Débat : Comment repenser la bioéthique au cours de ses états généraux ?

Source: The Conversation – France in French (3) – By Emmanuel Hirsch, Professeur émérite d’éthique médicale, Université Paris-Saclay

La révision de la loi du 2 août 2021 relative à la bioéthique débute avec une concertation menée par le Comité consultatif national d’éthique sous forme d’états généraux. Cependant, sommes-nous certains de nous accorder sur une conception commune de ce qu’est la bioéthique, de ce que sont ses fondamentaux, sur la pertinence, les thèmes, les enjeux, les modalités et les conséquences du débat ?


Dans un discours prononcé en 1987, le professeur de médecine Jean Bernard, premier président du Comité consultatif national d’éthique (CCNE) entre 1983 et 1993, évoquait déjà les défis de la bioéthique : « L’homme peut désormais être changé par l’homme. Soit directement, la biologie transformant le cerveau, le patrimoine génétique, soit indirectement, la biologie transformant l’environnement. »

Sept ans plus tard, la loi n° 94-654 du 29 juillet 1994 relative au don et à l’utilisation des éléments et produits du corps humain, à l’assistance médicale à la procréation et au diagnostic prénatal fixait les principes de la bioéthique selon nos conceptions nationales.

Trente ans ont passé depuis le vote de la première version de ce texte, régulièrement révisé depuis. La nouvelle révision de la loi du 2 août 2021 relative à la bioéthique s’engage cette année ; c’est l’occasion de réfléchir aux enjeux posés. Peut-on aujourd’hui affirmer que les mutations biotechnologiques, notamment dans le contexte d’un environnement numérique qui détermine la vie et les choix de société, ne justifient pas de repenser la bioéthique avant de l’appliquer en vue d’arbitrages indispensables ?

Quatre points de tension éthique

Je retiens d’une synthèse des textes fondamentaux de la bioéthique cette définition de la bioéthique : « La bioéthique reconnaît l’importance de protéger l’être humain dans sa dignité et son identité afin de garantir à toute personne, sans discrimination, le respect de son intégrité ainsi que de ses autres droits et libertés. Elle permet de ressentir l’injustice, d’éviter le danger, d’assumer des responsabilités, de rechercher la coopération et de faire montre d’un sens moral qui donne expression à des principes éthiques. Les êtres humains, sans distinction, doivent bénéficier des mêmes normes éthiques élevées dans le domaine de la médecine et de la recherche en sciences de la vie. »

La réflexion bioéthique nous rappelle à la vigilance :

  1. lorsque « la primauté de la personne » pourrait être déconsidérée et dépréciée au regard de considérations de toute nature qui en relativiseraient la prééminence ;

  2. lorsque nous concéderions à toute forme d’irrespect à l’égard « de la dignité humaine, (des) droits de l’homme et (des) libertés fondamentales » ;

  3. lorsque la souveraineté de la personne ne serait pas reconnue dans l’expression de son autonomie et de son jugement critique, notamment en sollicitant son consentement ;

  4. lorsque l’exigence de justice ne prévaudrait plus dans l’argumentation de nos arbitrages.

Ces quatre points de tension éthique caractérisent à la fois des principes d’actions et un cadre d’intervention bénéficiant des repères intangibles à mobiliser pour éclairer une démarche responsable et légitimer les arbitrages. Il ne s’agit pas d’options, d’énoncés rhétoriques livrés à des interprétations circonstanciées, mais d’engagements qui nous obligent.

La nécessité d’une adaptation continue

Depuis 1994, notre législation relative à la bioéthique a vocation d’anticiper les conséquences sociétales des avancées de la recherche biomédicale et d’encadrer les innovations selon les principes d’une « bioéthique à la française ». Réviser une loi à échéance régulière comme c’est le cas en matière de bioéthique, démontre la nécessité d’un ajustement ou d’une adaptation continue des principes généraux.

Au risque d’estimer parfois justifié d’en relativiser la pertinence, d’en atténuer l’autorité lorsque des considérations supérieures justifieraient des accommodements plutôt que des ajustements. Ce peut être le cas pour des raisons de souveraineté nationale lorsque trop de règles affaibliraient la recherche scientifique et le développement de ses applications dans un contexte concurrentiel sollicitant des dérégulations y compris éthiques.

Si la révision programmée d’une loi – on l’observe également de fait pour la troisième fois dans le domaine de la fin de vie bien que le législateur n’en a pas décidé – n’aurait pour visée que de nous libérer progressivement des réticences et des contraintes qui entraveraient en l’occurrence la recherche biomédicale, n’est-elle pas condamnée à l’obsolescence ?

Que signifie alors légiférer en bioéthique si ce n’est donner à penser que le débat public permet d’évaluer la capacité d’acceptation ou de tolérance de la société à des mutations qui à terme imposent leur ordre et leur vision de ce que nous devons espérer et faire de notre devenir ?

Cinq ans après la création du CCNE, ses membres en appelaient à une prudence dont on ne sait plus au juste ce qu’elle est censée prévenir, restreindre ou contenir aujourd’hui :

« En pareil cas [confronté à des questions éthiques difficiles], il conviendra de ne pas franchir abusivement les frontières qui séparent, d’une part, la déontologie de l’éthique, d’autre part, la pratique médicale de la recherche. Ces séparations ne vont pas de soi, car les diverses activités considérées sont parfois mêlées. »

Peut-on alors soutenir que les quatre lois successives de 1994, 2004, 2011 et 2021 – au-delà de l’intention d’identifier au fil des évolutions scientifiques leurs enjeux sociétaux – sont parvenues à préserver l’équilibre entre nos valeurs et la dynamique d’une recherche compétitive au service du bien commun ?

Un manque de recherche académique en bioéthique

En dehors des publications de l’Agence de la biomédecine et des travaux de l’Office parlementaire d’évaluation des choix scientifiques et technologiques, peu de recherches scientifiques académiques sérieuses permettent d’étayer la démarche bioéthique française. Elles devraient pourtant constituer un préalable à toute concertation publique, y compris pour évaluer la pertinence et l’efficacité d’une législation pour autant qu’elle soit fondée sur des données plus robustes que les conclusions d’un débat d’idées aussi informé soit-il par les éclairages de scientifiques.

Dès 1985, le philosophe Lucien Sève, membre du CCNE, se demandait dans le quotidien l’Humanité, du 6 décembre 1985 , « À quoi sert la bioéthique ? » pour y trouver une capacité de dépassement dans l’exigence de mettre en commun ce qu’est l’universel : « La bioéthique publique, sans contraindre quiconque, ne doit-elle pas inciter chacun à suivre sa pente en montant, et tout ce qui est réellement universel ne peut-il en dernière analyse converger ? »

Ne peut-on pas alors oser considérer que la bioéthique peut s’envisager comme un exercice de morale pratique, une manière de faire morale dans une société sécularisée ? Ne serait-ce pas ainsi situer et viser l’exigence d’une réflexion universelle qui « attire l’humanité au-dessus d’elle-même » ?

Les champs de possibles, promis dès l’annonce d’innovations biomédicales, justifient de repenser nos obligations actuelles et les conséquences de nos choix en nous référant à un système de valeurs pertinent et robuste.

