. That includes setting standards to reduce fibres shedding from textiles and requiring filters in washing machines, addressing tyre wear and road runoff in the transport sector and phasing out the use of contaminated sludge and plastic mulch films in agriculture. These are not distant or unrealistic goals. Many could be achieved by updating existing waste, water and environmental regulations.

    Paint is a big source of microplastics.
    r.classen/Shutterstock

    To date, the government has eschewed precaution and tended to shelve action where evidence of harm is still emerging. While research continues to evolve, existing scientific evidence provides a strong basis for meaningful policy actions today. What’s missing is a shift in focus – from marginal sources to the main drivers – and the political will to prioritise real reductions over symbolic moves.

    3. Tackle plastic production

    Most microplastics begin as larger plastic products that slowly break down over time. We need to reduce how much plastic is produced and used in the first place.

    The UK government’s stated aims for creating an economy in which less resources are used overall there is greater reuse of existing resources (otherwise known as a circular economy) focus on reducing waste and improving material use, but they don’t yet address how overproduction of plastics contributes to microplastic pollution.

    Setting targets to cut the volume of single-use plastic on the market would help prevent microplastics polluting the environment. Simplifying how products are designed and labelled can also enable safer disposal, reuse or recycling and reduce how much plastic breaks up.

    At the same time, alternatives (including biodegradable or bio-based plastics) must be carefully assessed. Without proper oversight, these substitutes risk repeating many of the same problems. Reducing plastic demand remains one of the most effective ways to tackle the microplastics crisis at its root. Consumers can also help by supporting policies that reduce plastic use and choosing to buy products that don’t produce as many microplastics.

    With microplastics now pervasive across ecosystems, waiting for more evidence risks further accumulation. Setting clear targets and strengthening regulation in the sectors that contribute most to emissions is essential.

    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 45,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Antaya March receives funding from the Flotilla Foundation.

    Stephanie Northen receives funding from the Flotilla Foundation.

    – ref. The UK is falling behind in tackling microplastic pollution – here are three ways the government can catch up – https://theconversation.com/the-uk-is-falling-behind-in-tackling-microplastic-pollution-here-are-three-ways-the-government-can-catch-up-255465

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why a hotline is needed to help bring India and Pakistan back from the brink of a disastrous war

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Syed Ali Zia Jaffery, Deputy Director at the Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore

    Two weeks after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir, that claimed 26 lives, India and Pakistan are getting perilously close to a dangerous military confrontation.

    Pakistan carried out two missile tests in three days over the weekend of May 3-5, while India announced that it will conduct on Wednesday May 7 its largest civil defence drill since the 1971 India-Pakistan war.

    The countries have closed their borders and shut down their airspace to each other and have suspended all trade. With both countries possessing nuclear weapons, the rising tension makes managing escalation particularly urgent.

    A key factor in the de-escalation of past crises has been Washington’s role as a third-party crisis manager. While the recent call for restraint from the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, shows US concerns over the gathering crisis, there are considerable uncertainties surrounding what role the US is prepared to play in de-escalation.

    US president Donald Trump remarked after the attack that he is “sure they’ll figure it out one way or the other … There’s great tension between Pakistan and India, but there always has been”, which appears to put the onus of de-escalation on New Delhi and Islamabad.

    What is needed now is robust, real-time crisis communication between the two nations. Instead, both sides appear ready to ratchet up tensions further, with inflammatory rhetoric, enhanced military preparedness and skirmishing along the so-called line of control which separates the two countries in Kashmir.

    The need to give reassurance to each party through empathetic communication is particularly important in the India-Pakistan context. First, the risks of escalation between India and Pakistan are greater than they were in 2019 after the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terrorist bombing, which killed 40 Indian troops at Pulwama near to Kashmir’s main town of Srinagar.

    India identified the Pakistani state as responsible for the attack and responded with airstrikes against what it claimed was a JeM training camp at Balakot in north-western Pakistan. The absence of a trusted channel of communication brought both countries closer than ever to a missile exchange.

    Mike Pompeo, then secretary of state in the first Trump administration, claimed in a 2023 memoir that both sides had readied their nuclear deterrents. Whatever the veracity of Pompeo’s claims, it’s clear that mutual restraint is critical to avoiding miscalculations.

    But Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s delegation of greater operational freedom to the Indian military after the Pahalgam attack has raised concerns that India’s use of force could be more extensive than in 2019. Modi has vowed to pursue and punish the terrorists and their abetters “to the ends of the Earth”, a pledge that raises domestic political costs for him and his government if there is no military follow-through.

    Lessons from the Cuban missile crisis

    One important lesson from past nuclear standoffs – especially the Cuban missile crisis – is that leaders of adversarial nuclear states can sometimes forge empathetic channels of communication that help pull their countries back from the brink. There was no established hotline in October 1962. But US president John F. Kennedy and his Soviet counterpart, Nikita Khrushchev, exchanged a series of letters in which they acknowledged and expressed their shared vulnerability to nuclear war.

    There was no talk of nuclear jingoism or the manipulation of nuclear threats. Instead, as one of us (Nicholas) has argued in a study co-authored with US academic Marcus Holmes, the nuclear shadow that hung over the two leaders encouraged the development of mutual empathy and a bond of trust that were both critical to the peaceful resolution of the crisis.

    Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev and US president John F Kennedy established a leader-to-leader hotline in 1963.
    US State Department

    Kennedy and Khrushchev could have responded to the condition of mutual nuclear vulnerability with brinkmanship, and turned the crisis into what Thomas Schelling – one of the most prominent US nuclear strategists and an advisor to the Kennedy administration – called a “competition in risk-taking”. But instead, they recognised that competitive manipulations of risk could only lead to mutual disaster, which enabled them to avert a potential nuclear exchange.

    Indian and Pakistani leaders could take their cue from this episode. A recent report by the nuclear thinktank Basic (co-edited by Nicholas) urged policymakers to avoid viewing crises as “zero-sum tests of will”. Instead, they should see them as opportunities for cooperation to avert catastrophe.

    Why an India-Pakistan hotline is vital

    But the absence of a trusted confidential line of communication between the leaders of India and Pakistan is a major barrier to empathetic communication. It prevents the two reaching a proper appreciation of shared vulnerabilities that is so critical to crisis de-escalation. As Basic recommended in a 2024 report, the most important contribution to crisis de-escalation between the two countries would be to establish a leader-to-leader hotline.

    Schelling called the US-Soviet hotline agreement of 1963
    the “best single example” of a measure that increased confidence in mutual restraint on both sides, and virtually ruled out what he called the “anxiety to strike first”.

    Such a hotline between the highest levels of Indian and Pakistani diplomacy would be an important step towards preventing these crises from spinning out of control. More crucially, it could play a pivotal role in managing crises when they do occur, offering a vital channel for reassurance and de-escalation.

    Crucially, real-time, reliable and empathetic communication would allow each side to clarify the other’s intent, signal reassurance, correct misperceptions and demonstrate restraint.

    India and Pakistan should not see these mechanisms as concessions or signs of weakness, but as instruments for enhancing mutual security between two nuclear adversaries. In a nuclear age where the margin for error is vanishingly small, overconfidence and brinkmanship must give way to prudence and restraint.



    Read more:
    Moscow-Washington nuclear hotline has averted war in the past – but cool heads will be needed in Trump’s White House and Putin’s Kremlin

    Syed Ali Zia Jaffery is Deputy Director, Center for Security, Strategy and Policy Research, University of Lahore, and Associate Editor, Pakistan Politico Ali was a Visiting Fellow at the Stimson Center, Washington, D.C. Ali regularly writes on strategic issues for national and international publications, to include Routledge, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, South Asian Voices , The National Interest, The Atlantic Council, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), CSIS, The Diplomat, Dawn, and 9DashLine, among others. Ali is an alumnus of Woodrow Wilson Center’s Nuclear Proliferation International History Project’s Nuclear History Boot Camp. He is also an alumnus of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts( ISODARCO). Ali often shares his perspectives on major strategic developments on national and international media. Ali is associated with the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) both as part of its Programme on Nuclear Responsibilities and the Emerging Voices Network. His research interests lie in the fields of nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, and geopolitics. He taught undergraduate level courses on foreign policy, national security, arms control& disarmament, and non-proliferation from 2018 until 2023. He is also a Graduate Research Assistant at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies.

    Nicholas John Wheeler is a non-resident Senior Fellow at BASIC where he works on the Nuclear Responsibilities Programme with special reference to South Asia.

    – ref. Why a hotline is needed to help bring India and Pakistan back from the brink of a disastrous war – https://theconversation.com/why-a-hotline-is-needed-to-help-bring-india-and-pakistan-back-from-the-brink-of-a-disastrous-war-255727

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Are kids resilient? Societies and families need to offer supports and relationships to nurture resilience

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Elena Merenda, Assistant Program Head of Early Childhood Studies, University of Guelph-Humber

    “Kids are resilient.” You have heard this before, right? You might have even said it, with the best of intentions.

    Resilience sometimes seems like a buzzword and is used in ill-defined ways. If adults praise children’s resilience without addressing their needs, this leaves children vulnerable to harm.

    Resilience doesn’t mean being unaffected by adversity — it means having the tools, relationships and supports to cope with it.

    Part of my role as a child development specialist with expertise in therapeutic play, as well childhood loss and grief, is consulting work with families and educators. I see children acting out in classrooms, withdrawing at home or having difficulties processing and regulating emotions and behaviours. Finding the right supports for a child often means many things.

    Offering children the environments and relationships that build resilience includes:

    In the everyday, children need adults who are well enough to care for them and present enough to notice their struggles.

    Many families with deep needs

    The 2024 National Report Card on Child and Family Poverty from Campaign 2000, a network of organizations committed to ending child and family poverty in Canada, reveals that in 2022, nearly one in five children were growing up in poverty.

    The child poverty rate rose by two and a half percentage points from the previous year, representing the largest annual increase in child poverty on record. Lone-parent households, most of them led by women, are disproportionately affected, with one in five relying on social assistance.



    Read more:
    Child poverty is on the rise in Canada, putting over 1 million kids at risk of life-long negative effects

    As financial insecurity deepens and government supports like the Canada Child Benefit lose their effectiveness due to high costs of living, parents are under formidable financial pressure that impacts their parenting capacity and personal wellness.

    Mental health gaps

    Mental Health Research Canada’s 2023 report, Exploring the Mental Health Landscape of Canadian Parents, reveals that younger parents, especially those under 30, are facing self-reported elevated levels of anxiety and depression since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The data also suggests that parents of children under two years of age are more likely to receive a new mental health diagnosis, likely due to decreased contact with health-care providers during the pandemic.

    What happens when parents are overwhelmed? Children feel it, and they need support to bounce back from it.

    The pressures parents face are not isolated. In a 2025 study on the perceptions of kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2 educators in Ontario regarding their students’ developmental and academic skills and their own mental health during the 2021 to 2022 school year, teachers reported increased anxiety and slower developmental progress in children.



    Read more:
    From full-day learning to 30 minutes daily: The effects of school closures on kindergarteners

    Healthy development can’t be taken for granted

    If we only skim headlines that children displayed resilient capacities during the pandemic without looking deeper at how the pandemic also impeded healthy development, we are missing the full picture.

    It is only through longitudinal study — examining how kids are doing across time — that we’ll be able to fully understand impacts. For example, data from the Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth shows about one in five youth who felt their mental health was good in 2019 no longer felt that way four years later.



    Read more:
    Pandemic babies’ developmental milestones: Not as bad as we feared, but not as good as before

    The 2023 Raising Canada Report, based on research conducted by researchers at the University of Calgary and McGill University and published by the non-profit organization Children First Canada, reports on violence, poverty, mental health struggles and online sexual exploitation affecting Canadian children.

    The report reveals there were 40 child homicides in 2022, and rates of hospital visits for self-harm and suicide attempts among youth have doubled over the past decade.

    These alarming reports suggest many families and children are struggling, lacking the resources they need to process their experiences and heal.

    Building your child’s and your own resilience

    Parental burnout is real — and compassion for oneself is the first step in supporting children.

