Life quickly finds a way: the surprisingly swift end to evolution's big bang

By Mike Lee Et Al

The Cambrian explosion more than 500 million years ago is often considered biologys big bang. Virtually all the major kinds of animals evolved in lifes greatest ever burst of evolution, rapidly populating a weird and...

Best Picture at the Oscars? Why it has to be The Favourite out of a weak bunch

By Ari Mattes

2018 was a good year for cinema but this is not reflected in the Oscar nominations for Best Picture. This years nominees are notable mainly for their mediocrity. There are, of course, a couple of exceptions. The...

How Australia made poisoning animals normal

By Justine M. Philip

One of the many difficulties faced by the pioneers of Australias sheep industry was finding a reliable shepherd. Among the convict labour available, for every two experienced farm labourers there were five convicted sheep,...

Mexican war on drugs has, in places, decreased life expectancy

By José Manuel Aburto Et Al

Most countries in the world have experienced sizeable improvements in health, living standards and life expectancy since the second half of the 20th century. In Mexico, life expectancy increased for more than six decades ...

Making cities more walkable by understanding how other people influence our journeys

By Ruth Dalton

Cities around the world are changing to become more walkable. As more and more people move to cities, the benefits of encouraging people to walk are clear. Aside from making the urban environment more pleasant, safer and...

Taking stock of postgraduate students in open and distance learning institutions

By Nhlanhla Mpofu Et Al

High graduation rates are essential for innovation in modern industrialised societies. This is particularly true for postgraduate degrees. Thats because people who hold postgraduate qualifications have acquired the skills...

Trump may seek more punishment of Cuba

By William M. LeoGrande

President Donald Trump may soon do a huge favor for Cubas wealthy, upper-class exiles, many of whom are now U.S. citizens living in Miami. Some of them still dream of recouping their lost fortunes in Cuba, and Trump may...

'Smiling depression': it's possible to be depressed while appearing happy – here's why that's particularly dangerous

By Olivia Remes

The term smiling depression appearing happy to others while internally suffering depressive symptoms has become increasingly popular. Articles on the topic have crept up in the popular literature, and the number of...

Indict or shut up: The public may never see a report from Mueller's investigation

By Stanley M. Brand

Almost from the day of Robert Muellers appointment as special counsel, the media and the public have expected that his investigation will end with a report to either the Congress or the public or both. Im a law school...

Labour split: new independent group of MPs could break Britain's political deadlock

By Richard Carr

The rumours of a breakaway centrist movement have finally come to fruition. Frustrated at Labours supine approach to Brexit, and understandably angered by the leaderships attitude towards anti-Semitism within the party,...

What happens to the natural world if all the insects disappear?

By Stuart Reynolds

There are an awful lot of insects. Its hard to say exactly how many because 80% havent yet been described by taxonomists, but there are probably about 5.5m species. Put that number together with other kinds of animals with...

Army recruitment: video game campaign raises big questions about targeting children

By Nick Robinson

The decision by the British army to place a glossy supplement inside the plastic wrap for the February 2019 issues of both the official Xbox and PlayStation magazines in the UK has created an overwhelmingly hostile...

In Indonesia, young and old share fake news on social media

By Kunto Adi Wibowo Et Al

Recent research from the US shows that baby boomers or people over 65 years old with conservative political views are more likely than other age groups to share fake news through social media. Not in Indonesia. Our...

Technology is useful, but drones alone won't save Africa's elephants

By Ross Harvey

Technology has made a tremendous difference in the world, in areas as diverse as health and education, and pretty much everything in between. But is technology the weapon that will ultimately eradicate animal poaching...

Health check: will eating nuts make you gain weight?

By Elizabeth Neale Et Al

The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend we eat 30g of nuts a small handful each day. But many of us know nuts are high in calories and fat. So should we be eating nuts or will they make us gain weight? In...

The survivors of clergy sexual abuse who finally pushed the Vatican to recognize the problem

By Brian Clites

The Vaticans decision to defrock Cardinal Theodore McCarrick comes just days before the worlds leading bishops gather in Rome for a summit on the clergy sexual abuse crisis. The bishops were instructed to meet with...

Must the president be a moral leader?