Reconnaître à l’intelligence collective, animée par un souci de dialogue et d’implication dans la mise en débat des décisions qui déterminent notre destin, la légitimité de contribuer à refonder si nécessaire des principes d’action en cohérence avec le souci du bien commun, exige une révolution dans les conceptions traditionnelles de la gouvernance de la biomédecine. Apparemment, les états généraux de la biomédecine n’ont ni cette vocation ni cette ambition.

Les biotechnologies façonnent les figures expérimentales d’un vivant recomposé selon des conceptions de l’existence que s’approprient les détenteurs d’un pouvoir d’intervention indifférents à ce que, d’un point de vue philosophique et éthique, exister signifie. Les encodages numériques délient nos communs, dévitalisent et dématérialisent le sens de la présence et de la relation ; leurs promoteurs dégradent ce que faire société représente.

La complexité d’une bioéthique en acte nous confronte aux dilemmes d’un arbitrage décisionnel intégrant les conditions d’estimation « du poids moral » dans des contextes différenciés (ne serait-ce qu’en termes de ressources en compétences et en moyens), ce qui peut mener à des conclusions divergentes. C’est ce qu’énonce le Conseil des organisations internationales des sciences médicales, qui concerne ses « principes généraux d’éthique ».

Plus que de prescriptions cumulatives trop souvent méconnues, l’urgence n’est-elle pas de contribuer à développer une culture bioéthique de terrain, une éthique impliquée, investie de la capacité d’exercer une responsabilité partagée, mise en commun, autrement que dans l’application de règles qui ne seraient pas suffisamment pensées ? La vigilance éthique doit s’exercer et être intégrée aux décisions politiques dans le cadre d’un processus démocratique non réduit à des consultations épisodiques encadrées. Ne serait-il pas sage de repenser en bioéthique, comme dans d’autres domaines complexes des choix de société, d’autres modalités de concertations et d’arbitrage publics ?

La notion de transgression à l’épreuve

Les domaines innovants de la biomédecine – qu’il s’agisse de la génomique, des cellules souches, des nanosciences ou des neurosciences – fascinent, provoquent et inquiètent. La médecine à visée curative et réparatrice intègre désormais les objectifs d’amélioration, d’augmentation et de transformation de l’homme sans être dotée d’un cadre normatif international pertinent.

Les techniques de sélection, de tri, de manipulation, de recombinaison, voire de reconfiguration de l’humain équipé de prothèses, de systèmes implantables, de système numériques hybrides de connexions, se développent sans susciter les concertations publiques évaluant leur acceptabilité et leur soutenabilité.

La notion même de transgression devient incompatible avec les idéaux d’émancipation et d’affranchissement de toute conception naturaliste. Risquer de compromettre les conditions d’un devenir humain au bénéfice possible d’une libération de ce qu’aurait d’indigne et de précaire la condition actuelle de l’humain, semble préférable aux aggiornamentos prudents, aux moratoires justifiés, au risque de forcer l’innovation au-delà de toute forme de limite.

Les processus d’innovation mis en œuvre dans les biotechnologies devraient pourtant engager toute réflexion éthique à anticiper et à accompagner les choix stratégiques, à questionner les hypothèses, les méthodes, les moyens et les objectifs afin d’y apporter une intelligibilité et de favoriser des arbitrages justes, loyaux et recevables.

Le poids des intérêts économiques

En ce qui concerne le numérique et l’ingénierie appliqués à la santé, des organisations privées exercent une position dominante sur la société civile, sur nos existences et notre destinée. La financiarisation de la santé détermine les critères d’orientation de la recherche et de l’accès aux traitements. L’urgence éthique ne devrait-elle pas se comprendre dans l’exigence de reconquérir une autonomie existentielle, alors qu’un précipité de mutations incontrôlables semble en voie de nous rendre plus dépendants des conditionnements qui artificialisent la personne et les réalités de nos sociétés ?

Les instances éthiques sont-elles reconnues dans cette fonction, en ont-elles les compétences et les capacités alors que l’autorité publique est défiée en tant de domaines par la déferlante des imprécations à des dérégulations confortées par la violence politique de décisions erratiques ?

Les « droits fondamentaux de tout être humain » sont invoqués comme l’ultime expression d’un attachement à des valeurs abrasées par la désertion d’un monde périmé qu’il serait sage de ne plus habiter. Doit-on admettre une impuissance à exercer une responsabilité humaine sur notre destinée, à s’ériger éthiquement contre une disqualification et une négation de ce que nous sommes ?

La « bioéthique à la française » est, par exemple, de peu de poids, face à l’offre du marché de la fertilité estimé de l’ordre de 78,42 milliards de dollars (soit 66,41 milliards d’euros) à l’horizon 2033. La France considère encore, d’un point de vue éthique, que la gestation pour autrui (GPA) constitue une instrumentalisation du corps de la femme incompatible avec ses valeurs. Cependant, l’accès aux techniques prohibées en France telles que la GPA n’a de frontières que le coût des interventions, et certains considèrent injustes ces discriminations économiques qui devraient inciter à autoriser dans notre pays ce qui est possible ailleurs.

Il ne s’agit pas seulement d’envisager les évolutions biomédicales d’un point de vue préventif ou thérapeutique, mais tout autant dans leurs fonctions symboliques, sociétales et donc politiques. La bioéthique serait-elle ainsi considérée comme la dernière forme d’un idéal démocratique, l’ultime tentative de faire encore nation et de porter un projet de société qui transcenderait les clivages doctrinaux ?

À quelques mois de l’élection présidentielle, il faudra veiller à ce que les états généraux de la bioéthique ne soient un forum politique ouvert à des controverses idéologiques qui y trouveraient un espace privilégié. Le CCNE a hiérarchisé et sélectionné les thématiques qui y seront débattues selon des règles qui devraient permettre à chacun de s’exprimer. Il sera important que la synthèse tirée vers juin des débats et des auditions restitue la pluralité des positions et que l’avis qui suivra maintienne une telle rigueur. Peut-être y découvrirons-nous alors un renouveau de l’exigence de la bioéthique là où certains pourraient craindre une forme d’épuisement, voire de renoncement.

Comme l’énonçait le président de la République François Mitterrand lors de la séance d’installation du CCNE, le 2 décembre 1983 : « Au-delà de la morale, la science et la métaphysique, selon le goût que l’on en a, se répondent sans que la réponse soit là. Encore est-il noble de la chercher. »


Pour aller plus loin :

  • Traité de bioéthique (4 tomes), coord. E. Hirsch, éditions Érès 

  • E. Hirsch, Après la bioéthique, éditions du Cerf, à paraître en mai 2026.

The Conversation

Emmanuel Hirsch ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.

ref. Débat : Comment repenser la bioéthique au cours de ses états généraux ? – https://theconversation.com/debat-comment-repenser-la-bioethique-au-cours-de-ses-etats-generaux-274555

Trump-style unpredictability isn’t just political theatre – it’s a regulatory problem for your brain

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Robin Bailey, Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, University of Cambridge

Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Shutterstock.com

Donald Trump can change the temperature of a room with a sentence. One minute he is certain, the next he is backtracking. One day he is threatening, the next he is hinting at a deal. Even before anything concrete happens, people brace for his next turn.

That reaction is not just political. It is what unpredictability does to any system that requires stability. To act at all, you need some working sense of what is happening and what is likely to happen next.

One influential framework in brain science called predictive processing suggests the mind does not wait passively for events. It constantly guesses what will happen, checks those guesses against reality, and adjusts.