    A few minutes of undistracted time with your child matters.
    (Shutterstock)

    Here are a few strategies parents can try to use, even when worn down:

    Focus on connection. A few minutes of undistracted time with your child — reading a book, going for a walk or simply talking without a phone nearby — builds connection and safety. When children feel a sense of safety and connection with their parent, they are more likely to share their thoughts and emotions. When children feel safe enough to verbalize their emotions, they are more inclined to process challenging times.

    Name and normalize emotions. Help your child build emotional vocabulary by labelling feelings for them in your day-to-day interactions. Saying things like “I noticed you looked frustrated when your Lego broke. That’s OK. It’s hard when things don’t go as planned” helps children to learn how to identify and name their emotions which is the first step in taming emotions.

    Model self-regulation, and when you feel overwhelmed, label your feelings. Try saying, “I’m feeling really worried right now, so I’m going to take a few deep breaths.” This teaches children that big feelings are a normal human experience. It also models for children healthy coping strategies.

    Ask for help and accept support. Parenting shouldn’t be done alone. Ask for help. Find a community of like-minded parents who can talk through big and small moments with you. Let your child see that it’s OK to ask for help — this is how you build resilience.

    Elena Merenda does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Are kids resilient? Societies and families need to offer supports and relationships to nurture resilience – https://theconversation.com/are-kids-resilient-societies-and-families-need-to-offer-supports-and-relationships-to-nurture-resilience-253789

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Currency controls and debt in Argentina: the stakes are high if Milei’s latest economic gamble doesn’t pay off

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Matt Barlow, Lecturer International Political Economy, University of Glasgow

    Matias Lynch/Shutterstock

    In April, Argentina’s president Javier Milei partially lifted the capital and currency controls that had been in place since 2011. The move was possible with the support of a US$20 billion (£15 billion) IMF bailout and means Argentinians may now buy unlimited dollars again.

    Announcing the move in the capital Buenos Aires, Milei was flanked by American treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Milei took the opportunity to liken it to US president Donald Trump’s “liberation day”.

    While he is often associated with Trump for his abrasive rhetoric and right-wing populist support base, Milei’s liberation day was intended to reduce the role of the state in the economy – unlike the US’s approach of deepening it.

    The latest iteration of currency controls was implemented by then-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to try to shore up the deteriorating value of the Argentinian peso.

    The controls, known locally as el cepo (the clamp), meant that citizens and businesses were limited in the amount of foreign currency they could purchase. At the same time, they were constrained in moving money out of Argentina. This was designed as a safeguard against capital flight, but in effect it stifled inward investment.

    These measures, coupled with a centrally controlled foreign exchange rate, created a lucrative black market for US dollars. Citizens were eager to exchange cash pesos for the traditionally safer US dollar.

    The currency controls were previously lifted by another advocate for market-friendly policies, president Mauricio Macri in 2015. But they were reimposed in 2019 at the end of his term to address a fall in value of the peso.

    Unlike Macri’s broad-brush removal, Milei is phasing out the controls. He is doing so in the context of less economic volatility and a more stable national budget.

    The measures announced this time mean that rather than being fixed, the peso will be able to float between a value of 1,000–1,400 pesos (64p-87p) per US dollar. Milei’s previous policy was a crawling peg, which meant that the peso was pegged to the dollar, but it was prevented from depreciating by more than 1% each month.

    However, this was costly. The central bank had to provide the liquidity and has spent US$2.5 billion since mid-March propping up the official rate of the peso.

    Floating it means its value is determined by the currency markets. This exposes it to volatility, but the currency band provides some security and the central bank can go back to focusing on building its reserves.

    For international companies, future capital can be repatriated out of Argentina (which had been a major barrier to investment). Under the previous restrictions, any profits made by international firms could not be moved out of the country.

    And while Argentinians can now buy unlimited dollars through banks, there is still a US$100 restriction on exchanging physical cash.

    Milei’s gamble

    Analysts have called Milei’s move bold and brave, but also described it as a high-stakes gamble. Recent attempts to do the same thing ended in capital flight, near bankruptcy and ultimately the re-imposition of controls.

    But it was also a step that he promised on the campaign trail in 2023. Back then, Milei argued that economic stability and deregulation were essential to attract investment into Argentina.

    So while the Trump administration looks inwards, Milei is opening Argentina to the private sector – especially in relation to its vast natural resources including shale oil and gas, and lithium.

    Extraction of Argentina’s shale oil and gas has slowed in recent years, but attracting foreign investment in infrastructure has been high on Milei’s priority list. Business, including US energy giant Chevron, seems cautiously optimistic.

    And increased foreign investment in Argentina’s lithium mining sector has raised hopes that the country could be a linchpin in the global energy transition. But at the same time it is deepening Argentina’s dependency on finite commodities.

    But what does all this mean for Argentinians right now? For many old enough to remember, it might seem like deja vu. Opening Argentina up to the forces of the market, reducing the regulatory role of the state and privatising major state assets while borrowing more from the IMF has precedent.

    It was the same approach followed by president Carlos Menem in the 1990s. This had initial success but over the course of the decade resulted in economic disaster, unsustainable debt (leading to the 2001 IMF debt default) and pushed nearly 60% of the population into poverty.

    The US$20 billion IMF loan package (alongside other borrowing) provides Argentina’s central bank with capital to lift the currency restrictions. Adding to the IMF debt burden (which already stood at more than US$40 billion in March 2025) has so far been well received by the markets.

    But market-friendly policies being well received by the markets is surely to be expected. What might the social costs be, however?

    Milei’s programme of deep austerity included cuts to salaries and welfare payments. These initially pushed poverty levels up to 53%, their highest point in two decades. Recent figures show that, while still frighteningly high, falling inflation has helped bring this down to 38%.

    But these figures mask the desperate reality of many. Reductions in state spending and the removal of subsidies mean that income levels for workers and pensioners are below 2023 levels. Many are taking on additional and more precarious work, and soup kitchens are proving essential.

    So for many citizens, the news about the partial lifting of currency controls is a moot point. For these people, buying dollars is not remotely feasible.

    One thing Argentinians are broadly united in is their disdain for the IMF. Borrowing from it has pushed Argentina to the brink previously – Milei will be hoping that by jettisoning one anvil, his deal with the IMF won’t chain him to a heavier one.

    Matt Barlow does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Currency controls and debt in Argentina: the stakes are high if Milei’s latest economic gamble doesn’t pay off – https://theconversation.com/currency-controls-and-debt-in-argentina-the-stakes-are-high-if-mileis-latest-economic-gamble-doesnt-pay-off-255733

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Sophie Hodgetts, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Durham University

    Until now, little has been known about the effect PMDD can have on relationships. simona pilolla 2/ Shutterstock

    An estimated 2% of people who menstruate are thought to have premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). The condition causes severe emotional, mental and physical symptoms in the week or two before a person’s menstrual cycle – including brain fog, stomach cramps, bloating, mood swings, anger, sadness, low self-worth, anxiety and even thoughts of suicide.

    Although PMDD symptoms usually stop when the period starts, the condition can still make everyday life difficult. Research shows that PMDD is associated with people having a poor quality of life, missing work or school and withdrawing from social activities. The repercussions that PMDD has on a person’s life often persist beyond the symptomatic phase of the person’s cycle.

    Yet despite the prevalence of PMDD, little is known about how it affects life at home, as no studies have been done.

    My recent research is the first to shed light on how PMDD impacts life and relationships – from the perspective of both those with PMDD and their partners. Our findings showed that both PMDD sufferers and their partners experienced similarly poor life and relationship quality.

    My coauthor and I ran two studies that both used online surveys.

    In the first study, we asked people with PMDD to complete two questionnaires. The first was designed to tell us about their quality of life. They answered questions about four different areas of their life: their physical health, psychological health, social relationships and living conditions.

    The second questionnaire was designed to tell us about their relationship with their spouse by asking questions about different components of their relationship (including love, trust, intimacy, commitment and passion), as well as their overall satisfaction with the relationship. We compared their responses to a control group of people of menstruation age who did not have PMDD.

    Our results showed significantly lower quality of life in people with PMDD compared to people in the control group. This difference was evident in all four of the areas of life that we studied. We also found that participants with PMDD consistently reported lower quality of life when it came to their psychological health, social relationships and living conditions – regardless of their menstrual cycle phase.

    Relationship quality, too, was significantly lower for those with PMDD compared to the control group when it came to trust, intimacy and passion. However, when it came to love and commitment, people with PMDD and those without the condition reported similar levels of satisfaction.

    PMDD and partners

    In the second study, we compared the responses of people who are in a relationship with someone who has PMDD, with those who are in a relationship with someone who menstruates but does not have PMDD.

    Our study found PMDD is associated with poor relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners.
    Roman Chazov/Shutterstock

    We used the same questionnaire as the previous study to investigate relationship quality. To study quality of life, we used a standard questionnaire that was designed for people who provide care or support for an adult. This asked questions about different areas of life that are relevant for familial carers, such as their support for caring, caring choices, any stress they experience, money matters, personal growth, sense of value, ability to care and satisfaction.

    We found that PMDD partners also had lower life quality compared to the control group. This difference was evident in every area of life except money matters (where both groups had similarly low scores). When it came to relationship quality, results from the PMDD partners echoed those from the PMDD patients – both reported lower relationship satisfaction in all areas except for love and commitment.

    Our study shows that PMDD is associated with poor life and relationship quality for both those with the condition and their partners. This highlights the need for support that goes beyond prescription drugs and managing symptoms. This support also needs to be available to the loved ones and partners of people with PMDD who provide care and support.

    These findings suggest that future research should aim to develop PMDD-specific interventions that support both the person with PMDD and their partner. My future research plans are to delve deeper into the aspects of relationships affected by PMDD. For instance, I am planning a follow-up study involving interviews and focus groups with PMDD sufferers and their loved ones, to better identify areas for intervention and inform the development of supportive strategies.

    There are many reasons why this kind of support is important. For instance, we know from research into other mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety) just how crucial good interpersonal relationships are for successfully managing these conditions in the long term.

    We also know that the partners and spouses of people with a mental illness often find themselves acting as a familial caregiver for their partner. Studies of other mood disorders have shown that familial caregivers are at a higher risk of developing mental illnesses themselves, when compared to the general population. Supporting familial caregivers is known to improve life for all involved.

    My research shows that PMDD isn’t just a problem for patients. It impacts daily life and relationship quality for both people in a relationship. This study provides a first step. Now that we have a better understanding of the wider effect that PMDD has, we can start to investigate how to support both people.

    Sophie Hodgetts does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Premenstrual dysphoric disorder harms relationships for both sufferers and their partners – new study – https://theconversation.com/premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder-harms-relationships-for-both-sufferers-and-their-partners-new-study-255083

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By David M. Evans, Professor of Sociotechnical Futures, University of Bristol Business School, University of Bristol

    Luis Molinero/Shutterstock

    The UK government is considering expanding its sugar tax on fizzy drinks to include milkshakes and other sweetened beverages, as part of new proposals announced in April 2025. The Treasury confirmed it plans to move forward not only with broadening the tax but also with lowering the sugar threshold that triggers it from 5g to 4g of sugar per 100ml.

    The changes, dubbed by critics as the “milkshake tax”, would end the current exemption for dairy-based drinks, as well as plant-based alternatives such as oat and rice milk. Chancellor Rachel Reeves first signalled the potential expansion in the 2024 budget, suggesting the soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), to give it its official name, could be widened to cover a broader range of high-sugar drinks.

    Based on our research into dietary change, conducted as part of the H3 project on food system transformation, we see this as a welcome and timely development.

    Not everyone shares this optimism. Opponents of what they see as “nanny state” interventionist policies argue that the SDIL has failed to deliver any real improvements to public health. In a UK newspaper’s straw poll, for example, 88% of respondents claimed the sugar tax has not significantly reduced obesity rates. Shadow Chancellor Melvyn Stride described the proposed expansion as a “sucker punch” to households, particularly given the ongoing cost of living crisis.

    Scepticism around these proposals is not surprising. Many people, regardless of political affiliation, are wary of additional taxation. And indeed, there is evidence suggesting that fiscal tools such as taxes and subsidies can be blunt instruments. They are also often regressive, placing a disproportionate burden on lower-income households.

    These concerns are valid – but they don’t quite apply to the SDIL.

