Population DNA testing for disease risk is coming. Here are five things to know

By Paul Lacaze Et Al

DNA testing to predict disease risk has the potential to prevent disease and save lives. Yet few Australians can currently access predictive DNA testing via the health-care system. That may soon change. As technology...

From gun control to HIV: six ingredients of successful public policy

By Joannah Luetjens Et Al

In the lead up to the recent federal election, there was plenty of negative rhetoric about current policy settings. Piecing together the various messages, it seems we have entered an armageddon of poor fiscal management,...

Gamers use machine learning to navigate complex video games – but it's not free

By Ben Egliston

Some of the worlds most popular video games track your activity as you play but theyre not just gathering data for business or marketing purposes. Theyre accumulating information about the way you and others play the...

EU elections: Six countries seen by six experts

By Anamaria Dutceac Segesten Et Al

In advance of the 2019 elections for the European Parliament, The Conversation France asked experts from six European countries to weigh in : The Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, as well as...

Snack-sized 'candy' fish explain a coral mystery

By Simon Brandl Et Al

Youre swimming over a coral reef. What do you see? Most people will reply: fish. On a coral reef, fish are large, abundant, gaudily coloured and in-your-face impossible to miss. The waters around coral reefs must be...

How South Africa's universities are making more students multilingual

By Zakeera Docrat Et Al

South Africa is a multilingual, multicultural space. As is the case for many other countries in Africa, it has a number of official languages 11. Although the South African Constitution, other legislation and some...

The Constitution dictates that impeachment must not be partisan

By Peter Brandon Bayer

Barely two decades since the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the people of the United States again are confronting the possibility that their president, now Donald Trump, could be impeached, meaning charged by the House of...

Arsenal's Mkhitaryan omission from Europa League Baku final highlights football’s global politics at its most fragile

By Simon Chadwick

When English Premier League sides Chelsea and Arsenal meet in UEFAs Europa League final on May 29, one of the latters big name players will not be with his team. Henrikh Mkhitaryan wont be playing in the match one of the...

Blocking Huawei from Australia means slower and delayed 5G – and for what?

By Stanley Shanapinda

The United States and Australia are deliberately restricting the place of Chinese telco Huawei in their telecommunications landscapes. Were told these changes will be worth it from a security point of view. But...

Eastern China pinpointed as source of rogue ozone-depleting emissions

By Paul Krummel Et Al

A mysterious rebound in the emissions of ozone-depleting chemicals despite a global ban stretching back almost a decade has been traced to eastern China. Research published by an international team today in Nature...

Rethinking tourism so the locals actually benefit from hosting visitors

By Freya Higgins-Desbiolles

Tourism today has a problem and needs an entire rethink. Pundits are debating overtourism, peak tourism and tourismphobia. Cities such as Barcelona, Venice and Dubrovnik are witnessing a backlash against imposed forms of...

Zero-carbon electric transport is already in reach for small islands

By Tom Rogers Et Al

At a recent talk on the UKs energy sector, the head of an electric utility company claimed that the problem of decarbonising our electricity sector is fixed. Eyebrows were raised at this, but his point quickly became...

View from The Hill: Should Labor jump to new generation leader - and Morrison steal some Shorten policies?

By Michelle Grattan

Scott Morrisons spectacular win, against all expectations, is attributable to a potent mix of his strengths and Labors weaknesses. Morrison, it turns out, was made in some political heaven where they forge ideal...

Minor parties perform well in federal election and reconfirm the power of preference deals

By Chris Salisbury

This was an election brimming with surprises and shocks. An unexpected Coalition victory, and the inaccuracy of opinion poll predictions, have many scratching their heads in the post-election wash-up. What didnt defy...

Eurovision shock: is ironic appreciation unnecessary as slick singing styles reign?

By Matthew Sini

This years Eurovision Song Contest was perhaps the most controversial in its more than half a century history. Held in Tel Aviv, calls for boycotts rang out on social media and elsewhere because of Israels treatment of...

Tears and rage – the rise of the emotional release industry

By Leighanne Higgins Et Al

When Ariana Grande cried on stage recently, following her performance of an emotionally laden song, she later took to Twitter to apologise and thanked her fans for accepting her humaneness. Producing emotional tears is a...