A brain that predicts can prepare, even when what it prepares for is uncertainty.
The gap between what you expect and what actually happens is known as a prediction error. These gaps are not mistakes but the basis of learning. When they resolve, the brain updates its picture of the world and moves on.

This is not about what anyone intends, but about what unpredictability does to systems that need some stability to work. Trouble starts when mismatches do not resolve because the source keeps changing. People are told one thing, then the opposite, then told the evidence was never real.

The brain may struggle to settle on what to trust, so uncertainty stays high. In this view, attention is how the brain weighs up what counts as best evidence, and turns the volume up on some signals and down on others.

Uncertainty can be worse than bad news

When this keeps happening, it’s hard to get closure. Effort is spent checking and second guessing. That is one reason why uncertainty can feel worse than bad news. Bad news closes the question, uncertainty keeps it open. When expectations will not stabilise, the body stays on standby, prepared for many possible futures at once.

One idea from this theory is that there are two broad ways to deal with persistent mismatch. One is to change your expectations by getting better information and revising your view. The other is to change the situation so that outcomes become more predictable. You either update the model, or you act to make the world easier to deal with.

On the world stage, flattery can be a crude version of the second route, an attempt to make a volatile person briefly easier to predict. Everyday life shows the same pattern, such as unpredictable workplaces. When priorities change without warning, people cannot anticipate what is required. Extra effort may go into reducing uncertainty rather than doing the job.

Research links this kind of unpredictability to higher daily stress and poorer wellbeing.

The same pattern shows up in close relationships. When someone is unpredictable, people scan tone and try to guess whether today brings warmth or conflict. It can look obsessive, but it is often an attempt to avoid the wrong move.

Studies link unpredictable early environments to poorer emotional control and more strained relationships later in life.

The strain does not stay in thought alone. The brain does a lot more than thinking. A big part of its work is regulating the body, such as the heart rate, energy use and the meaning of bodily sensations.

It does this by anticipating what the body will need next. When those anticipations cannot settle, regulation becomes costly.

Words matter here in a literal sense. Language does not just convey information. It shapes expectations, which changes how the body feels.

Trump can do this at a distance. A few words about a situation can raise or lower the stakes for people, whether in Minneapolis or Iran. The point is that signals from powerful, volatile sources force others to revise their models and prepare their bodies for what might come next.

Communication is a form of regulation. Clarity and consistency help other people settle. Volatility and contradiction keep them on edge.

When a single voice can repeatedly unsettle expectations across millions of people, unpredictability stops being a personal stress and becomes a collective regulatory problem.

How to deal with unpredictability

So what helps when unpredictability keeps pulling your attention? Try checking for new information if it changes your next step or plan, otherwise it just keeps the uncertainty alive.

When a source keeps changing, reduce the effort spent trying to decode it. Switch to action. Set a rule that makes the next step predictable. For example, read the news at 8am, then stop and get on with your day.

Learn where not to look. When messages keep reversing, the problem is not a lack of information, it is an unreliable source.

Biological systems survive by limiting wasted predictions. Sometimes that means changing your expectations; sometimes it means changing the situation. And sometimes it means accepting that when Donald Trump is talking, the safest move is to stop trying to predict what comes next.

The Conversation

Robin Bailey 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. Trump-style unpredictability isn’t just political theatre – it’s a regulatory problem for your brain – https://theconversation.com/trump-style-unpredictability-isnt-just-political-theatre-its-a-regulatory-problem-for-your-brain-274252

Your genes matter more for lifespan now than they did a century ago – here’s why

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Karin Modig, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet

buritora/Shutterstock.com

How much do your genes determine how long you’ll live? It’s a question that fascinates us, and one that’s been debated for decades. For years, the answer seemed settled – genes account for about 20–25% of the variation in human lifespan, with the rest down to lifestyle and environment.

But a new study published in Science has challenged this view, suggesting the genetic contribution might be considerably higher.

The reason, according to the researchers, is that previous estimates failed to account for how the causes of death have changed over time. A century ago, many people died from what scientists call extrinsic causes – accidents, infections and other external threats.

Today, in developed countries at least, most deaths result from intrinsic causes: the gradual wearing out of our bodies through ageing and age-related diseases like dementia and heart disease.

To get a clearer picture, the research team analysed large groups of Scandinavian twins, carefully excluding deaths from external causes. They also studied twins who were raised apart and siblings of centenarians in the US.

When they stripped away deaths from accidents and infections, the estimated genetic contribution jumped dramatically – from the familiar 20–25% to around 50–55%.

The pattern makes sense when you look at individual diseases. Genetics explain much of the variation in dementia risk, have an intermediate effect on heart disease, and play a relatively modest role in cancer. As environments become more favourable, populations age and diseases caused by the ageing process itself become more common, the genetic component naturally appears larger.

Our genes haven’t become more powerful

But here’s where interpretation becomes crucial. A higher estimate doesn’t mean genes have suddenly become more powerful, nor does it mean you can only influence half your chances of reaching old age. What’s changed is the environment, not our DNA.

Consider human height as an example. A hundred years ago, how tall you grew depended heavily on whether you had enough food and whether childhood illnesses stunted your growth.

Today, in wealthy nations, nearly everyone gets adequate nutrition. Because these environmental differences have narrowed, most of the remaining variation in height is now explained by genetic differences – not because nutrition has stopped mattering, but because most people now reach their genetic potential. However, a malnourished child will still fail to grow tall, regardless of their genes.

The same principle applies to lifespan. As we’ve improved vaccination, reduced pollution, enhanced diet and adopted healthier lifestyles, we’ve lessened the overall impact of environmental factors.

When environmental variation decreases, the proportion of remaining variation attributed to genetics – what scientists call “heritability” – increases by mathematical necessity. The earlier estimates weren’t wrong; they simply reflected different historical circumstances.

A graphic showing human DNA double helix.
Your genes haven’t changed. The environment has.
romakhan3595/Shutterstock.com

This reveals something fundamental: heritability isn’t a fixed biological property but a measure that depends entirely on the population and circumstances you’re looking at. The traditional 20–25% figure described lifespan as it was actually experienced in historical populations, where external threats loomed large.

The new 50–55% estimate describes a different scenario where those threats have been largely removed – essentially describing a different trait.

The headline figure of lifespan being around “50% heritable” risks being misunderstood as meaning genes determine half of a person’s life chances. In reality, the genetic contribution for any given individual can range from very small to very large depending on their circumstances.

There are countless routes to a long life: some people have robust genetic profiles that protect them even in difficult conditions, while others compensate for less favourable genetics through excellent nutrition, exercise and healthcare. Each person represents a unique combination, and many different combinations can result in exceptional longevity.

Which combinations prove most common depends entirely on the population and the conditions in which people live and age. As external causes of death continue to decline in the real world – though they won’t disappear entirely – it will be fascinating to see how these patterns evolve.

The authors of this latest study admit that about half of lifespan variation still depends on environment, lifestyle, healthcare and random biological processes, such as cells dividing out of control in cancer. Their work, they argue, should renew efforts to identify the genetic mechanisms involved in ageing and longevity. Understanding how different genetic factors interact with different environments is probably the key to explaining why some people live much longer than others.