    Crucially, the SDIL is not a tax on consumers. It is levied on manufacturers and importers, who are incentivised to reduce the sugar content of their products to avoid the charge. According to Treasury figures, since the introduction of the SDIL, 89% of fizzy drinks sold in the UK have been reformulated to fall below the taxable threshold.

    For instance, the Japanese multinational brewing and distilling company group Suntory invested £13 million in reformulating drinks like Ribena and Lucozade, removing 25,000 tonnes of sugar, making the products exempt from the levy. This means households aren’t priced out of soft drinks – they can simply choose reformulated and presumably cheaper versions.

    It’s true that the UK is still grappling with a serious obesity problem. In England alone, 29% of adultsand 15% of children aged two to 15 are obese.

    But the SDIL is having an effect. Excessive sugar consumption is consistently associated with rising obesity rates in the UK and globally. There has been a clear reduction in the sales of sugar from soft drinks, and the SDIL is reported to have generated £1.9 billion in revenue since its introduction in 2018.

    Early signs suggest health benefits, too. One study found a drop in obesity rates among 10 to 11-year-old girls following the levy’s implementation. Another analysis suggests that the greatest health benefits will be seen in more deprived areas, and that it may actually help to narrow some health inequalities for children in England.



    Read more:
    Child obesity is linked to deprivation, so why do poor parents still cop the blame?

    Shifting responsibilty

    The government’s 2016 announcement of the sugar tax gave manufacturers time to reformulate products before the tax’s introduction in 2018.

    Of course, the SDIL is no silver bullet. There are many contributing factors to the obesity epidemic, ranging from genetic predisposition to “obesogenic” environments – social contexts that promote unhealthy eating and sedentary behaviour, such as areas with a lot of fast food restaurants, limited access to healthy food options and a lack of pavements, parks, or safe places to exercise.

    Questions remain about the negative health effects of reformulated drinks, some of which still contain high levels of sweeteners or additives. And in the broader context of the need for food system transformation, focusing solely on soft drinks may be too narrow an approach.



    Read more:
    Are artificial sweeteners okay for our health? Here’s what the current evidence says

    But the SDIL’s success lies not just in outcomes but in its design. It shifts responsibility from individuals to industry, encouraging systemic change rather than simply blaming people for making “bad” choices. The government’s 2016 announcement of the levy gave manufacturers a two-year head start, allowing them to reformulate and get their products to market before it took effect in 2018.

    It’s also telling that the idea of taxing milkshakes has sparked such outrage, while most people now accept the high taxation of tobacco. That’s because smoking, as a public health issue, has matured: its risks are well understood and widely acknowledged. Obesity, meanwhile, is still catching up, despite posing similar health threats, including as a leading cause of cancer.

    In the UK, there’s still a strong social stigma around discussing diet and weight. But given the scale and urgency of the obesity crisis, it could be time to overcome this reluctance. Effective change will require bold, systemic policies – not just public awareness campaigns – but multipronged and targeted interventions that reshape the economic and cultural environments in which people make food choices.

    Expanding the SDIL may not be a cure-all, but the evidence so far suggests it’s a smart step in the right direction.

    David M. Evans receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).
    He is affiliated with Defra (the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) as a member of their Social Science Expert Group.

    Jonathan Beacham receives funding from the UKRI Strategic Priorities Fund (grant ref: BB/V004719/1).

    – ref. ‘Milkshake tax’: there’s growing evidence that expanding the UK’s sugar levy could help tackle obesity – https://theconversation.com/milkshake-tax-theres-growing-evidence-that-expanding-the-uks-sugar-levy-could-help-tackle-obesity-255646

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Silvia Maioli, Associate professor and Principal Researcher, Neurobiology, Karolinska Institutet

    Certain prescription drugs combinations had different effects on the mice. roger ashford/ Shutterstock

    Millions of older adults take five or more prescription drugs every day to manage chronic illnesses. While polypharmacy is often necessary, this practice has also been linked to many negative health outcomes in older adults – including memory problems, increased risk of falls and greater frailty.

    The most common prescription drugs involved in polypharmacy are those used to treat conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression. Importantly, these same conditions are also known risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.

    This raises an important question: could polypharmacy have any influence on the progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

    Our recent research in mice suggests that certain prescription drugs combinations might actually have a positive effect on memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. However, these effects appeared to differ depending on whether the mouse was male or female.

    To better understand how polypharmacy may affect Alzheimer’s disease, we designed an experiment using mice that were genetically altered to develop Alzheimer’s-like brain changes. These mice had amyloid plaques – clumps of protein in the brain that, with time, are linked with memory loss and considered a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease .

    We tested two different combinations of five commonly prescribed drugs, including: analgesics (painkillers), antithrombotics (to prevent blood clots), lipid-modifying agents (such as statins, which lower cholestrol), beta-blockers (which help controlling arrythmias and hypertension) and Ace inhibitors (used to treat cardiovascular conditions), as well as antidepressants.

    Both groups of mice were given paracetamol, aspirin, an antidepressant, a statin and a blood pressure drug. The only differences between the two groups were the specific types of statin and cardiovascular drugs used. The first group were given simvastatin and metoprolol, while the second group was given atorvastatin and enalapril.

    We gave these prescription drug combinations to both male and female mice. We then tested their memory, examined their brains for signs of disease and analysed blood samples for disease-related markers.

    Our findings showed that polypharmacy has both positive and negative effects on Alzheimer’s disease progression. The effects largely depended on which specific drug combinations were used as well as the sex of the mice.

    The first drug combination had beneficial effects in male mice. These mice showed better memory, reduced signs of Alzheimer’s pathology in the brain (such as the number and size of amyloid plaques) and fewer signs of the disease in their blood. This suggested that polypharmacy delayed the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

    In females, however, the same combination had very little to no effect on signs and symptoms of the disease.

    But for the mice in the second combination group, the results were different. The benefits previously seen in males disappeared. In female mice, their memory worsened.

    Certain drug combinations reduced signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the male mice’s brains, such as the size and number of amyloid plaques.
    nobeastsofierce/ Shutterstock

    We also looked at what happened when some of the drugs were taken on their own. In some cases, they had beneficial effects for the female mice – improving memory and signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain. For instance, the statin simvastatin improved memory and reduced signs of brain inflammation in female mice when the drug was taken on its own.

    Polypharmacy and brain health

    These results show how complex the effects of polypharmacy can be, especially in the context of a brain disease such as Alzheimer’s. They also suggest that men and women may respond differently to certain drug combinations.

    This is not surprising. Biological sex is known to influence how drugs are absorbed and metabolised and their effect on the body. When it comes to polypharmacy, these differences can become more pronounced, having an even stronger effect on drug safety and efficacy.

    This could partly help explain why the same drug combinations had very different effects in the male and female mice in our study. Other possible explanations for why certain drug combinations only improved signs and symptoms of the disease in male mice include sex differences in hormone levels and differences in immune responses that may influence how drugs work in the brain. Understanding these mechanisms will be key to tailoring safer and more effective treatments for the disease.

    Our study confirms that current, universal prescribing approaches for older adults may not be ideal.

    It’s also worth noting that older women are more likely to be polypharmacy users compared to men. This highlights the importance of understanding the effects of polypharmacy that are specific to men and women, and developing more personalised prescribing approaches.

    Future translational studies (from mice to humans) looking at how drug combinations affect Alzheimer’s in males and females are also warranted to help reduce risks and improve healthcare in the ageing population.

    The global population is continuing to age, which means that an even greater number of people are going to be at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This is why it’s so important we understand all of the causes of the disease and how it can be prevented.

    Silvia Maioli receives funding from The Swedish Research Council, Alzheimerfonden, King Gustaf V:s and Queen Victorias Foundation, The private initiative “Innovative ways to fight Alzheimer´s disease – Leif Lundblad Family and others”, Margaretha af Ugglas Foundation, The regional agreement on medical training and clinical research (ALF) between Stockholm County Council and Karolinska Institutet, Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse, Stiftelsen Gamla Tjänarinnor

    Francesca Eroli received funding from Stiftelsen För Gamla Tjänarinnor and Gun och Bertil Stohnes Stiftelse.

    – ref. Alzheimer’s: certain combinations of prescription drugs may slow progression of the disease, says mice study – https://theconversation.com/alzheimers-certain-combinations-of-prescription-drugs-may-slow-progression-of-the-disease-says-mice-study-254243

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Hazel Flight, Programme Lead Nutrition and Health, Edge Hill University

    Roman Samborskyi/Shutterstock

    Sugar — sweet, satisfying, and everywhere. From fresh fruit and honey to processed table sugar and drinks, it sneaks into nearly everything we eat. While delicious, sugar delivers what nutritionists call “empty calories” — energy without any essential nutrients. And with overconsumption linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and dental problems, it’s no wonder health authorities are urging us to cut back.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting added sugar to less than 10% of daily calorie intake, while the BMJ suggests even lower: no more than six teaspoons (25g) per day for women and nine teaspoons (38g) for men.

    In response, many people are turning to non-nutritive sweeteners — sugar alternatives that deliver sweetness without the calories. These include popular options like aspartame, sucralose, stevia and monk fruit extract. Found in many diet drinks, sugar-free snacks and low-calorie foods, these sweeteners are designed to help manage weight and blood sugar levels.

    But not all that tastes sweet is sweet in effect. Let’s zoom in on one of the most controversial sugar substitutes: aspartame.

    Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that was discovered in 1965 and is 180–200 times sweeter than sugar. It was first regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1974 and approved for use in dry foods in 1981. Today, it’s estimated to be found in over 6,000 food and drink products and 600 pharmaceutical items.

    Aspartame was initially embraced as a tool to help reduce obesity and support diabetics, offering a sweet fix without the sugar spike. But despite decades of use, its safety is still the subject of intense scientific and public debate.

    Potential benefits

    Aspartame has a similar taste to sugar, albeit much more intense, but comes with almost no calories, making it attractive for those who’re weight-conscious. With obesity rates soaring globally, even small calorie savings can matter.

    Aspartame does not raise blood glucose levels, making it a preferred choice for those managing type 2 diabetes. However, other research has found potential associations with metabolic syndrome and diabetes risk, suggesting that aspartame should be used as part of a controlled diet rather than a straight swap for sugar.

    While assessments suggest that aspartame is safe within current intake guidelines, concerns persist.

    Potential risks

    Some people may experience side-effects like headaches, dizziness, or mood changes. There’s emerging evidence linking aspartame to neurodegeneration, strokes and even dementia.

    Aspartame can increase levels of phenylalanine and aspartic acid in the brain, which is a serious concern for people with phenylketonuria (PKU), a rare inherited disorder where the body cannot break down phenylalanine. This causes it to accumulate in the blood and brain, potentially leading to brain damage. People with PKU must avoid aspartame completely.

    One study reported symptoms after consuming aspartame including irritability, migraines, anxiety and insomnia, especially with excessive consumption.

    In 2023, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified aspartame) as “possibly carcinogenic”, though it remains approved for consumption within existing safety limits. Some studies suggest a link to cancer, but conclusions remain mixed.



    Read more:
    Aspartame: popular sweetener could be classified as a possible carcinogen by WHO – but there’s no cause for panic

    It’s also advised that pregnant women avoid aspartame, as research suggests it may affect the placenta’s structure and function.

    Artificial sweeteners, despite being calorie-free, may trick the brain into craving more sweetness. This could lead to increased appetite and weight gain rather than weight loss. In fact, several studies have found a positive correlation between artificial sweetener use and obesity.

    Gut health matters

    Emerging evidence suggests that aspartame and other sweeteners may disrupt the gut microbiome, the community of bacteria that play a key role in digestion, immunity and even mood. This disruption can negatively affect digestive health and immune function, potentially increasing the risk of infections and other health issues.



    Read more:
    Artificial sweetener could harm your gut and the microbes that live there – new study

    Aspartame may offer a tempting sugar-free fix, but it’s not without its risks. The World Health Organization advises against using non-sugar sweeteners for weight control and research continues to reveal complex links between aspartame and chronic diseases, from neurological issues to gut health concerns.

