The Conversation - You're a weirdo! No, you're the weirdo!

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

Rodney E. Rohde, Texas State University

The World Health Organization yesterday declared mpox a global health emergency, the second time since 2022. While most mpox infections are mild, some can be fatal, and cases are spreading in Africa.

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

Kimberly Przeszlowski, Quinnipiac University

As police departments across the US and the world adopt real-time crime centers, there’s a need for better public understanding of how these centers work.

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

Virginia Raguin, College of the Holy Cross

Marko Rupnik’s art is on display in many churches. Should his paintings be removed in light of recent allegations?

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

Dudley L. Poston Jr., Texas A&M University

By 2100, China’s population will likely be half its current size. It will also be a lot older, with fewer working-age men and women.

Mpox cases are soaring in Africa – what must be done to prevent a global pandemic

Cheryl Walter, University of Hull

The mpox outbreak in Africa is cause for concern – here’s why.

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

Maria Jose Baeza Robba, University of Michigan; Evelyn Iriarte Parra, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus; Rosina Cianelli, University of Miami

Despite higher than average rates of HIV infection, Hispanic women have relatively low awareness of PrEP, an effective HIV-prevention medication.

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

Heather Hendershot, Northwestern University

As the Democratic National Convention returns to Chicago, there’s an appetite in that city to revisit films from the bloody and violent time the convention was last held in that city: 1968.

Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern

Lydia Nobbs, The New School

Jacinda Ardern, like Kamala Harris, unexpectedly became the leader of her political party close to the election. The similarities don’t stop there.

Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home

Edward L. Lascher Jr., California State University, Sacramento; Brian Adams, San Diego State University; Danielle Martin, California State University, Sacramento

4 in 10 voters would back a candidate from the opposing party for local office if that politician shared their views on homelessness and housing, according to survey data from California.

Students with mental health struggles linked to absenteeism and lower grades, showing clear need for more in-school support

Amie Rapaport, University of Southern California; Morgan Polikoff, University of Southern California

More preteen boys are struggling with behavioral issues, while more teen girls are experiencing anxiety and depression.

Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars

Wayne K. Clatterbuck, University of Tennessee

For trees, growing to maturity involves much more than just reaching upward.

SpaceX’s Elon Musk endorsed Donald Trump for president – what this could mean for US space policy

JD Vance is no pauper − he’s a classic example of ‘poornography,’ in which the rich try to speak on behalf of the poor

Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%