The study offers valuable insights into how different types of mortality have shaped our understanding of lifespan. But its results are best understood as showing how heritability changes across different contexts, rather than establishing a single, universal genetic contribution to how long we live.

In the end, both genes and environment matter. And, perhaps more importantly, they matter together. So whether that feels like good news or bad news, you will probably never get a simple answer to how much of your lifespan is determined by genes alone.

The Conversation

Karin Modig receives funding from Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare and from Karolinska Institutets research funds.

ref. Your genes matter more for lifespan now than they did a century ago – here’s why – https://theconversation.com/your-genes-matter-more-for-lifespan-now-than-they-did-a-century-ago-heres-why-274796

Critics of Keir Starmer’s trip to China are missing these two important points

Source: The Conversation – UK – By Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Politics; Director, Lau China Institute, King’s College London

Flickr/Number 10, CC BY

When I spoke to a European journalist about British prime minister Keir Starmer’s visit to China at the end of January, they laughed about the controversy it had caused: “I mean, when most other leaders go to China, it’s taken as something they should do, rather than having to justify.” In the last few months, France, Canada, and soon South Korea and Germany, will all see high-level visits to Beijing without generating the levels of heat and discussion the British one has.

It is true that Britain has a very specific relationship with China which never makes for easy partnership. In the so-called narrative of “national humiliation” promoted by the Chinese government – covering the period over the 19th and 20th century when the country was partially colonised and, at times, invaded – Britain played a leading role..

Even so, these are events well predating living memory. In no way can China be seen as a victim today. Over the last half a century, it has transformed, overtaking the UK in almost every way, from the size of its economy to its military power and global influence. Even in the area of technology and innovation, it is now outpacing the UK.

Despite this, both sides seem to continue finding ways to argue with each other. Last year there was the furore over the claims of espionage made by the UK against two British nationals. They denied all charges and the case against them was dropped abruptly, after the Crown Prosecution Service decided the evidence did not show China was a threat to national security. This caused angry claims that the government was simply placating Beijing.

A similar situation occurred recently when, after much delay, the planned new embassy for China in London was finally given approval, eight years after the site was bought.

All of this preceded Starmer’s trip to Beijing. He landed to a fanfare of military guard trumpets, even as the main chorus back home was critical and dismissive. Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch declared that his going was not in the national interest and that, were she in office, she would not have visited.

The brute reality is that in 2026, there are two very tangible and very urgent reasons why Britain and China need to talk to each other as never before. The first is the intensifying realisation that the US is no longer the stable, predictable partner it always was before this.

President Trump is raising daily questions about things that were once assumed to be relatively durable. His proposed foray into Greenland, while seemingly resolved in January, raised the real spectre of the US not just being in dispute with key allies but engaging in outright conflict.

For the first time ever, Britain and China are faced with the same problem – what to make of America’s behaviour, and what to do about it – even if this throws up respectively very different issues. For Starmer, the worry is about how to manage the UK’s greatest security partner as it, at times, no longer seems to want to secure so much as disrupt. For China, it is what to do about preserving its interests globally when an order once underpinned by the US is facing away.

Keir Starmer in China
Starmer visits the Forbidden City.
Flickr/Number10, CC BY

But secondly, we have to return to the staggering speed and scale of China’s technology rise. For research and development in areas that matter to the UK, from environment to life sciences to AI, the risk of not engaging with Beijing is far higher than the alternative. This dramatic change doesn’t seem to be properly understood by many of the most critical domestic voices about Starmer’s visit, not least the politicians with the most hawkish views on China.

For those truly concerned about the UK’s security and national interest, the problem is not that a British prime minister has visited Beijing. Rather, it is that it has been eight years since the last time one did so.

The more Britain continues to bicker and argue even about straightforward contact, the less it will be able to work out how to navigate the new geopolitics – and what to do about a world where access to Chinese technology is not an option, but a necessity.

The Conversation

Kerry Brown 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. Critics of Keir Starmer’s trip to China are missing these two important points – https://theconversation.com/critics-of-keir-starmers-trip-to-china-are-missing-these-two-important-points-274684

Suspending family-based immigrant visas weakens US families and the economy

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Sothy Eng, Associate Professor of of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Hawaii

The United States has paused immigrant visa processing for 75 countries. Photo by Ufuk Celal Guzel/Anadolu via Getty Images

The U.S. Department of State has announced that starting on Jan. 21, 2026, it has indefinitely stopped issuing immigrant visas for people from 75 countries, claiming concerns that some immigrants may rely on public benefits once they get to the United States.

While applications may still be processed, no immigrant visas will be issued during the pause, including family-based visas for U.S. citizens to sponsor their parents.

This focus leaves little room for recognizing the unpaid caregiving and everyday family support provided by immigrant parents already living in the U.S., support that allows others, including their U.S. citizen children, to remain employed and households to stay stable.

Family-based immigration, particularly visas that allow U.S. citizens to sponsor their parents, strengthens social capital: the networks of care and shared responsibility that allow people to work, stay healthy and raise children who become productive members of society. Weakening these networks risks undermining the social foundations of long-term economic growth.

As a scholar who studies family relationship dynamics and social capital, I have observed how these family ties are not simply private family matters but a public good that sustains community well-being. When parents are present, families are better able to share child care, navigate illness and remain economically active.

Family reunification as social infrastructure

The United States offers no national paid family leave, unlike countries such as Finland and Hungary, which guarantee paid time off to care for children, aging parents or ill family members. Instead, the U.S. provides only unpaid leave under federal law.

Consequently, many families rely on informal caregiving to balance work and care. Research shows that when adequate support is unavailable, workers, especially parents, are more likely to reduce hours or leave the labor force altogether.

This strain is widespread across the U.S.: Roughly 63 million Americans, nearly 1 in 4 adults, provide unpaid care for a family member with a serious health condition or disability, in addition to unpaid child care.

A man's hands rest on top of a podium.
The State Department has raised concerns that some immigrants may rely on public benefits once they get to the U.S.
Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images

Sponsored immigrant parents often become part of this informal care system. They provide child care, prepare meals and supervise children.

In many U.S. states, the cost of child care now exceeds in-state college tuition, pushing families to reduce formal care or rely on relatives.

Family reunification, therefore, functions as social infrastructure, filling gaps that markets and public systems do not, a role family scholars have emphasized.

Decades of research illustrates this dynamic. In their book “Immigrant America,” sociologists Alejandro Portes and Rubén G. Rumbaut show that immigrant families often rely on close family ties when government support is limited.

Families also pool resources by living together and combining time, skills and income to cover basic needs. These arrangements help households cope with job instability, illness and long work hours. They also reduce reliance on formal child care and paid domestic labor.

Economic development does not happen in isolation from family life. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s framework on measuring well-being emphasizes that economic performance, health, social connections and family support are interconnected rather than separate policy domains. When people are supported and less stressed, they are healthier and more productive.

Sociologist James Coleman similarly has noted that children raised in stable, supportive households are more likely to succeed in school and contribute meaningfully as adults. Family reunification, therefore, is an investment in the social relationships that underpin economic prosperity.

Social capital and child development

Immigrant grandparents and extended kin often play an active role in children’s lives. They help with learning, language development and daily routines.

This kind of family involvement also helps explain what scholars call the “immigrant paradox,” in which many immigrant children achieve better-than-expected academic and emotional results despite socioeconomic challenges.