    Hazel Flight does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Aspartame: the artificial sweetener is calorie-free but not risk-free – a nutritionist explains – https://theconversation.com/aspartame-the-artificial-sweetener-is-calorie-free-but-not-risk-free-a-nutritionist-explains-254318

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication

    Source: The Conversation – Africa – By Annettee Nakimuli, Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Makerere University

    Pre-eclampsia is a danger to pregnant women. It’s a complication characterised by high blood pressure and organ damage, arising during the second half of pregnancy, in labour or in the first week after delivery.

    It plays a major role in about 16% of the deaths of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa.

    And it’s on the rise: between 2010 and 2018, the incidence of pre-eclampsia in Africa jumped by around 20%.

    Pre-eclampsia usually occurs in young mothers during a first pregnancy. Girls under the age of 18 years are most at risk. The probability that a 15-year-old girl will die from complications of pregnancy is one in 150 in developing countries, versus one in 3,800 in developed countries, according to the World Health Organization.

    Not only does pre-eclampsia pose a serious health threat to women, it also harms babies. It contributes to stillbirth, preterm birth and low birth weight.

    Yet we still do not know enough about pre-eclampsia. This gap has driven my research into the disease.

    I conducted the first genetic case-control study on pre-eclampsia among African women in comparison to European women over a decade ago for my PhD research.

    My work revealed that both African and European populations have a gene (KIR AA genotype) that increases the chance of pre-eclampsia. However, African women are at greater risk of pre-eclampsia than other racial groups. This is because they’re more at risk of carrying a fetus with a C2-type HLA-C gene from the father. African populations have a higher frequency of this gene, which raises the likelihood of risky mother-fetus combinations.

    An additional finding from my research is that genetic protection from pre-eclampsia works differently across populations – and African populations carry unique protective genes. However, even with these additional protections, African women are at greater risk of developing severe pre-eclampsia due to the other challenges, like access to healthcare and socio-economic constraints.

    There’s inequality in the treatment of the condition too. In my experience, wealthier and better-educated African women often receive the necessary diagnosis and treatment. Poorer and less-educated African women too often do not.

    Pre-eclampsia research, especially in Africa, requires a lot more funding, as does broader research related to the maternal health of African women.

    Pre-eclampsia in Uganda

    Around 287,000 women worldwide die during pregnancy and childbirth every year. Shockingly, 70% of these are African women.

    Most of these deaths are preventable. For example, around 10% are the result of high blood pressure-related conditions during pregnancy.

    Uganda’s Ministry of Health recorded in 2023 that out of 1,276 maternal deaths reported, 16% were associated with high blood pressure.

    Hospitals are being overwhelmed by patients with the illness. For example, Kawempe National Referral Hospital in Kampala receives around 150 patients with the condition every month. It has set up a special ward to treat them.

    The maternal mortality rate (death due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth) in Uganda is 284 per 100,000 live births. In Australia it is 2.94. The neonatal mortality rate (death during the first 28 completed days of life) is 19 per 1,000 live births in Uganda against 2.37 in Australia. Infant mortality (death before a child turns one) is 31 per 1,000 live births in Uganda versus 3.7 in Australia, according to the WHO’s Global Health Observatory.

    This stark contrast highlights an enormous gap in care that the two countries’ pregnant mothers and babies receive.

    Part of the problem in Uganda, as in many developing countries, is persistent challenges in healthcare infrastructure. There are shortages of healthcare workers, medical supplies and facilities, particularly in the rural areas.

    Early detection is key

    As a clinician and researcher working at the centre of Uganda’s healthcare system, I witness mothers arriving at hospitals already in a critical condition, with limited options to treat the complications associated with pre-eclampsia. It is heartbreaking.

    The condition is both preventable and treatable if caught early. My research focuses on identifying biological signs of the likelihood of complications during pregnancy, using data analysis informed by Artificial Intelligence.

    These predictive biomarkers, as they are called, enable us to categorise patients based on their risk levels and identify those most likely to benefit from specific treatments or preventive measures.

    The precise causes of pre-eclampsia are not certain, but factors beyond genetics are thought to be problems with the immune system and inadequate development of the placenta. But much of what researchers know comes from work done in high-income countries, often with a limited sample size of African women.

    Consequently, the findings may not apply directly to the genetics of sub-Saharan African women. My research addresses this knowledge gap.

    Building on my findings about genetic determinants, I am leading a research team at Makerere University to design interventions tailored to specific prevention and treatment strategies for African populations.

    Raising pre-eclampsia awareness

    Research alone is not enough. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between research and practice.

    During my fieldwork, I have witnessed first-hand how many Ugandan women are not aware of pre-eclampsia’s warning signs and miss out on vital prenatal care. These warning signs often include headache, disturbances with vision, upper pain in the right side of the abdomen and swelling of the legs.

    But we can develop screening algorithms so that healthcare professionals can rapidly diagnose women at higher risk early in their pregnancy. Timely intervention, including specific treatment and plans for delivery, would reduce the risk of adverse outcomes for both mother and baby.

    In my capacity as a national pre-eclampsia champion appointed by Uganda’s Ministry of Health, I am spearheading initiatives to raise awareness and improve access to maternal healthcare services.

    Through community outreach programmes and educational campaigns, we want to empower all women, rich and poor, with knowledge about the condition and encourage them to seek medical assistance at an early stage.

    More resources must be allocated to genetics research to realise our goals of prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment of pre-eclampsia and its associated complications.

    This investment will drive the development of predictive technology for precise diagnosis, and enable timely intervention for at-risk mothers.

    Moreover, investigating the genetic roots of pre-eclampsia could lead to novel therapies that reduce the need for costly medical procedures or prolonged care for those affected.

    This would reduce the strain on already overburdened African healthcare systems.

    Annettee Nakimuli receives funding from the Gates Foundation, GSK and the Royal Society.

    – ref. African women at higher risk of pre-eclampsia – a dangerous pregnancy complication – https://theconversation.com/african-women-at-higher-risk-of-pre-eclampsia-a-dangerous-pregnancy-complication-249222

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Shawn Datchuk, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Iowa

    Pennsylvania is considering legislation that mandates cursive instruction in public schools. Angela Guthrie/iStock via Getty Images

    Recently, my 8-year-old son received a birthday card from his grandmother. He opened the card, looked at it and said, “I can’t read cursive yet.”

    Then he handed it to me to read.

    If you have a child in the Philadelphia School District, chances are they have not been taught how to read or write cursive either.

    But cursive handwriting is making a comeback of sorts for K-8 students in the United States. Several states in recent years passed legislation mandating instruction in cursive handwriting, including California, Iowa and Oklahoma.

    Pennsylvania and New Jersey are considering similar legislation, as are other states.

    I’m an associate professor of special education and the director of the Iowa Reading Research Center. At the center, we’re conducting a systematic review of prior research to improve cursive handwriting instruction.

    We also want to know how learning cursive affects the development of reading and writing skills.

    Cursive instruction sidelined

    In cursive handwriting, the individual letters of a word are joined with connecting strokes, such as in a person’s signature.

    Cursive fell out of favor in U.S. schools over a decade ago. In 2010, most states adopted Common Core academic standards which omitted cursive handwriting from expected academic skills to be learned by K-8 students. In fact, the standards only briefly mention print handwriting, a writing style in which the individual letters of a word are unconnected, as a skill to be taught in early elementary grades.

    Educators often have trouble finding enough time in the school day to teach all the expected writing skills, let alone something that’s not mandated such as cursive handwriting.

    In several national surveys, teachers have reported limited amounts of time for writing instruction and that they have found it difficult to address both the basic skills of writing, such as handwriting, and more advanced skills, such as essay composition.

    Benefits of handwriting

    The increased interest in cursive handwriting likely stems from effort by policymakers to improve the literacy performance of K-12 students across the country.

    On the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading assessment, a measure of nationwide reading progress, only 31% of fourth grade students scored proficient or above. Philadelphia’s numbers were worse, with just 19% of fourth grade students scoring proficient or above.

    Research suggests it may be possible to improve overall writing and reading through handwriting instruction.

    The benefits have been more closely studied with print handwriting, but preliminary evidence suggests cursive handwriting instruction may also be beneficial. Some studies have found cursive handwriting instruction can improve handwriting legibility, writing length and select reading skills. In a 2020 study, researchers found cursive handwriting instruction can also improve spelling accuracy and storytelling ability.

    Why might cursive make a difference? On the surface, it seems like a simple motor skill. But under the surface, cursive handwriting draws upon deep reading knowledge and requires the coordination of multiple cognitive and physical processes.

    To handwrite letters or spell words in print or cursive, students need to commit multiple aspects of each letter to memory. For example, if students handwrite the word “cat,” they need to know the overall shape of each letter, as well as its name and sound.

    After drawing upon this reading knowledge from memory, students use a combination of motor and vision systems to write each letter and the entire word. Gross motor movements are used to adjust the body and arm to the writing surface. Fine motor movements are used to manipulate the pencil with one’s fingers. And visual-motor coordination is used to write each letter and adjust movements as needed.

    Many U.S. historical documents, such as the Constitution, were written in cursive.
    Douglas Sacha/Moment Collection via Getty Images

    A skill with staying power?

    Besides potential benefits to overall writing and reading development, cursive handwriting continues to have social importance.

    It is often used to sign formal documents via a cursive signature, or to communicate with close friends or loved ones. Furthermore, understanding cursive is needed to read important historical documents, such as the Declaration of Independence.

    Even in the digital age, touch-screen tablets and other devices often come with the ability to handwrite text with an electronic pencil. I teach courses at the University of Iowa, and many of my students handwrite their notes on electronic tablets.

    For schools, low-tech options such as paper and pencils remain more cost-efficient than high-tech options. For example, it can be time-consuming and expensive to replace a broken laptop but relatively cheap to sharpen a broken pencil or get a new piece of paper.

    Although it may be difficult for educators to find sufficient time for writing instruction, students will likely benefit from developing the capacity to express their ideas in a variety of ways, including cursive handwriting.

    For anyone interested in learning about cursive handwriting and teaching it to their children or students, the Iowa Reading Research Center will release a free online course and curricula called CLIFTER on June 2, 2025.

    Read more of our stories about Philadelphia.

    Shawn Datchuk does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Can learning cursive help kids read better? Some policymakers think it’s worth a try – https://theconversation.com/can-learning-cursive-help-kids-read-better-some-policymakers-think-its-worth-a-try-253610

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Maria Lungu, Postdoctoral Researcher of Law and Public Administration, University of Virginia

    Data like this seven-day crime map from Oakland, Calif., feeds predictive policing AIs. City of Oakland via CrimeMapping.com

    The 2002 sci-fi thriller “Minority Report” depicted a dystopian future where a specialized police unit was tasked with arresting people for crimes they had not yet committed. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, the drama revolved around “PreCrime” − a system informed by a trio of psychics, or “precogs,” who anticipated future homicides, allowing police officers to intervene and prevent would-be assailants from claiming their targets’ lives.

    The film probes at hefty ethical questions: How can someone be guilty of a crime they haven’t yet committed? And what happens when the system gets it wrong?

    While there is no such thing as an all-seeing “precog,” key components of the future that “Minority Report” envisioned have become reality even faster than its creators imagined. For more than a decade, police departments across the globe have been using data-driven systems geared toward predicting when and where crimes might occur and who might commit them.

    Far from an abstract or futuristic conceit, predictive policing is a reality. And market analysts are predicting a boom for the technology.

    Given the challenges in using predictive machine learning effectively and fairly, predictive policing raises significant ethical concerns. Absent technological fixes on the horizon, there is an approach to addressing these concerns: Treat government use of the technology as a matter of democratic accountability.

    Troubling history

    Predictive policing relies on artificial intelligence and data analytics to anticipate potential criminal activity before it happens. It can involve analyzing large datasets drawn from crime reports, arrest records and social or geographic information to identify patterns and forecast where crimes might occur or who may be involved.

    Law enforcement agencies have used data analytics to track broad trends for many decades. Today’s powerful AI technologies, however, take in vast amounts of surveillance and crime report data to provide much finer-grained analysis.

    Police departments use these techniques to help determine where they should concentrate their resources. Place-based prediction focuses on identifying high-risk locations, also known as hot spots, where crimes are statistically more likely to happen. Person-based prediction, by contrast, attempts to flag individuals who are considered at high risk of committing or becoming victims of crime.