States – not just Congress – should unlock student financial aid for people in prison

By Bradley D. Custer

When it comes to higher education in prison, much of the media and advocacy focus is on trying to get Congress to lift a longstanding ban on giving Pell Grants to people serving time. While a bipartisan effort to...

Ramadan: how a new generation of British Muslims are becoming more green

By Barylo Barylo

Muslims worldwide are about to enter the second half of Ramadan, a month widely known to the public as one for fasting. However, growing concerns around the environmental crisis and social struggles across the globe have...

We've declared a climate emergency – here's what universal basic income could do to help the planet

By Mark Maslin Et Al

Governments around the world are declaring climate and environmental emergencies to highlight the unsustainable ways in which humans, over a few generations, have transformed the planet. Weve made enough concrete to...

South Africans don't trust companies to protect their data privacy

By Adele Da Veiga

Consumers expect that organisations will respect their privacy. For instance, when you buy something online, you take it for granted that your bank details will be kept secure. Or if you provide your identity number at a...

European elections guide: how to vote if you support Brexit

By Chris Stafford

The European Elections werent supposed to involve the UK. But the UK is still a member of the EU, having failed to agree a Brexit deal, so it is obliged to hold elections for the European Parliament. Excluding the...

Viruses to stop cholera infections – the viral enemy of deadly bacteria could be humanity's friend

By Andrew Camilli Et Al

In the latest of a string of high-profile cases in the U.S., a cocktail of bacteria-killing viruses successfully treated a cystic fibrosis patient suffering from a deadly infection caused by a pathogen that was resistant...

The US could have ended up with a British-style health care system: Here is why it didn’t

By Simon F. Haeder

The role of government in the U.S. health care system has been contentious long before the recent emergence of Medicare-For-All proposals among Democratic presidential candidates. Advocates of so-called free-market health...

Hydropower dams can harm coastal areas far downstream

By Paula Ezcurra Et Al

Thousands of hydroelectric dams are under construction around the world, mainly in developing countries. These enormous structures are one of the worlds largest sources of renewable energy, but they also cause...

What's behind the belief in a soulmate?

By Bradley Onishi

The United States appears to be in a romantic slump. Marriage rates have plummeted over the last decade. And compared to previous generations, young single people today are perhaps spending more time on social media than...

Why letting the IRS decide the future of news is a bad idea

By Magda Konieczna

After nearly 150 years in business as a business The Salt Lake Tribune wants to become a nonprofit. But first its owner must get approval from the Internal Revenue Service. The federal agency in charge of collecting...

Why is the Pentagon interested in UFOs?

By Iain Boyd

U.S. Navy pilots and sailors wont be considered crazy for reporting unidentified flying objects, under new rules meant to encourage them to keep track of what they see. Yet just a few years ago, the Pentagon reportedly...

How Japan's renewables-powered Olympics could kick off a global race for clean energy

By Niki J.P. Alsford

Japan is aiming to host the first Olympic Games powered solely by renewable sources. If successful, this could help the country carve a new niche in the global order as a champion of climate action and environmental...

South Africa has a new presidential advisory unit. Will it improve policy?

By Alan Hirsch

South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa is establishing a unit in the presidency which he hopes will improve policy development and coordination. This is an important initiative designed to help him address the huge...

You are what you vote: the social and demographic factors that influence your vote

By Rob J Hyndman Et Al

Australia has changed in many ways over the past two decades. Rising house prices, country-wide improvements in education, an ageing population, and a decline in religious affiliation, are just some of the ways it has...

Australians disagree on how important climate change is: poll

By Michelle Baddeley Et Al

Climate change, the environment and energy policy are all key issues in this election campaign, fuelled by compelling evidence of our accelerating impact on the environment and climate. While voters agree more than you...

Babies and toddlers are living with their mums in prison. We need to look after them better

By Jane Rosemary Walker Et Al

Women are going to prison at a higher rate than ever in Australia. Our tough sentencing policies sent women to prison at twice the rate of England and Wales in 2018. At least one in two imprisoned women in Australia has...

The circular economy: Four million business models and counting

By Florian Lüdeke-Freund

Many ideas for the design of business models for the circular economy have been put forward. Some are based on case studies, others derived from theory. But why is it so difficult to provide a comprehensive overview of...

Rape myths like 'stranger danger' challenged by global drug survey

By Alex Aldridge Et Al

Many of the beliefs people hold about rape are downright wrong. For example, women are often told they can avoid sexual assault by monitoring how much alcohol they drink on a night out. Dont leave your drink unattended and...