As of 2023, about 19 million U.S. children, roughly 1 in 4, have at least one parent who is an immigrant. Therefore, policies that restrict family reunification shape the everyday environments in which millions of children grow up. This influences the support they receive at home and the workforce they will help build as adults.

Social capital is not public dependency

Concerns raised by federal policymakers that immigrants will become a “burden on taxpayers” shape restrictions on family-based immigration. These concerns are reflected in federal policy through the Department of Homeland Security’s public charge rule, which allows immigration officials to assess whether applicants are likely to rely primarily on government assistance such as cash welfare or long-term public support for basic needs.

However, analyses of 2022 U.S. Census data show that immigrants overall use public assistance at lower rates than native-born Americans.

In practice, family reunification is less about public dependency and more about sustaining the relationships that allow families and the economy to function.

The question for policymakers is not whether the U.S. can afford to support family reunification, but whether it can afford not to. In a country facing caregiver shortages, rising parental stress and limited public care infrastructure, investing in social capital through family reunification may be one of the most effective and overlooked ways to support long-term economic growth.

The Conversation

Sothy Eng 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. Suspending family-based immigrant visas weakens US families and the economy – https://theconversation.com/suspending-family-based-immigrant-visas-weakens-us-families-and-the-economy-273665

Trump’s climate policy rollback plan relies on EPA rescinding its 2009 endangerment finding – but will courts allow it?

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Gary W. Yohe, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies, Wesleyan University

Trucks leave a smoggy Port of Long Beach in 2008, the year before the endangerment finding was released. Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formally declared that greenhouse gas emissions, including from vehicles and fossil fuel power plants, endanger public health and welfare. The decision, known as the endangerment finding, was based on years of evidence, and it has underpinned EPA actions on climate change ever since.

The Trump administration now wants to tear up that finding as it tries to roll back climate regulations on everything from vehicles to industries.

But the move might not be as simple as the administration hopes.

An airplane flying over a packed highway with San Diego in the background.
Transportation is the nation’s leading source of emissions, yet the federal government aims to roll back vehicle standards and other regulations written to help slow climate change.
Kevin Carter/Getty Images

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin sent a proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget in early January 2026 to rescind the endangerment finding. Now, a Washington Post report suggests, action on it may be delayed over concerns that the move wouldn’t withstand legal challenges.

Cracks in the administration’s plan are already evident. On Jan. 30, a federal judge ruled that the Department of Energy violated the law when it handpicked five researchers to write the climate science review that the EPA is using to defend its plan. The ruling doesn’t necessarily stop the EPA, but it raises questions.

There’s no question that if the EPA does rescind the endangerment finding that the move would be challenged in court. The world just lived through the three hottest years on record, evidence of worsening climate change is stronger now than ever before, and people across the U.S. are increasingly experiencing the harm firsthand.

Several legal issues have the potential to stop the EPA’s effort. They include emails submitted in a court case that suggest political appointees sought to direct the scientific review.

To understand how we got here, it helps to look at history for some context.

The Supreme Court started it

The endangerment finding stemmed from a 2007 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Massachusetts v. EPA.

The court found that various greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, were “pollutants covered by the Clean Air Act,” and it gave the EPA an explicit set of instructions.

The court wrote that the “EPA must determine whether or not emissions from new motor vehicles cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare.”

But the Supreme Court did not order the EPA to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Only if the EPA found that emissions were harmful would the agency be required, by law, “to establish national ambient air quality standards for certain common and widespread pollutants based on the latest science” – meaning greenhouse gases.

The Supreme Court justices seated for a formal portrait.
The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts in 2007 included seven justices appointed by Republican presidents. Front row, left to right: Anthony M. Kennedy (appointed by Ronald Reagan), John Paul Stevens (Gerald Ford), John Roberts (George W. Bush), Antonin Scalia (Reagan) and David Souter (George H.W. Bush). Standing, from left: Stephen Breyer (Bill Clinton), Clarence Thomas (George H.W. Bush), Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Clinton) and Samuel Alito Jr. (George W. Bush).
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The EPA was required to follow formal procedures – including reviewing the scientific research, assessing the risks and taking public comment – and then determine whether the observed and projected harms were sufficient to justify publishing an “endangerment finding.”

That process took two years. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced on Dec. 7, 2009, that the then-current and projected concentrations of six key greenhouse gases in the atmosphere – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride – threatened the public health and welfare of current and future generations.

Challenges to the finding erupted immediately.

Jackson denied 10 petitions received in 2009-2010 that called on the administration to reconsider the finding.

On June 26, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the endangerment finding and regulations that the EPA had issued under the Clean Air Act for passenger vehicles and permitting procedures for stationary sources, such as power plants.

This latest challenge is different.

It came directly from the Trump administration without going through normal channels. It was, though, entirely consistent with both the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan for the Trump administration and President Donald Trump’s dismissive perspective on climate risk.

Trump’s burden of proof

To legally reverse the 2009 finding, the agency must go through the same evaluation process as before. According to conditions outlined in the Clean Air Act, the reversal of the 2009 finding must be justified by a thorough and complete review of the current science and not just be political posturing.

That’s a tough task.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has talked publicly about how he handpicked the five researchers who wrote the scientific research review. A judge has now found that the effort violated the 1972 Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires that agency-chosen panels providing policy advice to the government conduct their work in public.

All five members of the committee had been outspoken critics of mainstream climate science. Their report, released in summer 2025, was widely criticized for inaccuracies in what they referenced and its failure to represent the current science.

Scientific research available today clearly shows that greenhouse gas emissions harm public health and welfare. Importantly, evidence collected since 2009 is even stronger now than it was when the first endangerment finding was written, approved and implemented.

Map shows many ares with record or near record warm years.
Many locations around the world had record or near-record warm years in 2025. Places with local record warmth in 2025 are home to approximately 770 million people, according to data from Berkeley Earth.
Berkeley Earth, CC BY-NC

For example, a 2025 review by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine determined that the evidence supporting the endangerment finding is even stronger today than it was in 2009. A 2019 peer-reviewed assessment of the evidence related to greenhouse gas emissions’ role in climate change came to the same conclusion.

The Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a report produced by hundreds of scientists from around the world, found in 2023 that “adverse impacts of human-caused climate change will continue to intensify.”

Maps show most of the US, especially the West, getting hotter, and the West getting drier.
Summer temperatures have climbed in much of the U.S. and the world as greenhouse gas emissions have risen.
Fifth National Climate Assessment

In other words, greenhouse gas emissions were causing harm in 2009, and the harm is worse now and will be even worse in the future without steps to reduce emissions.

In public comments on the Department of Energy’s problematic 2025 review, a group of climate experts from around the world reached the same conclusion, adding that the Department of Energy’s Climate Working Group review “fails to adequately represent this reality.”

What happens if EPA does drop the endangerment finding

As an economist who has studied the effects of climate change for over 40 years, I am concerned that the EPA rescinding the endangerment finding on the basis of faulty scientific assessment would lead to faster efforts to roll back U.S. climate regulations meant to slow climate change.

It would also give the administration cover for further actions that would defund more science programs, stop the collection of valuable data, freeze hiring and discourage a generation of emerging science talent.

Cases typically take years to wind through the courts. Unless a judge issued an injunction, I would expect to see a continuing retreat from efforts to reduce climate change while the court process plays out.