    These types of systems have been the subject of significant public concern. Under a so-called “intelligence-led policing” program in Pasco County, Florida, the sheriff’s department compiled a list of people considered likely to commit crimes and then repeatedly sent deputies to their homes. More than 1,000 Pasco residents, including minors, were subject to random visits from police officers and were cited for things such as missing mailbox numbers and overgrown grass.

    Lawsuits forced the Pasco County, Fla., Sheriff’s Office to end its troubled predictive policing program.

    Four residents sued the county in 2021, and last year they reached a settlement in which the sheriff’s office admitted that it had violated residents’ constitutional rights to privacy and equal treatment under the law. The program has since been discontinued.

    This is not just a Florida problem. In 2020, Chicago decommissioned its “Strategic Subject List,” a system where police used analytics to predict which prior offenders were likely to commit new crimes or become victims of future shootings. In 2021, the Los Angeles Police Department discontinued its use of PredPol, a software program designed to forecast crime hot spots but was criticized for low accuracy rates and reinforcing racial and socioeconomic biases.

    Necessary innovations or dangerous overreach?

    The failure of these high-profile programs highlights a critical tension: Even though law enforcement agencies often advocate for AI-driven tools for public safety, civil rights groups and scholars have raised concerns over privacy violations, accountability issues and the lack of transparency. And despite these high-profile retreats from predictive policing, many smaller police departments are using the technology.

    Most American police departments lack clear policies on algorithmic decision-making and provide little to no disclosure about how the predictive models they use are developed, trained or monitored for accuracy or bias. A Brookings Institution analysis found that in many cities, local governments had no public documentation on how predictive policing software functioned, what data was used, or how outcomes were evaluated.

    Predictive policing can perpetuate racial bias.

    This opacity is what’s known in the industry as a “black box.” It prevents independent oversight and raises serious questions about the structures surrounding AI-driven decision-making. If a citizen is flagged as high-risk by an algorithm, what recourse do they have? Who oversees the fairness of these systems? What independent oversight mechanisms are available?

    These questions are driving contentious debates in communities about whether predictive policing as a method should be reformed, more tightly regulated or abandoned altogether. Some people view these tools as necessary innovations, while others see them as dangerous overreach.

    A better way in San Jose

    But there is evidence that data-driven tools grounded in democratic values of due process, transparency and accountability may offer a stronger alternative to today’s predictive policing systems. What if the public could understand how these algorithms function, what data they rely on, and what safeguards exist to prevent discriminatory outcomes and misuse of the technology?

    The city of San Jose, California, has embarked on a process that is intended to increase transparency and accountability around its use of AI systems. San Jose maintains a set of AI principles requiring that any AI tools used by city government be effective, transparent to the public and equitable in their effects on people’s lives. City departments also are required to assess the risks of AI systems before integrating them into their operations.

    If taken correctly, these measures can effectively open the black box, dramatically reducing the degree to which AI companies can hide their code or their data behind things such as protections for trade secrets. Enabling public scrutiny of training data can reveal problems such as racial or economic bias, which can be mitigated but are extremely difficult if not impossible to eradicate.

    Research has shown that when citizens feel that government institutions act fairly and transparently, they are more likely to engage in civic life and support public policies. Law enforcement agencies are likely to have stronger outcomes if they treat technology as a tool – rather than a substitute – for justice.

    Maria Lungu receives funding from the University of Virginia, Digital Technology for Democracy Lab. She is affiliated with nonprofit Center for AI and Digital Policy (CAIDP).

    – ref. Predictive policing AI is on the rise − making it accountable to the public could curb its harmful effects – https://theconversation.com/predictive-policing-ai-is-on-the-rise-making-it-accountable-to-the-public-could-curb-its-harmful-effects-254185

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Peace Corps isn’t just about helping others − it’s a key part of US public diplomacy

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Thomas J Nisley, Professor of Government and International Affairs, Kennesaw State University

    Peace Corps volunteers pose with the U.S. flag after they are sworn in during a 2002 event in Burkina Faso. Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images

    Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, his administration has slashed the work of many U.S. government agencies, including those focused on foreign policy. Now, there is concern that the Peace Corps could join the other foreign aid programs the administration is trying to dismantle.

    The United States Agency for International Development largely shut down in February and March 2025, with its workforce reduced from more than 10,000 to 15 people on staff.

    In early April 2025, members of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency showed up at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., signaling possible cuts.

    DOGE has also called for reducing the number of the Peace Corps’ 970 full-time staff who help recruit and oversee the work of volunteers.

    The Guardian reported on April 28 that the Peace Corps is offering staff a buyout, and that Peace Corps leadership expects “significant restructuring efforts.”

    The Peace Corps told The New York Times in an April 28 statement that “the agency will remain operational and continue to recruit, place, and train volunteers, while continuing to support their health, safety and security, and effective service.”

    As a scholar of international affairs, I think it is important to understand the subtle – but important – role that the Peace Corps plays in helping the U.S. maintain a positive international image.

    President John F. Kennedy greets Peace Corps volunteers at the White House in August 1962.
    Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

    Understanding the Peace Corps

    In 1961, President John F. Kennedy created the Peace Corps, an independent agency in the federal government, alongside USAID as a way to reinvigorate American diplomacy.

    Kennedy viewed the State Department as an organization that lacked innovation, staffed by self-serving people without much practical experience.

    Since the 1960s, the Peace Corps has sent more than 240,000 U.S. citizens – many of them young people – to work as volunteers in more than 60 low- and middle-income countries on short-term projects, ranging from teaching students English to helping farmers increase their food production. This works out to about 3,500 to 4,000 volunteers abroad each year.

    As Kennedy hoped, many of these American volunteers returned home to eventually serve in the State Department, with some rising to the top ranks, such as Christopher Hill, a career diplomat who served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon in the 1970s.

    Peace Corps volunteers, sometimes known as PCVs, also go on to work in other types of public service, including in educational roles. It has also been common for former Peace Corps volunteers to work for USAID.

    Peace Corps’ role in US government

    The Peace Corps is not part of the day-to-day activities of U.S. foreign policy in the same way as the State Department, for example, which has diplomatic missions across the world.

    The Peace Corps, with a US$495 million annual budget, does contribute to U.S. foreign policy goals by enhancing U.S. soft power. Soft power, in this context, means getting others to want what you want.

    The political scientist Joseph Nye introduced the academic concept of soft power to the mainstream in the early 1990s. It is often misunderstood. Some mistakenly refer to the military as hard power, and economic and diplomatic tools as soft power.

    But soft power – and the allure of a project like the Peace Corps – is founded in the power of attraction. The Peace Corps, simply put, helps improve the U.S.’s image worldwide.

    My research on Latin American countries has shown that the presence of a Peace Corps program improves the popular perception of the U.S. among communities there. A good reputation fosters goodwill and helps the U.S. achieve its concrete foreign policy goals, be it making a trade deal or helping to end a conflict.

    The political scientist Stephen Magu has found similar results across Africa, including a connection between the number of Peace Corps volunteers in a country and support for the U.S. in its work at the United Nations.

    The Peace Corps’ experience

    The Peace Corps uses a very selective application process to recruit Americans of all ages to volunteer for two years in a foreign country, doing different kinds of service work ranging from agriculture and education to health and the environment.

    Most are younger people with college degrees, but there is no upper age limit to qualify and no requirement of a college degree to serve.

    There is no single Peace Corps experience.

    But all volunteers live and work in a community that has requested a volunteer to help with different types of activities. This could include helping local women set up their own small businesses in Panama or offering health workshops on reducing the risk of contracting and spreading HIV in Eswatini, formerly knwon as Swaziland. These volunteers are usually *the only Americans for miles around.

    Volunteers are expected to live modestly and are paid a monthly living allowance that covers their bare necessities.

    Volunteers’ work is not easy and not without risk. Since 1961, 311 people have died while serving. Most of the deaths are due to accidents, usually related to transportation. Some have died from diseases and illness, and a few have been victims of murder.

    Peace Corps’ approach to volunteer work

    The Peace Corps emphasizes what is known as grassroots development in foreign aid circles. This means that a Peace Corps volunteer tries to use local money and expertise to achieve goals jointly identified by the community and the volunteer.

    Critics of the Peace Corps have argued, among other things, that it has not made widespread changes that reliably last beyond the two-year term of each volunteer.

    But the Peace Corps is not intended to change the trajectory of a country’s economic development and suddenly make a poor country a rich one. Volunteers do help the people in the community they serve in small but meaningful ways.

    In my own service as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1989 to 1991, for example, I had a demonstration vegetable garden where I grew nutritious vegetables such as spinach and mustard greens. Dominicans did not traditionally eat these vegetables, but I got my neighbors and friends to try them. Some learned to really like them and began to grow them on their own.

    A Peace Corps volunteer teaches English to students in Bucharest, Romania, in 1985.
    Paul Conklin/Getty Images

    Another kind of public diplomacy

    When asked in 1962 how he saw the relationship of the Peace Corps to U.S. foreign policy, Kennedy responded that he saw the Peace Corps as “an opportunity to emphasize a different part of our American character,” instead of the idea that the U.S. is a “harsh, narrow-minded militaristic, materialistic society.”

    The Trump administration tends to view foreign assistance programs as open-ended charity programs that need to be eliminated.

    I believe that foreign assistance programs are not charity – they are public diplomacy tools that contribute to the U.S.’s global power. If the Peace Corps is eliminated, the U.S. will lose another important tool of foreign policy.

    I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic from 1989 to 1991

    – ref. Peace Corps isn’t just about helping others − it’s a key part of US public diplomacy – https://theconversation.com/peace-corps-isnt-just-about-helping-others-its-a-key-part-of-us-public-diplomacy-255571

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Even judges appointed by Trump are ruling against him

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst

    Judges appointed by Donald Trump are ruling against him during his second presidential term. Zolnierek – iStock/Getty Images Plus

    During his first term in office, President Donald Trump appointed 226 federal court judges, including three U.S. Supreme Court justices. Trump successfully installed judges who promoted his political agenda, including overturning the landmark ruling from 1973 that declared the Constitution guaranteed the right to abortion, Roe v. Wade.

    But something different seems to be happening in his second term.

    Instead of upholding Trump administration policies, federal judges − including those appointed by Trump – are blocking the implementation of much of the president’s second-term agenda.

    So, what’s going on?

    I’m a scholar of judicial decision-making and presidential interactions with the courts. Although it may seem strange that judges Trump appointed are ruling against him, it’s actually not that weird.

    Instead, it’s an example of what happens when a president overreaches his authority, and takes legal positions that even his own judicial appointees cannot support.

    The presidential proclamation invoking the Alien Enemies Act, which a federal judge ruled violates the law.
    The White House

    How judicial decision-making works

    In 2018, Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts got into a very public spat over the nature of judicial decision-making.

    This began when Trump attacked U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar, appointed by President Barack Obama, for putting a hold on Trump’s asylum policy. In his criticism, Trump referred to Tigar as an “Obama judge.”

    In an unusual retort, Roberts defended the integrity of the federal bench by writing, “We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges. What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them.”

    Trump responded, “Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have ‘Obama judges,’ and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country.”

    Both Trump and Roberts had a point.

    Trump is correct that judges have different points of view, and those perspectives influence their decision-making. Indeed, more than a half-century of research clearly demonstrates that judges’ ideologies heavily shape how they rule.

    Put simply, judges appointed by Democratic presidents tend to rule liberally, and judges appointed by Republican presidents tend to rule conservatively. This includes a strong inclination to support the positions of the president who appointed them.

    But Roberts is also correct that judges try to do their best to resolve disputes fairly. That is to say, the law also shapes the choices judges make.

    The law in this context refers to the Constitution, legislation passed by Congress and precedents created by the federal courts. These various forms of law operate as a constraint on judges, limiting their ability to reach decisions solely on the basis of their political preferences. Judges must choose from a limited range of choices that are within the bounds of the Constitution, existing law and judicial precedent.

    In a nutshell, judges have discretion, but they don’t have totally free choice.