Could the solution to osteoporosis be in the bile?

By Laura Alejandra Velazquez Villegas

Osteoporosis is a degenerative disease where the bone density and quality are reduced. This disease is associated with substantial pain and disability leading to devastating long-term physical and psychological...

Is Trump’s trade war saving American jobs – or killing them?

By Jeffrey Kucik

With the U.S.-China trade war intensifying, there is a lot of talk about whether tariffs save American jobs as President Donald Trump claims or destroy them. On May 14, for example, Trump said his tariffs helped save...

Interactive: Everything you need to know about Adani – from cost, environmental impact and jobs to its possible future

By Madeleine De Gabriele Et Al

Its a 50km long patch in the middle of Queensland thats causing a lot of trouble, but many people couldnt even point it out on a map. Queensland Government - Coordinated Projects Map The Adani Carmichael coal mine has...

The secret history of News Corp: a media empire built on spreading propaganda

By Sally Young

News Corp must have been startled to find itself becoming one of the major issues in this election campaign. But this is just another sign that, in recent years, the companys ability to read the public mood has gone wildly...

Real estate agents targeting tenants is the lowest of the low blows during election 2019

By Danielle Wood

The lowest blow of this election campaign may have come from a firm of real estate agents that abused its position of trust to scare renters about Labors proposed negative gearing changes. If you are one of those...

Cutting penalty rates was supposed to create jobs. It hasn't, and here's why not

By Martin O'Brien

After three years of submissions, hearings and deliberations, Australias workplace relations umpire, the Fair Work Commission, decided in 2017 to decrease the penalty rates paid to retail and hospitality workers on the...

The Murujuga Mermaid: how rock art in WA sheds light on historic encounters of Australian exploration

By Alistair Paterson Et Al

It is understandable that Captain Cook is a trigger for debates about our national identity and history. However, we often risk being blinded by the legacy of Cook. Around the continent, early encounters with outsiders...

So you're thinking of going into a nursing home? Here's what you'll have to pay for

By Laura Davy

This week at the aged care royal commission hearings, the CEOs of three aged care providers called for a change in the way residential aged care is funded to improve the quality of care. This followed a plea from Aged...

Plastic warms the planet twice as much as aviation – here's how to make it climate-friendly

By Laurie Wright

Were all too aware of the consequences of plastics in the oceans and on land. However, beyond the visible pollution of our once pristine habitats, plastics are having a grave impact on the climate too. Newly published...

Trophy hunting in Africa: the case for viable, sustainable alternatives

By Muchazondida Mkono

For decades, the public has been fed the myth that trophy hunting is absolutely necessary for sustainable conservation in Africa. Some sections of the academy, as well as the hunting lobby, continue to argue that banning...

UK military amnesty for historic prosecutions could breach international human rights law

By Alan Greene

The UKs new defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, has been quick to stamp her authority on the office by announcing plans to introduce an amnesty on historical prosecutions for UK military veterans. She has also announced her...

Why scientists alone can't solve the antibiotic resistance crisis, we need economists too

By Laurence Roope Et Al

Driven by widespread antibiotic use, bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to treatment, and the pipeline for new antibiotics is running dry. Recent reports estimate that, without action, by 2050...

Is a war coming between the US and Iran?

By Scott Lucas

You cant say the world wasnt warned. In February, US National Security Adviser John Bolton a leading proponent of the disastrous 2003 Iraq War sent a video message to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 40...

Debate: How financial initiatives that tackle global warming can make a real impact

By Céline Louche Et Al

Awareness and concern over climate change and its impacts has risen sharply in recent years. According to a December 2018 survey by Yale University, 73 percent of Americans now say that global warming is real, up 10...

Front-of-pack nutrition labels: 'The parmesan and prosciutto war'

By Serge Hercberg Et Al

In a May 6 press release, the Italian government openly criticised an upcoming report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) intended to provide guiding principles and a framework for front-of-pack nutrition labelling in...

The sounds of orgasms: A study on the sex life of rats informs human sexual behaviour

By Gonzalo R. Quintana Zunino Et Al

Rats have similar physiological reactions to humans when it comes to sex, and perhaps also to orgasm. In fact, a good deal of what we know about what happens in our brains during orgasm comes from the laboratory...