I see no scenario in which a legal challenge doesn’t end up before the Supreme Court. I would hope that both the enormous amount of scientific evidence and the words in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution would have some significant sway in the court’s considerations. It starts, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union,” and includes in its list of principles, “promote the general Welfare.”

The Conversation

Gary W. Yohe 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’s climate policy rollback plan relies on EPA rescinding its 2009 endangerment finding – but will courts allow it? – https://theconversation.com/trumps-climate-policy-rollback-plan-relies-on-epa-rescinding-its-2009-endangerment-finding-but-will-courts-allow-it-274194

Denmark’s generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the ‘motherhood penalty’ for working moms

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By Alexandra Killewald, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan

A Danish mom drops her young son at his school in Copenhagen. Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

For many women in the U.S. and around the world, motherhood comes with career costs.

Raising children tends to lead to lower wages and fewer work hours for mothers – but not fathers – in the United States and around the world.

As a sociologist, I study how family relationships can shape your economic circumstances. In the past, I’ve studied how motherhood tends to depress women’s wages, something social scientists call the “motherhood penalty.”

I wondered: Can government programs that provide financial support to parents offset the motherhood penalty in earnings?

A ‘motherhood penalty’

I set out with Therese Christensen, a Danish sociologist, to answer this question for moms in Denmark – a Scandinavian country with one of the world’s strongest safety nets.

Several Danish policies are intended to help mothers stay employed.

For example, subsidized child care is available for all children from 6 months of age until they can attend elementary school. Parents pay no more than 25% of its cost.

But even Danish moms see their earnings fall precipitously, partly because they work fewer hours.

Losing $9,000 in the first year

In an article to be published in an upcoming issue of European Sociological Review, Christensen and I showed that mothers’ increased income from the state – such as from child benefits and paid parental leave – offset about 80% of Danish moms’ average earnings losses.

Using administrative data from Statistics Denmark, a government agency that collects and compiles national statistics, we studied the long-term effects of motherhood on income for 104,361 Danish women. They were born in the early 1960s and became mothers for the first time when they were 20-35 years old.

They all became mothers by 2000, making it possible to observe how their earnings unfolded for decades after their first child was born. While the Danish government’s policies changed over those years, paid parental leave and child allowances and other benefits were in place throughout. The women were, on average, age 26 when they became mothers for the first time, and 85% had more than one child.

We estimated that motherhood led to a loss of about the equivalent of US$9,000 in women’s earnings – which we measured in inflation-adjusted 2022 U.S. dollars – in the year they gave birth to or adopted their first child, compared with what we would expect if they had remained childless. While the motherhood penalty got smaller as their children got older, it was long-lasting.

The penalty only fully disappeared 19 years after the women became moms. Motherhood also led to a long-term decrease in the number of the hours they worked.

A woman pushes a stroller holding a baby past an election poster while another woman crosses her path carrying objects awkwardly.
The ‘motherhood penalty’ is largest in the first year after a mom’s first birth or adoption.
Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Studying whether government can fix it

These annual penalties add up.

We estimated that motherhood cost the average Danish woman a total of about $120,000 in earnings over the first 20 years after they first had children – about 12% of the money they would have earned over those two decades had they remained childless.

Most of the mothers in our study who were employed before giving birth were eligible for four weeks of paid leave before giving birth and 24 weeks afterward. They could share up to 10 weeks of their paid leave with the baby’s father. The length and size of this benefit has changed over the years.

The Danish government also offers child benefits – payments made to parents of children under 18. These benefits are sometimes called a “child allowance.”

Denmark has other policies, like housing allowances, that are available to all Danes, but are more generous for parents with children living at home.

Using the same data, Christensen and I next estimated how motherhood affects how much money Danish moms receive from the government. We wanted to know whether they get enough income from the government to compensate for their loss of income from their paid work.

In the graphic head, put a comma after “Denmark”; in the footnote, fix the spelling of “adusted” to “adjusted”

We found that motherhood leads to immediate increases in Danish moms’ government benefits. In the year they first gave birth to or adopted a child, women received over $7,000 more from the government than if they had remained childless. That money didn’t fully offset their lost earnings, but it made a substantial dent.

The gap between the money that mothers received from the government, compared with what they would have received if they remained childless, faded in the years following their first birth or adoption. But we detected a long-term bump in income from government benefits for mothers – even 20 years after they first become mothers.

Cumulatively, we determined that the Danish government offset about 80% of the motherhood earnings penalty for the women we studied. While mothers lost about $120,000 in earnings compared with childless women over the two decades after becoming a mother, they gained about $100,000 in government benefits, so their total income loss was only about $20,000.

Benefits for parents of older kids

Our findings show that government benefits do not fully offset earnings losses for Danish moms. But they help a lot.

Because most countries provide less generous parental benefits, Denmark is not a representative case. It is instead a test case that shows what’s possible when governments make financially supporting parents a high priority.

That is, strong financial support for mothers from the government can make motherhood more affordable and promote gender equality in economic resources.

Because the motherhood penalty is largest at the beginning, government benefits targeted to moms with infants, such as paid parental leave, may be especially valuable.

Child care subsidies can also help mothers return to work faster.

The motherhood penalty’s long-term nature, however, indicates that these short-term benefits are not enough to get rid of it altogether. Benefits that are available to all mothers of children under 18, such as child allowances, can help offset the long-term motherhood penalty for mothers of older children.

The Conversation

Alexandra Killewald 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. Denmark’s generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the ‘motherhood penalty’ for working moms – https://theconversation.com/denmarks-generous-child-care-and-parental-leave-policies-erase-80-of-the-motherhood-penalty-for-working-moms-273186

Life isn’t all diamonds – money and fame don’t shield the many ‘Real Housewives’ facing criminal charges

Source: The Conversation – USA (2) – By C. Clare Strange, Assistant Research Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel University

Jen Shah, a cast member of the “Real Housewives” series, leaves a Manhattan federal court in January 2023 after receiving a 6½-year sentence for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Gotham/GC Images

“The Real Housewives” reality TV series, which showcases the lives of a rotating cast of wealthy women in 11 cities in the U.S. and places in several other countries, is famous for its characters’ over-the-top drama and messy personal antics.

But there are also useful lessons that the characters’ lives and frequent run-ins with the law offer to casual observers and criminology students alike.

I developed the idea for The Real Housewives of Criminology course when I heard a story on NPR in 2023 about how the Bravo Network franchise was becoming more like a true-crime TV series.

Jen Shah, a cast member from “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” had recently been sentenced to six years in federal prison for her role in a nationwide telemarketing scheme – but she wasn’t the only one on the show who met such a fate.

Many people who appear on “Housewives” share a real-life penchant for crime – from driving-under-the-influence charges and theft to fraud and assault.

During any given episode, viewers may find “Housewives” stars and their families navigating the fallout – from court dates to public shaming.

I realized that these scenes illustrate core concepts from criminal justice theory and practice as well as any textbook.

A window into the course

The course examines the criminal cases of the “Housewives” and compares them to those of the general public.

Students discuss how factors such as social class, age and race can impact people’s experiences with the justice system. At the same time, they come to understand that factors such as how serious a crime is, a person’s criminal history and the harm done to victims tend to drive case outcomes more than any other factor.

I believe that this course is especially relevant now, because it is increasingly common for undergraduate students to consume news about crime and punishment from streaming platforms and social media.