    President Donald Trump greets Chief Justice John Roberts before he addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025.
    AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson

    Even ‘Trump judges’ believe the president is overreaching

    This understanding of judicial decision-making is central for grasping why Trump’s judicial appointees – and other judges – are a significant obstacle to Trump’s ability to enact his second-term agenda.

    To illustrate, let’s assume that judges appointed by Trump share his political agenda and want to support it. For them to do this, the actions of the Trump administration have to fall within a limited range of activities that judges can plausibly uphold under the Constitution, existing laws and federal court precedent.

    The problem is that the Trump administration is taking actions that exceed its legal authority. As a result, even judges appointed by Trump cannot support such actions, because there is no reasonable interpretation of the law that would allow them to do so.

    This is precisely what happened on May 1, 2025, when a Trump-appointed judge blocked the administration’s efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport people it suspected of being members of the Tren de Aragua transnational criminal organization. This act allows the president to deport natives of an enemy nation during a “declared war” or “invasion” or “predatory incursion” by a foreign government.

    Trump argues that he can use this act because the Tren de Aragua gang is engaged in “irregular warfare” against the United States that amounts to an “invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States.”

    But Trump-appointed Judge Fernando Rodriguez didn’t accept this argument.

    Instead, Rodriguez wrote that “the President’s invocation of the AEA through the Proclamation exceeds the scope of the statute and, as a result, is unlawful.” Rodriguez reasoned that Tren de Aragua’s actions in the United States do not amount to an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” and therefore the act does not apply.

    In short, Rodriguez said that Trump overreached and tried to claim powers beyond those granted to him by the Alien Enemies Act.

    Trump’s losing now, but that may change

    Although federal court judges, both those appointed by Democrats and those appointed by Republicans, continue to block much of the Trump administration’s policy agenda, this may change for two reasons.

    First, the Trump administration could take a more measured approach to pursue its goals by working within the scope of existing law.

    Judges have vented their frustration with what one judge called “shoddy” legal work by administration lawyers and another said were weak arguments that don’t reflect “the diligence the Court expects from any litigant … let alone the United States Department of Justice.” The administration’s lawyers can learn from these losses and develop new legal strategies.

    Second, different judges may view the Trump administration’s actions differently. Indeed, Trump successfully appointed many judges who have an expansive understanding of executive authority. If Trump can get cases before those judges – something his administration is trying to do – these cases could have very different outcomes.

    Like it or not, the results of highly significant cases are often determined by the perspective of a single judge.

    Paul M. Collins Jr. does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Even judges appointed by Trump are ruling against him – https://theconversation.com/even-judges-appointed-by-trump-are-ruling-against-him-255835

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Elisabeth M. Hausrath, Professor of Geoscience, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    A panorama created from images taken by the rover Curiosity while it was working at a site called ‘Rocknest’ in 2012. NASA/JPL-Caltech/Malin Space Science Systems

    Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the Sun.

    Because Mars and Earth share so many features, scientists have long wondered whether Mars could have once harbored life. Today, Mars is very cold and dry, with little atmosphere and no liquid water on the surface − traits that make it a hostile environment for life. But some observations suggest that ancient Mars may have been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life.

    Even though scientists observing the surface of Mars conclude that it was once warmer than it is today, they haven’t been able to find much concrete evidence for what caused it to be warmer. But a study my colleagues and I published in April 2025 indicates the presence of carbonate minerals on the planet, which could help solve this puzzle.

    Carbonate minerals contain carbon dioxide, which, when present in the atmosphere, warms a planet. These minerals suggest that carbon dioxide could have previously existed in the atmosphere in larger quantities and provide exciting new clues about ancient Mars’ environment.

    As a geochemist and astrobiologist who has studied Mars for more than 15 years, I am fascinated by Mars’ past and the idea that it could have been habitable.

    Ancient carbon cycle on past Mars

    Observations of Mars from orbiting satellites and rovers show river channels and dry lakes that suggest the Martian surface once had liquid water. And these instruments have spotted minerals on its surface that scientists can analyze to get an idea of what Mars may have been like in the past.

    Today, Mars is very cold, with a thin atmosphere and dry climate. But in the ancient past, it may have been warmer and wetter, with a thicker heat-trapping atmosphere.
    NASA/J. Bell – Cornell U./M. Wolff – SSI via AP, File

    If ancient Mars had liquid water, it would have needed a much warmer climate than it has today. Warmer planets usually have thick atmospheres that trap heat. So, perhaps the Martian atmosphere used to be thicker and composed of heat-trapping carbon dioxide. If Mars did once have a thicker carbon dioxide-containing atmosphere, scientists predict that they’d be able to see traces of that atmospheric carbon dioxide on the surface of Mars today.

    Gaseous carbon dioxide dissolves in water, a chemical process that can ultimately contribute to formation of solid minerals at and below the surface of a planet − essentially removing the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Lots of scientists have previously tried to find carbonate minerals on the surface of Mars, and part of the excitement about a warmer, wetter early Mars is that it could have been a suitable environment for ancient microbial life.

    Finding carbonates on Mars

    Previous searches for carbonates on Mars have turned up observations of carbonates in meteorites and at two craters on Mars: Gusev crater and Jezero crater. But there wasn’t enough to explain a warmer past climate on Mars.

    For the past few years, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover has been traversing a region called Gale crater. Here, the rover’s chemistry and mineralogy instrument has discovered lots of the iron-rich carbonate mineral siderite.

    The Curiosity rover has detected carbonates on Mars’ surface.
    NASA

    As my colleagues and I detail in our new study about these results, this carbonate mineral could contain some of the missing atmospheric carbon dioxide needed for a warmer, wetter early Mars.

    The rover also found iron oxyhydroxide minerals that suggest some of these rocks later dissolved when they encountered water, releasing a portion of their carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. Although it is very thin, the modern Martian atmosphere is still composed mainly of carbon dioxide.

    In other words, these new results provide evidence for an ancient carbon cycle on Mars. Carbon cycles are the processes that transfer carbon dioxide between different reservoirs − such as rocks on the surface and gas in the atmosphere.

    Potential habitats for past microbial life on Mars

    Scientists generally consider an environment habitable for microbial life if it contains liquid water; nutrients such as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur and necessary trace elements; an energy source; and conditions that were not too harsh − not too acidic, too salty or too hot, for example.

    Since observations from Gale crater and other locations on Mars show that Mars likely had habitable conditions, could Mars then have hosted life? And if it did, how would researchers be able to tell?

    Although microorganisms are too small for the human eye to detect, they can leave evidence of themselves preserved in rocks, sediments and soils. Organic molecules from within these microorganisms are sometimes preserved in rocks and sediments. And some microbes can form minerals or have cells that can form certain shapes. This type of evidence for past life is called a biosignature.

    Collecting Mars samples

    If Mars has biosignatures on or near the surface, researchers want to know that they have the right tools to detect them.

    So far, the rovers on Mars have found some organic molecules and chemical signatures that could have come from either abiotic − nonliving − sources or past life.

    The Curiosity rover travels across Mars searching for signs that the planet could have once been habitable.

    However, determining whether the planet used to host life isn’t easy. Analyses run in Earth’s laboratories could provide more clarity around where these signatures came from.

    To that end, the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has been collecting and sealing samples on Mars, with one cache placed on the surface of Mars and another cache remaining on the rover.

    These caches include samples of rock, soil and atmosphere. Their contents can tell researchers about many aspects of the history of Mars, including past volcanic activity, meteorite impacts, streams and lakes, wind and dust storms, and potential past Martian life. If these samples are brought to Earth, scientists could examine them here for signs of ancient life on another planet.

    Elisabeth M. Hausrath receives funding from NASA, including from the MSL Curiosity rover Participating Scientist Program and the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.

    – ref. Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle − a new study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter and more favorable for life – https://theconversation.com/ancient-mars-may-have-had-a-carbon-cycle-a-new-study-suggests-the-red-planet-may-have-once-been-warmer-wetter-and-more-favorable-for-life-255207

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Running with a stroller: 2 biomechanics researchers on how it affects your form − and risk of injury

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Allison Altman Singles, Associate Professor of Kinesiology and Mechanical Engineering, Penn State

    Running with a stroller can alter running form, but a few simple tricks can reduce chronic injury risk. iStock via Getty Images Plus

    “Faster, mommy, faster!” Allison’s toddler squealed as she ran down the hill by her house with her jogging stroller. As a longtime runner and running biomechanics researcher, she found herself in the same situation as many parents of young children: squeezing in runs between work meetings, meal prep and nap schedules.

    A running stroller offered flexibility – but something felt off. That question about her running form soon became the starting point for a shared research effort.

    The two of us – Allison Altman Singles and Joe Mahoney – are professors and biomechanics researchers interested in how running form affects injury risk. Together, we founded the Biomechanics and Gait Evaluation Laboratory, or BaGEL, at Penn State Berks.

    The BaGEL Lab’s runway and camera system helps researchers study the biomechanics of stroller running.
    RDB Imaging LLC

    Biomechanics is the science of how the body moves − blending biology and physics to understand how muscles, bones and joints work together like a machine. Allison’s experience with stroller running raised questions we couldn’t find clear answers to in the research – so we brought these questions into the lab. For the past four years, we’ve been studying how running with a stroller affects gait and the risk of overuse injuries.

    How stroller running affects the runner

    Most stroller-related regulations focus on the child’s safety and comfort. But what about the adult doing the pushing? Overuse injuries such as shin splints, stress fractures and runner’s knee are common in all runners. Subtle changes in running mechanics, such as those that occur when adapting to a heavy stroller, can lead to these injuries.

    We found two earlier studies that hinted at the biomechanical effects of stroller running. One showed that pushing a stroller led the runner to lean forward more and change their hip posture. Another showed the runner slowed down and took longer strides when pushing a stroller. But overall, researchers and regulators have largely overlooked the runner’s experience.

    Example of a pilot data collection run in our lab.

    We decided to find out more. We invited healthy adult runners into our lab. Each participant ran with and without a stroller. We recorded their motion using high-speed motion capture – the same technology that video games and Hollywood movies use. Each runner completed trials over a force plate, which recorded the impact of every stride. After data collection, we began analyzing the results.

    What we found

    Our results suggested that running with a stroller presents a trade-off. It increases some risk factors for overuse injuries, while reducing others.

    In general, the stroller runners had less impact per step – this measurement refers to the force of the collision between the foot and the ground. Runners experienced a 16% lower impact force when pushing a stroller.

    What impact force looks like during a foot strike while running.

    Pushing down on the handlebars redirects some impact through the stroller’s wheels, reducing the load on the legs. This lower impact force decreases the risk of common injuries such as shin splints, runner’s knee and stress fractures.

    We also found a 36% increase in torsion – the twisting load produced between the foot and the ground. This increase is concerning because torsional stress contributes to stress fractures in the lower leg, a common overuse injury among distance runners.

    Holding the handlebars restricts how much a runner swings their arms and rotates their chest, which normally balances out the twisting from each step. And controlling and maintaining the stroller’s direction further increases this twisting force.

    Our study confirmed that stroller running can also cause the runner to lean forward more. Running coaches typically recommend a slight forward lean, but with a stroller, runners leaned six degrees farther forward. This shift affected their leg positioning and pushed their center of mass forward. Studies have shown that a shift like this may increase injury risk.

    How can I run more safely with a stroller?

    What can you do to minimize the risk of injury if you run with a stroller?

    Adjust your stride and posture. Shorten your stride slightly and try to maintain a neutral posture. Avoid leaning too far forward, especially when going uphill.

    Choosing the right stroller can also make injury less likely. Look for models with adjustable handlebars and lighter frames. If the stroller feels too low, you may naturally lean forward.

    What’s next?

    In the future, we plan to explore several research questions.

    We conducted this study indoors on a flat surface. Next, we want to understand how hills and uneven terrain affect stroller running mechanics and whether different pushing styles – such as one-handed or “push-and-chase” – change the forces.

    We’re also interested in whether alternate stroller designs, such as hands-free options like tethered or pull-behind strollers, allow for a more natural running form. We want to explore how these designs might affect a runner’s form. We’re also examining whether stroller use changes runners’ habits, training volume or motivation.

    Stroller running remains a great way for parents to stay active while spending time with their young children. But just like any other type of running, form matters. Paying attention to your posture and choosing gear that supports healthy movement can make all the difference.