By Michael Blake

The best presidents including figures such as Abraham Lincoln and George Washington are celebrated not only as good leaders, but as good men. They embody not simply political skill, but personal virtue. Why, though,...

Budget-friendly ways to get your veggie fix as prices rise

By Sylvain Charlebois

The Food Price Report 2019, released by Dalhousie University and the University of Guelph in December, suggested vegetable prices will go up by as much as six per cent this year. Thats significant because, unlike meat or...

Routine blackouts in Haiti symbolize a loss of political power for its citizens

By Greg Beckett

Haitis public utility company just announced its reducing output again. The move comes after a series of blackouts throughout the country, some lasting weeks. The power outages are the result of a weeks-long fuel shortage...

How to keep your pets safe from marijuana poisoning

By Colleen Dell Et Al

If you live with a pet, there is a good chance you consider it to be a member of your family. It is well established that companion animals, ranging from cats and dogs through to birds and rodents, can have a positive...

Heartbreak becomes burnout for teachers when work is turbulent

By Astrid Helene Kendrick

Teaching is often known as a trial by fire profession. In many countries, well-prepared teachers leave the profession at alarming rates, including in Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United...

Don't overlook residents' role in apartment building safety

By Matthew Bell

For many of us, the reality of Australian homes now sits many storeys up in the sky. High-rise apartment buildings have sprouted across the nations cities. In recent weeks on Christmas Eve at the Opal Tower building in...

In debates about drug use, fun is important

By Jennifer Power

Millions of Australians use, or have used, illicit substances at some point in their life, while millions more are regular users of legal drugs such as alcohol, tobacco or sleeping pills. While some people become heavy...

Why do parents kill their children? The facts about filicide in Australia

By Terry Goldsworthy

A six-month-old baby was killed earlier this week in what is suspected to be a murder-suicide. Police are investigating whether the child was killed by its father, after their bodies were found in a car on the Sunshine...

If needed, this man can and will cut rates during the election campaign

By Richard Holden

It was a great story. Philip Lowe had taken over as Reserve Bank governor after 25 years of uninterrupted economic growth. The Australian economy was transitioning nicely away from the countrys biggest-ever mining boom....

Self-harm and social media: a knee-jerk ban on content could actually harm young people

By Anna Lavis Et Al

Professor Dame Sally Davies, Englands chief medical officer, has argued that social media companies have a duty of care to keep children safe. Davies guidance comes as the health secretary, Matt Hancock, is due to meet...

How the brain remembers amputated limbs – and continues to control them

By Harriet Dempsey-Jones

Most people who have lost a limb still feel its presence decades later. This phenomenon, dubbed phantom limb, has long been a mystery. But with new ultra-high resolution brain scanning, are now able to look inside the...

Rising seas: to keep humans safe, let nature shape the coast

By Iris Möller

Even under the most conservative climate change scenarios, sea levels 30cm higher than at present seem all but certain on much of the UKs coast by the end of this century. Depending on emission scenarios, sea levels one...

Eating more fruit and vegetables linked to better mental well-being – new study

By Neel Ocean Et Al

It is well known that eating lots of fruit and vegetables is good for your physical health, but our latest research suggests that it might be good for your mental health too. An study from Australia in 2016 found...

Should I stay or should I go? Brexit is forcing City firms to make some tough decisions

By Ioannis Glinavos

The City of London has not been as vocal as other industry sectors during the Brexit negotiations, but it is perceived to be dissatisfied. The UKs future relationship with the EU remains unclear and if theres one thing...

The World Bank needs deep reforms to reflect a changing world order

By Mzukisi Qobo Et Al

The sudden resignation of World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has rekindled debate about leadership succession and the mission of the international financial institution. US president Donald Trump has nominated his...

Brexit turmoil: five ways British MPs misunderstand the European Union

By Christoph Meyer

With Theresa May on her way back to Brussels in an attempt to renegotiate a Brexit deal that has already been agreed, its once again clear that she and the parliamentary colleagues who sent her on her journey still harbour...

Did academia kill jazz?

By Adam Gustafson

Jazz seems to be experiencing a bit of a renaissance among movie directors look no further than documentaries such as Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool, which just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, biopics such as...

Journalism needs an audience to survive, but isn't sure how to earn its loyalty

By Jacob L. Nelson

Journalism is in the midst of an existential crisis: the profession has undergone decades of declines in readership, revenue and public trust, with no obvious end in sight. Many in the industry believe that the best way...

Why stop at plastic bags and straws? The case for a global treaty banning most single-use plastics

By Anastasia Telesetsky

Single-use plastics are a blessing and a curse. They have fueled a revolution in commercial and consumer convenience and improved hygiene standards, but also have saturated the worlds coastlines and clogged landfills. By...

Fossil fuels are bad for your health and harmful in many ways besides climate change

By Noel Healy Et Al

Many Democratic lawmakers aim to pass a Green New Deal, a package of policies that would mobilize vast amounts of money to create new jobs and address inequality while fighting climate change. Led by Rep. Alexandria...

Why the US has higher drug prices than other countries

By Simon F. Haeder

Spending on pharmaceuticals is on the rise worldwide. And it well should be. Today, we are able to cure some diseases like hepatitis C that were virtual death sentences just a few years ago. This progress required...

Amazon HQ2: Texas experience shows why New Yorkers should be skeptical

By Nathan Jensen Et Al

New York offered Amazon close to US$3 billion to build a second headquarters in Long Island City on the promise of 25,000 jobs. Since the deal was joyfully announced in November, however, many local residents and some...

Vegan or Mediterranean diet – which is better for heart health?

By Markos Klonizakis

Cardiovascular disease is responsible for more than 30% of the total number of deaths worldwide, and every year more people are being diagnosed with the condition. In 2015, more than 85m people in Europe were living with...

Why are Australians still using Facebook?

By Deborah Lupton

This weeks marks 15 years since Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg first set up the platform with his college roommate Eduardo Saverin. Since then, Facebook has grown into a giant global enterprise. The platform now has...

Tax breaks could soften the blow of a national pharmacare plan

By Jaden Brandt Et Al

The news last week that the federal government may include part of the cost of prescription drugs in the spring budget suggests Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be planning to campaign on a narrow form of pharmacare...

Canadians are rightly worried about invasion of privacy in smart cities

By Sara Bannerman

In January 2019, Liberal MP Adam Vaughan argued that privacy concerns about the smart city proposed for Torontos waterfront should not be allowed to reverse 25 years of good, solid work and 40 years of dreaming on the...

For the love of technology! Sex robots and virtual reality

By Neil McArthur Et Al

Sex as we know it is about to change. We are already living through a new sexual revolution, thanks to technologies that have transformed the way we relate to each other in our intimate relationships. But we believe...

The collapse of the US-Russia INF Treaty makes arms control a global priority

By Ramesh Thakur

On October 20 2018, US President Donald Trump announced he intends to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) an arms control treaty with Russia that contributed to the end of the Cold...

What has Australia learned from Black Saturday?

By Kevin Tolhurst

Black Saturday was a day like no other; it will be forever remembered in the history of bushfire disasters in Australia. The fires burned about 300,000 hectares in a single day; 173 human lives were lost and more than...

How a bushfire can destroy a home

By Douglas Brown

Ten years after the devastation of Black Saturday, building design has largely been unrecognised as an area worthy of research. We have advanced our knowledge of the materials used in the construction of homes in...

Does microdosing improve your mood and performance? Here's what the research says

By Vince Polito

Microdosing means regularly taking very small doses of psychedelic substances such as LSD or psilocybin (magic mushrooms) over a period of weeks or months. The practice has made countless headlines over the past couple of...

Can bees do maths? Yes – new research shows they can add and subtract

By Scarlett Howard Et Al

The humble honeybee can use symbols to perform basic maths including addition and subtraction, shows new research published today in the journal Science Advances. Bee have miniature brains - but they can learn basic...

Where are the in-depth documentaries calling to account the institutions that are failing us?

By Steve Thomas

There is no shortage of documentary makers out there experienced and emerging who are ready and willing to bring Australian stories to worldwide audiences. But the ever shrinking pool of funding on which they can draw...

Mindful eating: the Victorian food trend that could help you lose weight and transform your health

By Lauren Alex O' Hagan

In recent years, mindfulness defined as a mental state or attitude in which one focuses ones awareness on the present moment has become embedded into our everyday language. Mindfulness has helped many people to develop...