It seems there is a new “Housewife” arrest every several months, which brings with it new circumstances and a new case study to dissect.

Critical lessons

One key takeaway from the course is that there are many meaningful differences – and similarities – between the criminal cases shown in “Housewives” and those of most people.

While money and power can often go a long way in fighting a criminal conviction, sometimes they fall short when the harm to victims or society is too great, or the pattern of behavior is too obvious.

Many “Housewives” stars and their families have learned this lesson the hard way.

Read along

This course requires students to view footage from “The Real Housewives,” read peer-reviewed criminological research, and listen to podcast episodes from “The Bravo Docket.”

We even read book chapters straight from some of the Housewives’ memoirs. All of this culminates in a “Final Reunion,” meaning a final verbal exam for students, in which they embody one of the “Housewives” cast members and answer questions from me – dressed as host Andy Cohen – about their criminal cases.

A group of five women dressed in formal wear pose and stand in front of a backdrop that says 'Bravo.'
Teresa Giudice, right, poses with others in ‘The Real Housewives of New Jersey’ cast in April 2013. She is among the cast members who have faced criminal charges.
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

Real takeaways

While the court of public opinion tends to quickly draw conclusions from limited information, my honors students learn that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the U.S. justice system.

The Real Housewives of Criminology helps them to navigate the nuance beneath the headlines about popular crime news stories, in and beyond the “Bravosphere.”

The Conversation

C. Clare Strange 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. Life isn’t all diamonds – money and fame don’t shield the many ‘Real Housewives’ facing criminal charges – https://theconversation.com/life-isnt-all-diamonds-money-and-fame-dont-shield-the-many-real-housewives-facing-criminal-charges-272762

800 years after his death, the legends and legacy of Francis of Assisi endure

Source: The Conversation – USA (3) – By Vanessa Corcoran, Adjunct Professor of History, Georgetown University

On the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, his body will be displayed for the first time ever in February 2026, at the Basilica of San Francesco. Millions of visitors are expected to converge in the small Tuscan town of Assisi to honor the 13th-century saint.

Francis, who died on Oct. 4, 1226, espoused care for the poor and reverence for the natural world. Those values were reflected centuries later in the actions of Pope Francis. The late pope chose his papal name in honor of the medieval saint’s embrace of the poor and his teachings on the moral responsibility of caring for all creatures on Earth.

As a scholar of medieval religious history, I’m aware that several dramatic episodes near the end of Francis’s life played a decisive role in shaping his legacy as the founder of the Franciscan order. These events also explain why his radical messages around poverty and the environment still resonate today.

Born rich, yet sought a life of poverty

Born into a merchant family in the Umbrian town of Assisi, in present-day Italy, around 1181, Francis famously renounced his family’s wealth. One narrative recounts how he shed his garments in the public square, much to the embarrassment of his father. Early biographers described him as “Il Poverello,” or “The Little Poor One.”

In 1209, he founded the mendicant Franciscan order, a religious group devoted to works of charity.

What historians and theologians know about Francis comes primarily from his own writings and hagiographic texts. Hagiography is a form of religious biography that celebrates the virtuous lives of saints, often recounting miracles attributed to them, both in their lifetime and after their death. Devotees often visit their tombs to seek a miraculous intervention. Some of the hagiographies of Francis were written shortly after his death in 1226.

Thomas of Celano, a Franciscan friar who knew Francis personally, wrote “The Life of Francis,” published just two years after his passing. This hagiography played a central role in his rapid canonization. It provided a detailed account of Francis’ life, and Pope Gregory IX relied on its evidence that Francis’ deeds merited sainthood.

Thirteenth-century theologian and philosopher St. Bonaventure wrote the “Life of St. Francis,” now regarded as the most comprehensive account of Francis’ life. This second religious biography captures not just the key events of Francis’ life, but it also articulates his enduring legacy as the founder of the Franciscans. There are currently about 650,000 Franciscans worldwide. Members of the Franciscan order are active in over 100 countries worldwide, focusing on issues of poverty, mission and education.

Both narratives describe key moments from Francis’ early years: After taking a vow of poverty, Francis begged for alms and also worked in leper colonies near Assisi. During this period, he founded the Franciscan order.

In 1210, he traveled to Rome and received papal approval for the order from Pope Innocent III.

In 1219, Francis traveled to Egypt to meet with Sultan al-Malik al-Kamil during the Fifth Crusade. He initially attempted to convert al-Kamil to Christianity through his preaching. According to Christian texts, the meeting ultimately led to safer conditions for prisoners of war during the Crusades.

Miracles and legends

The end of Francis’ life was believed to be marked by spiritual encounters that many Catholics interpret as signs of his holiness.

Recounted in great detail in the 13th-century hagiographies, these stories explain why he later became closely associated with animals and protection of the natural world. These encounters have also been replicated numerous times in artistic renderings of Francis.

As an itinerant preacher, Francis regularly traveled throughout Italy to spread the Gospel. But on one occasion, Francis paused to preach to a flock of birds. According to legend, they listened in rapt attention.

Thomas of Celano notes that from that day on, Francis’ sermons were not just intended for people but for “all birds, all animals, all reptiles, and also insensible creatures, to praise and love the creator.”

The idea that animals became transfixed by Francis’ preaching was reiterated in other devotional texts. In the 14th-century account “The Little Flowers of St. Francis,” there is another legendary story that Francis’ preaching reportedly stopped a wolf from terrorizing the Tuscan town of Gubbio.

Francis spoke to the wolf and extended his arm. According to the legend, the wolf then stretched out his paw as if to shake his hand. Such stories became central to shaping Francis’ identity as the patron saint of animals and, later, of the natural world.

In 1224, a severe illness left Francis nearly blind. Unable to write, he dictated the “Canticle of the Sun,” or “Canticle of the Creatures,” often considered the first major work in Italian vernacular literature.

Despite his failing eyesight, this devotional text reflects poetically on the beauty of God’s creations, referring to animals as “brothers and sisters.” It praises how the Earth “sustains us and governs and … produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.”

A fresco shows a haloed man kneeling in prayer as rays of light descend from a winged angel above, while a nun sits nearby reading from a book.
A fresco by Pietro Lorenzetti shows St. Francis receiving the stigmata. Basilica of San Francesco, Assisi, Italy.
dmitriymoroz/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Notably, Francis became the first person believed to receive the stigmata – wounds believed to mirror those of Christ’s crucifixion. Eyewitness accounts of Sept. 17, 1224, later recorded by Thomas of Celano, noted:

“A little before his death, our brother and father (Francis) appeared as if crucified, bearing in his body the five wounds which are truly the stigmata of Christ. In fact, his hands and feet had something like perforations made by the nails, front and back, that retained scars and showed the blackness of the nails. And to his side, he seemed to be pierced and blood often flowed out.”

Italian Renaissance artist Giotto di Bondone depicted these scenes in an elaborate fresco cycle in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence. These wounds furthered the idea of Francis as Christ-like: a motif explored often in devotional writing.

Influence on the modern-day papacy

Though Francis of Assisi was already recognized as a formative historical figure, he received renewed global attention on March 13, 2013, when then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio broke with the church tradition of taking a name in honor of a papal predecessor. He took the name Francis.