    We hope our findings help other parents stay injury-free during those stroller miles, as their child gleefully squeals, “Faster, Mommy, faster!” Running with your child can be fun, empowering and safe — especially with the right awareness and a little science on your side.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Running with a stroller: 2 biomechanics researchers on how it affects your form − and risk of injury – https://theconversation.com/running-with-a-stroller-2-biomechanics-researchers-on-how-it-affects-your-form-and-risk-of-injury-252341

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Jostling for the papacy: A look back on the conclave’s history

    Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Colin Rose, Associate Professor of European and Digital History, Brock University

    Pope Francis’s successor will be elected in the coming days in a millennium-old ceremony known as the papal conclave. During the conclave, the 135 eligible Cardinal Electors of the Catholic Church will sequester themselves and elect a new pope in isolation.

    During that time, they will have no contact with the outside world and they will vote repeatedly, in written ballots and verbal declaration, until one of them achieves a two-thirds majority.

    Every failure brings sighs from the crowds in St. Peter’s Square as the votes, burned with a chemical admixture, send up a plume of inky black smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel. White smoke, signalling a new pope has been elected, provokes cheers and celebrations and the beginning of a new papal era.



    Read more:
    How the next pope will be elected – what goes on at the conclave

    The history of the conclave, especially during the Italian Renaissance that I teach and research, tells us a lot about how the papacy is both a religious and a political office.

    The Pope is at once the supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church as well as the absolute monarch of Vatican City. He is both bishop of Rome and prince of the smallest sovereign state in the world.

    Politics of the papacy

    In the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, the Vatican was the capital of a much-larger Papal State. This territorial buffer around Rome at its height bordered the territories of Florence, Naples, Milan and Venice, and covered much of northern Italy.

    Popes wielded great influence in the dramatic politics of famous Italian families like the Medici: it was a Medici pope, Clement VII, who helped negotiate the installation of the first Medici duke in Florence.

    Apocryphal accounts persist of Julius II, the so-called “Warrior Pope,” leading a charge over the walls of Bologna in 1506.

    At the same time popes, and Catholic policy, had profound consequences for European and global politics: Clement’s successor Paul III excommunicated England’s King Henry VIII, cementing the English break with Rome in 1538.

    A portrait of Pope Alexander VI Borgia circa 1495.
    (Vatican Museums)

    Alexander VI was more audaciously imperial: he sponsored the treaty that arbitrarily divided the entire world outside of Europe between Spain (his home country) and Portugal in 1494.

    Alexander VI’s historical infamy is perhaps outdone only by his son, Cesare Borgia, made famous by his mention is Niccolo Machiavelli’s book The Prince.

    Becoming pope was a big deal for a cardinal and his family. Leading candidates known as papabili (pope-ables) began strategizing and negotiating even before popes died.

    When a pontiff died, those cardinals abroad began their travels to Rome, construction began on the temporary cells that would house them all during the sequestration and the real work of electing a pope began.

    Enea Silvio Piccolomini left a detailed memoir of his election as Pius II in 1458. In it he describes a process of negotiating, threatening, cajoling and strategizing that make the scheming in the recent movie Conclave look unsophisticated.

    Renaissance Italy wrestled with and ultimately reconciled itself to the political nature of the papacy.

    Many, including popes such as Pius II, expressed discomfort with the political power of the papacy. While it was a clear factor in the schism of European Christendom that led to the emergence of the Protestant churches in the 16th century, in early modern Italy the political power of the papacy was a reality of the diplomatic milieu.

    The empty throne

    The conclave marks a special place in early modern history as a time when ordinary political order was overturned for a brief period known as the sede vacante (the Vacant See).

    The Vacant See was a time when identities were swappable and when, as one Paolo di Grassi told a judge in 1559, “in Vacant See [Romans] are the masters. The People are the Masters.” Di Grassi had, during the Vacant See of November 1559, pursued his own longstanding grudges against his enemies and been involved in at least one armed brawl.

    While they waited for a new pope, Romans and everyone else might have passed the time with another favourite vice: gambling on the conclave’s outcome.



    Read more:
    Who will the next pope be? Here are some top contenders

    European princes and other potentates of the church paid close attention to conclaves, tried to smuggle information in and out and steer the conclave in favour of their preferred candidate.

    In 1730, for instance, Cardinal Lambertini smuggled a letter out of his conclave thanking a benefactor for their donations to his future ordination as Pope Benedict XIV.

    The election held everyone’s attention as a rare and unusually impactful event in the Roman calendar.

    While Rome’s streets thrummed with tension during the chaotic days of a Vacant See, the conclave proceeded serenely and secretly within the Vatican’s walls.

    The use of white smoke to mark the election of a pope only began in the 20th century. During the Renaissance, the sound of bells would be a more effective way to spread the news through Rome, before the new pope was announced to the city and the world.

    Much turns on that announcement now, as much did in previous centuries. The conclave elects both a pope and a head of state. While Vatican City is magnitudes smaller than the Papal State of the past, it remains a sovereign state.

    Papal pronouncements shape not just religious thought but political action, through voting, advocacy and more. Today’s crowds might be less raucous than Renaissance Romans, but they are nonetheless invested in the results.

    Colin Rose receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

    – ref. Jostling for the papacy: A look back on the conclave’s history – https://theconversation.com/jostling-for-the-papacy-a-look-back-on-the-conclaves-history-255492

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Trump targets NPR and PBS as public and nonprofit media account for a growing share of local news coverage

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Matthew Powers, Professor of Communication, University of Washington

    The Seattle Times currently funds 30 reporter positions through philanthropy and government aid. AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

    Republicans in Washington have their sights – once again – on defunding public media.

    On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the termination of taxpayer support for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that helps fund American public media stations of all sizes, from NPR and PBS, to smaller outlets like WBHM in Birmingham, Alabama, and KGOU in Norman, Oklahoma.

    Many Republicans have denounced public media programming as biased, outdated or simply unnecessary.

    Beneath those familiar talking points lies a long-standing assumption: that the market already provides “abundant, diverse and innovative news options,” as the president’s executive order put it.

    That assumption is wrong. And the story of media in Washington state reveals why.

    Public media’s expanding footprint

    As a communication scholar at the University of Washington, I’ve studied journalism in Seattle and across Washington state for the past decade.

    During that time, I’ve watched for-profit journalism struggle to meet the needs of the region. For this reason, local news outlets have increasingly turned to other sources of revenue.

    The shift has been striking. Just 10 years ago, about 10% of all full-time journalists in Seattle worked for local, nonprofit affiliates of NPR and PBS. Today, that figure is closer to 30%.

    That growing share reflects investments by NPR affiliates like KUOW and KNKX and public television station Cascade PBS, which have expanded their coverage of critical topics like homelessness and immigration. Federal support plays a small but significant role, making up between 5% and 10% of their budgets. The rest of their funding comes from a combination of donations, sponsorship and philanthropic grants.

    However, public media’s expanding footprint is also a symptom of collapse elsewhere: corporate cutbacks at commercial broadcast media networks and stations, the shuttering of community newspapers and the disappearance of alt-weeklies, which sometimes challenged mainstream political or cultural narratives.

    To be sure, public media has not and cannot replace everything that has been lost. But it has helped fill the void left after once-iconic outlets like the Seattle Post-Intelligencer underwent huge layoffs.

    Donors, tax dollars plug holes

    Public media outlets are only one prong of an increasingly noncommercial local news system. In the past, local media were dominated by commercial players that garnered the lion’s share of their revenues through advertising.

    Now, more and more journalism jobs in the state of Washington, including those at commercial outlets, are sustained by philanthropy and government spending. The Seattle Times – which is still, by far, the largest newsroom in the city – pays 30 of its reporters through philanthropic funding. That’s roughly 20% of its entire newsroom. The national nonprofit Report for America has, since its inception in 2018, placed 13 reporters in towns and cities across Washington to cover underserved topics like rural health and veterans issues.

    Meanwhile, the Murrow News Fellowship, launched in 2023 and funded by Washington’s state Legislature, has enabled 16 full-time journalists to be hired for two-year stints in commercial, nonprofit and public media newsrooms around the state.

    Universities are also playing a role. Long a pipeline into the profession, undergraduate and graduate journalism programs have increasingly become a piece of the local news infrastructure. Roughly 10% of all state Legislature coverage in Washington, for example, is now produced by undergraduate student journalists. Many report for newsrooms that no longer have a dedicated journalist in Olympia, the state’s capital.

    Then-state Sen. Pramila Jayapal speaks to reporters in Olympia, Wash., about a proposal to make community and technical college free for state residents without a bachelor’s degree.
    AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

    News isn’t always profitable

    All of these examples – public media, philanthropic support for nonprofit outlets and jobs at for-profit media enterprises, and student journalism – meet needs that for-profit journalism can no longer address on its own.

    Of course, no funding model is perfect. Last year, KUOW laid off three newsroom staffers due to a budget shortfall. Cascade PBS journalists are threatening to strike over low pay. Some critics worry that philanthropic funding can subtly shape news organizations’ coverage priorities.

    But to pretend the market can fix these problems is to ignore that it played a key part in creating them. When a newsroom job disappears, it’s not because watchdog journalism has lost its civic value. It’s because it became hard to monetize.

    Professional reporting takes time and doesn’t inherently deliver high traffic or quick profits. But it does inform citizens, promote government accountability and strengthen communities.

    The push to defund NPR and PBS stems in large part from long-standing Republican antipathy toward public media. But it also rests on a belief that journalism should only survive if it can compete in the marketplace.

    In Washington state, we’ve already seen what happens when we rely on markets alone: fewer reporters, less oversight and a growing amount of AI-generated news that provides no original reporting.

    If these defunding efforts succeed, they will likely do real harm to local news. KNKX has warned that it would lead to “difficult decisions and sacrifices at the expense of access to local journalism.” KUOW has signaled that it would “immediately need to raise 1 million dollars” to offset the loss in federal funding.

    Translation: It could lead to fewer reporters and less reporting at a time when more of both is needed.

    Matthew Powers does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Trump targets NPR and PBS as public and nonprofit media account for a growing share of local news coverage – https://theconversation.com/trump-targets-npr-and-pbs-as-public-and-nonprofit-media-account-for-a-growing-share-of-local-news-coverage-255740

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Being honest about using AI at work makes people trust you less, research finds

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Oliver Schilke, Director of the Center for Trust Studies, Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Arizona

    Whether you’re using AI to write cover letters, grade papers or draft ad campaigns, you might want to think twice about telling others. That simple act of disclosure can make people trust you less, our new peer-reviewed article found.

    As researchers who study trust, we see this as a paradox. After all, being honest and transparent usually makes people trust you more. But across 13 experiments involving more than 5,000 participants, we found a consistent pattern: Revealing that you relied on AI undermines how trustworthy you seem.

    Participants in our study included students, legal analysts, hiring managers and investors, among others. Interestingly, we found that even evaluators who were tech-savvy were less trusting of people who said they used AI. While having a positive view of technology reduced the effect slightly, it didn’t erase it.

    Why would being open and transparent about using AI make people trust you less? One reason is that people still expect human effort in writing, thinking and innovating. When AI steps into that role and you highlight it, your work looks less legitimate.

    But there’s a caveat: If you’re using AI on the job, the cover-up may be worse than the crime. We found that quietly using AI can trigger the steepest decline in trust if others uncover it later. So being upfront may ultimately be a better policy.

    Being caught using AI by a third party has consequences, as one New York attorney can attest.

    Why it matters

    A global survey of 13,000 people found that about half had used AI at work, often for tasks such as writing emails or analyzing data. People typically assume that being open about using these tools is the right choice.

    Yet our research suggests doing so may backfire. This creates a dilemma for those who value honesty but also need to rely on trust to maintain strong relationships with clients and colleagues. In fields where credibility is essential – such as finance, health care and higher education – even a small loss of trust can damage a career or brand.

    The consequences go beyond individual reputations. Trust is often called the social “glue” that holds society together. It drives collaboration, boosts morale and keeps customers loyal. When that trust is shaken, entire organizations can feel the effects through lower productivity, reduced motivation and weakened team cohesion.