The choice was deliberate, given that Francis of Assisi’s mission was tied to living a life of poverty and caring for others. Soon after his election to the papacy, Francis expounded on his reasoning of his papal name, affirming that his namesake was “the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation.”

A Gothic-style cathedral sits under a cloudy sky as a line of people walks toward its entrance.
Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi.
Rosmarie Wirz/Moment Open/Getty Images

The “Canticle of the Sun” later shaped the pope’s signature 2015 encyclical, “Laudato Si’” – “Care for Our Common Home.” The first papal encyclical devoted to the environment, the document called for global dialogue and action to protect the planet. In it, Pope Francis wrote that Francis of Assisi “shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace.” Since the death of the pope, “Laudato Si” has been hailed as one of the lasting contributions of the first Jesuit and Latin American-born pope.

As pilgrims travel to Assisi during this special Jubilee year of St. Francis, the church has emphasized it is not just about seeing the remains of the medieval visionary but to remember this “model of holiness of life and a constant witness of peace.”

Although this medieval saint, most commonly known through frescoes and fragmented texts, may seem like a distant historical figure, Francis’ teachings on care for the poor and responsibility toward the environment offer a lasting message to the 21st century.

The Conversation

Vanessa Corcoran 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. 800 years after his death, the legends and legacy of Francis of Assisi endure – https://theconversation.com/800-years-after-his-death-the-legends-and-legacy-of-francis-of-assisi-endure-271482

Allumer la lumière pour éteindre la douleur chez les rongeurs

Source: The Conversation – in French – By Marion Bied, Docteure en biologie, Université Côte d’Azur

Allumer la lumière pour éteindre la douleur. Ce slogan résume bien notre découverte : une simple lumière dans l’UV-A supprime la douleur chez les rongeurs, sans aucun médicament et de manière plus efficace et durable que l’ibuprofène. Cette méthode, que nous avons appelée Light-Induced Analgesia, récemment publiée dans Nature Communications, le 26 janvier 2026, pourrait améliorer le bien-être animal et bouleverser les pratiques vétérinaires dans le cadre de l’expérimentation animale, mais aussi lors de la prise en charge des nouveaux animaux de compagnie, comme les hamsters, les chinchillas et même les tortues ou les boas.

Comment est née cette méthode antidouleur reposant sur la lumière ?

Comme Pasteur l’a dit, « le hasard ne favorise que les esprits préparés ». Effectivement, toute notre étude repose sur une observation inattendue que nous avons faite lors d’une expérience témoin : une protéine appelée TRAAK s’active (en d’autres mots, elle se met en marche), lorsqu’elle est éclairée avec de la lumière UV-A.

Aussi fortuite qu’elle puisse paraître, cette observation nous a souri puisque l’activité principale de notre laboratoire porte sur TRAAK et les protéines qui lui sont proches.

TRAAK est une protéine présente dans les récepteurs de la douleur et freine la transmission des messages douloureux vers le cerveau quand elle est dans son état actif. D’où notre idée : activer ces protéines des récepteurs de la douleur présents dans la peau avec de la lumière et ainsi inhiber les récepteurs de la douleur. Cela empêcherait alors les messages nerveux d’atteindre le cerveau, résultant en de l’analgésie.

Pour vérifier cela, nous avons illuminé les pattes de souris et avons testé leur sensibilité mécanique en déterminant la pression à appliquer pour déclencher leur réflexe de retrait de la patte. Cette procédure, couramment utilisée en expérimentation animale et humaine n’induit aucune douleur chez la souris puisque le réflexe est déclenché physiologiquement avant que la souris ne ressente la douleur. Nous avons ainsi pu montrer que, après le traitement à la lumière, il faut trois fois plus de force pour induire le retrait, ce qui veut dire que les pattes des souris deviennent trois fois moins sensibles, que ce soit sur des souris saines ou soumises à une douleur chronique pour une durée allant jusqu’à six heures. Nous avons même démontré que cet effet est plus efficace et durable que les antidouleurs utilisés couramment, comme l’ibuprofène ou la crème anesthésiante Emla (souvent utilisée lors de la vaccination).

Analgésie induite par la lumière (LIA) : l’illumination de la peau de rongeurs avec une simple lampe UV-A (appelée lumière noire) active les canaux TRAAK présents dans les terminaisons nerveuses des récepteurs de la douleur situés dans la zone exposée. Cette activation inhibe l’activité de ces récepteurs, qui cessent alors de transmettre des signaux douloureux vers le cerveau. Ce processus génère un effet analgésique net et prolongé, observé aussi bien chez le rat que chez la souris.
Fourni par l’auteur

Pourquoi cette découverte est-elle importante ?

Ce nouveau traitement est non invasif, peu coûteux et simple à mettre en place. De plus, l’analgésie induite par la lumière (LIA) ne requiert aucune injection ni traitement médicamenteux et permet de s’affranchir de tout effet secondaire ou d’interaction médicamenteuse. Ce dernier point en fait une véritable aubaine en expérimentation animale, en proposant une solution pour soulager la douleur sans avoir de répercussion sur les conclusions des expériences.

En effet, dans le cadre des expériences précliniques sur rongeurs, bien contrôler la douleur est essentiel, à la fois pour le bien-être des animaux et pour la fiabilité des résultats scientifiques. Une douleur mal prise en charge peut en effet modifier le fonctionnement de l’organisme et fausser les observations et conclusions de l’étude. Les solutions actuelles pour soulager la douleur reposent essentiellement sur des médicaments qui sont efficaces mais susceptibles d’induire des effets secondaires pouvant modifier les paramètres biologiques étudiés et ainsi fausser les résultats et conclusions de l’étude.

Au-delà du cadre de l’expérimentation animale, la LIA pourra être appliquée aux nouveaux animaux de compagnie pour une analgésie locale, rapide et robuste. Par exemple, un vétérinaire pourrait l’employer pour rendre plus supportable le nettoyage d’un abcès chez les hamsters.

Quelles sont les suites de cette étude ?

La LIA n’est pas applicable chez l’humain, une unique différence dans la séquence de TRAAK rend la lumière inefficace sur la version humaine de la protéine : la lumière n’aura donc aucun effet antidouleur.

Nous sommes tout de même très excités, car notre étude identifie TRAAK comme une cible prometteuse pour le développement de nouveaux traitements antidouleur, y compris chez l’humain (en l’activant d’une manière différente). Nous allons donc poursuivre nos travaux pour développer des molécules activant TRAAK et proposer une stratégie potentiellement plus efficace et plus ciblée que les antidouleurs disponibles actuellement sur le marché.

Enfin, même si nous avons déterminé le mécanisme moléculaire à l’origine de l’activation de TRAAK par la lumière, une question subsiste : pourquoi certaines espèces possèdent-elles une version activable à la lumière ? Cela joue-t-il un rôle physiologique, par exemple au niveau du rythme nocturne/diurne des espèces ou encore dans la vision ? Nous comptons bien trouver des explications en étudiant quelles espèces possèdent une protéine TRAAK sensible à la lumière et leurs caractéristiques écologiques.


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The Conversation

Marion Bied a reçu des financements de la Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (FRM).

Guillaume Sandoz a reçu des financements de la Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, l’Agence Nationale de la Recherche

ref. Allumer la lumière pour éteindre la douleur chez les rongeurs – https://theconversation.com/allumer-la-lumiere-pour-eteindre-la-douleur-chez-les-rongeurs-274751