    If disclosing AI use sparks suspicion, users face a difficult choice: embrace transparency and risk a backlash, or stay silent and risk being exposed later – an outcome our findings suggest erodes trust even more.

    That’s why understanding the AI transparency dilemma is so important. Whether you’re a manager rolling out new technology or an artist deciding whether to credit AI in your portfolio, the stakes are rising.

    What still isn’t known

    It’s unclear whether this transparency penalty will fade over time. As AI becomes more widespread – and potentially more reliable – disclosing its use may eventually seem less suspect.

    There’s also no consensus on how organizations should handle AI disclosure. One option is to make transparency completely voluntary, which leaves the decision to disclose to the individual. Another is a mandatory disclosure policy across the board. Our research suggests that the threat of being exposed by a third party can motivate compliance if the policy is stringently enforced through tools such as AI detectors.

    A third approach is cultural: building a workplace where AI use is seen as normal, accepted and legitimate. We think this kind of environment could soften the trust penalty and support both transparency and credibility.

    The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

    Oliver Schilke received funding from the National Science Foundation (Award #1943688).

    Martin Reimann receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts research grant (#1925643–38-24) and a National Security Systems (TRIF NSS) research grant.

    – ref. Being honest about using AI at work makes people trust you less, research finds – https://theconversation.com/being-honest-about-using-ai-at-work-makes-people-trust-you-less-research-finds-253590

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes

    Source: The Conversation – USA – By Yuanzhi Tang, Professor of Biogeochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology

    Piles of rare earth oxides praseodymium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, samarium and gadolinium. Peggy Greb/USDA-ARS

    Every time you use your phone, open your computer or listen to your favorite music on AirPods, you are relying on critical minerals.

    These materials are the tiny building blocks powering modern life. From lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite in batteries to gallium in telecommunication systems that enable constant connectivity, critical minerals act as the essential vitamins of modern technology: small in volume but vital to function.

    Yet the U.S. depends heavily on imports for most critical materials. In 2024 the U.S. imported 80% of rare earth elements it used, 100% of gallium and natural graphite, and 48% to 76% of lithium, nickel and cobalt, to name a few.

    Rising global demand, high import dependency and growing geopolitical tensions have made critical mineral supply an increasing national security concern − and one of the most urgent supply chain challenges of our time.

    That raises a question: Could the U.S. mine and process more critical minerals at home?

    As a geochemist who leads Georgia Tech’s Center for Critical Mineral Solutions and an engineer focused on energy innovation, we have been exploring the options and barriers for U.S. critical mineral production.

    What’s stopping critical minerals from being produced domestically?

    Let’s take a look at rare earth elements.

    These elements are essential to modern technology, electric vehicles, energy systems and military applications. For example, neodymium is critical for making the strong magnets used in computer hard discs, lasers and wind turbines. Gadolinium is vital for MRI machines, while samarium and cerium play key roles in nuclear reactors and energy systems such as solar and wind power.

    Despite their name, rare earth elements are actually not rare. Their concentrations in the Earth’s crust are comparable to more commonly mined metals such as zinc and copper.

    However, rare earth elements do not often occur in easily accessible, economically viable mineral forms or high-grade deposits. As a result, identifying resources with sufficiently high concentration and large volume is crucial for enabling their economic production.

    MP Materials’ Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility is in California near the Nevada border.
    Tmy350/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

    The U.S. currently has only two domestic rare earth mining locations: Georgia and California.

    In southeast Georgia, rare earths are being produced as a byproduct of heavy mineral sand mining, but the produced rare earth concentrates are shipped out of state and then abroad for refining into the materials used in renewable energy technologies and permanent magnets.

    The other location is in Mountain Pass, California, where hard rock mining extracts a rare earth carbonate mineral called bastnaesite. Yet again, much of the material is sent abroad for refining. As a result, the entire supply chain − from mining to final use in products − stretches across continents.


    U.S. Geological Survey

    Meeting the U.S. demand for rare earth elements and other critical minerals from operations within the United States will require more than just opening new mines. It will require developing and scaling up new technologies, as well as building processing operations.

    Historically, processing has largely taken place overseas because of the environmental impacts, energy demand and regulatory constraints.

    The potential, but long road, to new mines

    Investment in exploration activity for critical minerals is rapidly increasing across the U.S.

    In 2017 the U.S. Geological Survey launched the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative − known as Earth MRI − to identify potential sources of critical minerals within the country.

    Some areas that appear promising for rare earth elements have lots of chemical weathering, in which rocks containing rare earth elements are broken down by reacting with water and air. Exploration is underway at several of these sites, including in locations in Wyoming and Montana.

    A map shows focus areas for 23 mineral systems that could have critical mineral resources.
    USGS

    Identifying a resource, however, is not the same as producing it.

    Traditional mining can take a decade or two from exploration to production and up to 29 years in the U.S., the second-longest timeline in the world. Although this timeline could be changing under the current administration, companies might still face major uncertainties related to permitting, infrastructure development and, in some places, community opposition. Managing environmental impacts, such as air and water pollution and high water consumption and energy use, can further increase cost and extend project timelines.

    Given that the exploration projects mentioned above are still in early stage, the U.S. needs additional, parallel efforts that can bring resources to the market at an accelerated pace.

    Mining the materials we have already mined

    One of the fastest ways to increase U.S. rare earth production may not require digging new holes in the ground − but rather returning to old ones.

    The Atlantic coast region stands out on the Earth MRI map as a particularly promising area. What’s even better is that this region has already established extensive mining activities and mature infrastructure, which allows for much faster speed to market.

    Georgia has mineral sand deposits that are rich in titanium, zirconium, and rare earth elements. Titanium and zirconium − both used in aerospace, energy and medical applications − are already mined in Florida and Georgia. In southeast Georgia, rare earth elements found with these heavy mineral sands are already being recovered as rare earth concentrates.

    Kaolin mining near Macon, Ga.

    Kaolin, a white clay used in paper, paint and porcelain, has been mined in Georgia for over a century, and it can also contain rare earth elements. Georgia generates more than 8 million tons of kaolin annually, making it the leading U.S. producer and a large exporter. This also comes with millions of tons of mining and processing residues, or what’s known as tailings.

    Recent research studies suggest that there is significant potential for extracting rare earth elements in the tailings.

    The tailings are already mined and sitting on the surface. There is no need to drill or blast. That means existing infrastructure, faster timelines and lower costs and than new mining operations.

    Technological innovations, such as bioleaching, ligand-based extraction and separation and electrochemical separation, are now making mining these legacy wastes possible. New processing facilities could be built near existing kaolin or heavy mineral sand operations or former mine sites, bringing materials to market in a few years rather than decades.

    The future of waste mining

    This approach is part of a broader strategy known as “waste mining,” “urban mining” or “mining the anthropogenic cycle.”

    It involves the recovery of critical minerals from existing waste streams such as mine tailings, coal ash and industrial byproducts. It is also part of building a circular economy, where materials are reused and recycled rather than discarded.

    The U.S. has the potential to catalyze new domestic supply chains for materials essential to national security and technology. Waste mining and recycling are critical pieces to ensure the long-term sustainability of these supply chains.

    The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. How the US can mine its own critical minerals − without digging new holes – https://theconversation.com/how-the-us-can-mine-its-own-critical-minerals-without-digging-new-holes-252609

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Mark Carney in Washington: His visit with Trump kicks off high-wire politics in Canada

    Source: The Conversation – Global Perspectives – By Thomas Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University, Canada

    Prime Minister Mark Carney is headed to Washington, D.C., for a high-stakes meeting with Donald Trump as the American president continues his trade war and annexation threats against Canada.

    “We are meeting as heads of our government,” Carney said at a news conference late last week. “I am not pretending those discussions will be easy.”

    The White House visit comes just a week after Carney led the Liberals to their fourth consecutive election victory.

    It was a result that, at first blush, allowed each party to claim that it won, or at least that it did not totally lose. That sets up a Parliamentary session that will feature several interesting dynamics.

    The Conservatives under Pierre Poilievre won several more seats than in 2021 and their highest share of the national vote in decades, though Poilievre himself lost his seat.



    Read more:
    Canada’s Conservatives, with an assist from Donald Trump, are down — but they’re far from out

    The NDP under an outgoing Jagmeet Singh managed to hold onto the balance of power in the upcoming minority Parliament for a third consecutive time. Elizabeth May continues to represent the Green Party in the House of Commons. Yves-François Blanchet kept the Bloc Québécois relevant for voters in Québec.

    Even Justin Trudeau, no longer in politics, won — his legacy is not in the gutter due to a predicted Conservative majority win that never materialized once Carney replaced him.

    But in the coming weeks and months, the leaders and their parties face difficult circumstances that could turn them into losers — most importantly, how Carney manages the relationship with Trump.

    The role of Trump

    Carney and the Liberals capitalized on exceptional
    circumstances     driven by Donald Trump’s trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state. Winning four consecutive elections is a rare feat for any political party in Canada.
    But Carney cannot count on fortune continuing to smile upon him. He must now manage a party within which he has little history and few favours to call in — a party that he has dragged from centre-left under Trudeau to centre-right.

    The new prime minister will have to rely on aides and advisers to a much greater extent than all former office-holders who had years or decades of experience in the political area, including the House of Commons. At the same time, he will have to demonstrate to Canadians that he is in charge and makes the final decisions.

    Invariably, there will be Liberal missteps in the weeks ahead: ethical lapses for some MPs, ministerial appointments that go awry and disappointment among those not appointed to cabinet. Because Carney has been prime minister for less than two months, the upcoming Speech from the Throne on May 27 — to be delivered by King Charles — that sets the government’s goals is shrouded in mystery.

    Beyond Ottawa, premiers from several different political parties — each with their own agenda — await Carney. South of the border, the unpredictable Trump, with his infuriating rhetoric and disruptive actions, is in office for another three-and-half-years.

    As a newcomer to politics elected on his first attempt to the country’s highest political office, Carney could have at least have one topic of conversation in common with Trump when they meet on Tuesday. Trump too was a political outsider who catapulted into office on his first attempt. The two may find some bond in their shared experience.

    The greatest danger for Carney is not from Trump’s rhetoric but from broader economic conditions. He ran for office on the promise of being able to manage economic turmoil. But politicians of any stripe have little control in a global economic slump or an all-out tariff war. If unemployment, inflation or the cost-of-living tick upward, Carney will quickly lose his lustre among many Canadians.

    The new Parliament

    For the Conservatives, Poilievre’s leadership will continue to weigh on the party in the weeks and months ahead. Losing his Ottawa seat weakens his claim to stay on as leader. He now needs to win a byelection in Alberta triggered by the resignation of Conservative MP Damien Kurek.

    The worst outcome for the party is years of infighting between those who support giving Poilievre one more chance and those who believe that 2025 is the best the party can do under his leadership.

    The best outcome is for Poilievre to become a bridge-builder within the party and to Conservatives across Canada, and to rebrand himself to be more palatable to Canadian voters. This will not be easy and he hasn’t shown much inclination to do so.

    The NDP’s Singh has already announced his resignation and accepted responsibility for the party electing only seven MPs. A period of soul-searching leading to a leadership contest has already started. The loss of seats, and returning to Ottawa with an interim leader, lessens the voice of the party in political discourse. If a new leader is elected who is not an MP, the party will be further hampered.

    The Greens remain in the House of Commons, but as a party of one. The jury continues is out on whether the party can exist without its leader, Elizabeth May, who has said she wouldn’t rule out joining Carney’s cabinet.

    Blanchet returns to Ottawa with fewer Bloc MPs and a murky mission. He had hoped that the Bloc would hold the balance of power once the votes were counted, but was foiled by the NDP. He has already faced criticism from his own supporters when he promised to collaborate with other parties in Ottawa to secure Canada’s economic future.

    Beginning with Carney’s handling of Trump this week, how skilfully each party, and leader, performs its distinct high-wire act in the next few months will determine the ultimate winners and losers. The show is about to begin.

    Thomas Klassen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Mark Carney in Washington: His visit with Trump kicks off high-wire politics in Canada – https://theconversation.com/mark-carney-in-washington-his-visit-with-trump-kicks-off-high-wire-politics-in-canada-255675

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –