'Soil probiotics' promise bigger, healthier crops, but there's a downside

By Adam Frew

More than half the worlds plant-derived energy intake comes from just three crops: rice, wheat and maize. These crops, like most land plants, live in an evolutionarily ancient partnership with a certain type of fungus,...

How will Australia's plan to move its embassy to Jerusalem affect relations with Indonesia?

By Hangga Fathana

Australias suggestion that it might move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem has upset Indonesia. Indonesia is not happy with Australias proposal as it indicates strong political support for Israel....

The English-only NT parliament is undermining healthy democracy by excluding Aboriginal languages

By Ben Grimes

After Yingiya Guyula was elected as a member to the NT Legislative Assembly in 2016, he rose to give his inaugural speech and started speaking in his first language, Yolngu Matha. Yolngu Matha is dominant language of...

A priest says sceptics should stop demanding proof of climate change, as that's not how science works

By Chris Mulherin

As an Anglican priest teaching in philosophy and in climate change at two universities, I am often asked about the difference between science and my own faith convictions. Isnt science about objective proof and evidence...

The hypocrisy of Québec's move to ban religious dress

By Richard Moon

The newly elected government of Québec has indicated that it intends to ban civil servants in positions of authority (including police officers and judges) from wearing religious dress or symbols such as the turban...

From 'Aboriginal' to 'Indigenous' in the Justin Trudeau era

By Mathieu Landriault

Justice and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples have been key priorities since Justin Trudeau was elected in October 2015. Prime Minister Trudeau and key cabinet ministers have often expressed their desire to strike...

How to avoid Lyme disease while ticks are hungry in the fall

By Katie M. Clow

Fall has arrived. This is the season that transforms our forests with a beautiful display of colour and fills our kitchens with the smell of pumpkin pie and apple cider. It also brings something far less pleasant to our...

Helping farmers in distress doesn't help them be the best: the drought relief dilemma

By Neal Hughes Et Al

Two years ago we were celebrating just about the best year for farmers ever. Now many farmers particularly in New South Wales and southern Queensland are in the grip of drought. It underlines just how variable the...

Requiem or renewal? This is how a tropical city like Darwin can regain its cool

By Lawrence Nield

On my way to work, I walk across the intersection of Knuckey and Wood streets. Most days a homeless man on his haunches is mouthing bureaucratic platitudes: Lets workshop this? We need to have meeting about this! Can...

Blood type, Pioppi, gluten-free and Mediterranean – which popular diets are fads?

By Clare Collins Et Al

Each year, new weight loss diets appear that promise to reveal the ultimate secret of success if only you buy the book, pills or potions. Fad diets might achieve short-term results but they are difficult to sustain in...

Digital diagnosis: How your smartphone or wearable device could forecast illness

By Caleb Ferguson Et Al

What if you could forecast sickness, before you even had any symptoms? Your smartphone and digital data might be able to help. If you carry your smartphone with you everywhere, then its probably already tracking a lot...

Australian literature’s legacies of cultural appropriation

By Michael R. Griffiths

Non-Indigenous Australian writers face a dilemma. On the one hand, they can risk writing about Aboriginal people and culture and getting it wrong. On the other, they can avoid writing about Aboriginal culture and...

A day to celebrate chemistry’s favorite unit — the mole. But what’s a mole?

By Tara S. Carpenter Et Al

On Oct. 23, between 6:02 a.m. and 6:02 p.m., chemists celebrate Mole Day. Mole Day is not a day to celebrate those furry little creatures that live in the ground. Rather, it is a day to celebrate a very important idea in...

Saudi Arabia is a repressive regime – but so are a lot of US allies

By Jeffrey Fields

The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul has put the United States relationship with the wealthy Gulf power under intense scrutiny. After weeks of denying any knowledge about...

Danske Bank: the story of Europe's biggest money laundering scandal

By Sean Curley

It is clear that Danske Bank has failed to live up to its responsibility in the case of possible money laundering in Estonia. So said Thomas Borgen, CEO of Denmarks biggest financial institution, when he resigned...

With a billion reasons not to trust super trustees, we need regulators to act in the public interest

By Samantha Hepburn

Did you think to yourself that taking money to which there was no entitlement raised a question of the criminal law? Commissioner Kenneth Hayne asked Nicole Smith, who resigned as chair of NABs superannuation trustee,...

One year on for Ardern's coalition government in New Zealand

By Richard Shaw

Shortly before last yearss general election in Aotearoa New Zealand, a Morrinsville farmer protesting the then opposition Labour Partys planned water tax held up a placard describing its newly minted leader, Jacinda...

When Thailand and Australia were closer neighbours, tectonically speaking

By Alan Collins Et Al

Thousands of Australians travel to Thailand each year to lie on a beach at Phuket, meditate at a Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, spot wild elephants at Khao Yai National Park, or go on some other adventure. But how many...

Bioenergy carbon capture: climate snake oil or the 1.5-degree panacea?

By Paul Behrens

With the release of the latest special report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, its time we talk frankly about Bioenergy Carbon Capture and Sequestration, known as BECCS. It is one of the key technologies...

VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on Morrison's pitch for the Jewish vote in Wentworth

By Michelle Grattan

Michelle Grattan discusses the week in Australian politics with University of Canberras deputy VC Nick Klomp. They discuss Scott Morrisons announcement regarding the possible relocation of Australias embassy to Jerusalem,...

What the world can learn from Greece's passion for the arts

By Constantine Passaris

Throughout the ages, Greece has created an inspiring legacy in the arts and culture. Renowned Greek philosophers, architects, sculptors, poets and playwrights like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Herodotus, Sophocles,...

The surprising secret to successful psychotherapy

By Edward A. Johnson

As a clinical psychologist and educator, I am often asked to recommend a psychotherapist for people in need. These requests come with a sense of urgency to find the best possible therapist. Many people are at a loss over...

Capitalism needs a reboot so that no industry is too big to fail

By Deborah de Lange

The financial crisis of 2008 has not led us to take sufficient steps to avoid the next economic disaster. The dips in stock markets last February and just recently, together with dire predictions for early 2019, are...

How we solved an Arctic mercury mystery

By Feiyue Wang

In the Canadian Arctic, a mystery has troubled scientists and local communities for decades: Why do marine animals in the western Arctic have higher mercury levels than those in the east? The trend is seen throughout...

Pacific nations aren't cash-hungry, minister, they just want action on climate change

By Katerina Teaiwa

Environment Minister Melissa Price has been trending on Twitter this week and not for any good environmental reasons. Price was introduced to the former president of Kiribati, Anote Tong, during a dinner at a Canberra...

The Morrison government's biggest economic problem? Climate change denial

By Judith Brett

Last week Peter Costello accused Malcolm Turnbull of failing to develop an economic narrative to unite the Coalition. Turnbull promised this when he challenged Tony Abbott for the leadership of the Liberal Party, but, said...

Family as 'brand' – the rise of the digital mumpreneur

By Camilla Nelson

Taylen has become a brand, says Angelica Calad, the mumpreneur behind the #influencer account #taylensmom. Taylen Biggs, age five, has more than 150,000 followers. In an era of advertising ennui, #influencers like Taylens...

With the right help, bears can recover from the torture of bile farming

By Edward Narayan

Bear bile farms, which exist in some Asian countries like Vietnam and China, are a terrible reality for Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus). The bears spend their lives confined in tiny steel or concrete cages. They...

From peaceful coexistence to potential peril: the bacteria that live in and on us

By Mark Blaskovich

Bacteria are everywhere, including in and on our bodies. There are estimated to be as many bacteria in a human body as there are human cells. Much like Pig Pen in the comic strip Peanuts, we actually carry around a...

Please don't dismiss the PC inquiry into mental health as 'just another inquiry'

By Allan Fels

While chairing the National Mental Health Commission I pushed hard for an all-encompassing review of mental health, and I have welcomed the recent announcement that the Productivity Commission will conduct one. But Ive...

The housing market might deflate, but it might pop. Here's how

By Richard Holden

There are two things that can happen to an asset price bubble. It can burst dramatically, or deflate slowly. Which brings us to the Australian housing market. Prices in Sydney and Melbourne continue to decline at a...

Reimagining Sydney: this is what needs to be done to make a Central City CBD work

By Tooran Alizadeh

In my article yesterday showing how far Greater Parramatta is from hosting one of three metropolitan CBDs proposed by the Greater Sydney Commission, the verdict was clear: The Sydney metropolis has a very long and...

A Goblin could guide us to a mystery planet thought to exist in the Solar system

By Jonti Horner Et Al

Out in the depths of the Solar system, astronomers recently discovered a small, icy object, named 2015 TG387. First observed in October 2015, it has been nicknamed The Goblin by its discoverers. It is currently almost...

Oxford-style debate: Ethno-nationalism and systemic crisis are symptoms of the present

By Gazi Islam

In his 1999 book The Bridge over the Racial Divide, William Julius Wilson wrote that economic insecurity creates conditions that hollow out the civic values of liberal democracy, and constitutes the breeding grounds for...

We tracked coral feeding habits from space to find out which reefs could be more resilient

By Michael D. Fox Et Al

Coral reefs are an invaluable source of food, economic revenue, and protection for millions of people worldwide. The three-dimensional structures built by corals also provide nourishment and shelter for over a quarter of...

How the stigma of contagion keeps alive Romantic notions of how the Brontës died

By Jo Waugh

Bizarrely, the idea that Branwell Bront had sex with his sister Emily appears to have been more palatable than the idea that he might have given her tuberculosis or that the infection might have passed to Anne from either...

Prince William shows conservation still has a problem with 'white saviours'

By Hannah Mumby

Prince William recently spoke at one of the largest illegal wildlife summits ever held in London. He said, Poaching is an economic crime against ordinary people and their futures. The quote could have been better....

Pesticides and suicide prevention – why research needs to be put into practice

By Duleeka Knipe Et Al

As many as 800,000 people around the world die every year by suicide, with 76% of these deaths in low and middle income countries like India and China. Between 110,000 and 168,000 people die from self-poisoning using...

How the EU's identity crisis poses a real threat to peace in the Balkans

By Timothy Less

It is a truism that Europe is in crisis. Its central authority, the European Union, has overreached with its determination to unify the continent, intruding too deeply into its ancient nations sovereign affairs. The...

Scott Morrison braces for judgement by Malcolm Turnbull's old voters

By Michelle Grattan

With a mix of gall and desperation, Scott Morrison appeals to the electors of Wentworth to vote for stability. He warns against sending the government into minority rule, forced to ignore the fact that if this happened the...

Can the UN address root causes of conflict? Arab Spring case study

By Tuba Turan

From 2010 to 2012, Arab states in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region experienced dramatic upheavals in what came to be known as the Arab Spring. These popular uprisings were triggered by an economic downturn...

What's needed to do a better job of pre-empting disease outbreaks

By William B Karesh

The concept of One Health is deceptively simple: its the recognition that human, animal and environmental health are all inherently linked. Put into practice, it means approaching global health issues such as disease...

Modern slavery: migrants forced to work gruelling hours at hand car washes

By Akilah Jardine

Chances are you will have seen them, at the side of the road, at petrol stations or supermarket car parks. You might have even used one with low competitive pricing and a quick finish, its hard not to feel like a hand car...

Do some people really want to get HIV? I spoke 'bug chasers' around the world to find out

By Jaime García-Iglesias

Why would anybody want to get infected with HIV? That is what most people ask when they first hear about bug chasing. In fact, a number of gay men, at least online, appear to clamour for HIV. They are known as bug chasers...

Europe's set to blast off to Mercury – here's the rocket science

By David Rothery

The European Space Agency (ESA) will launch its BepiColombo mission to the planet Mercury from its spaceport near the equator in Kourou, French Guyana, on October 20. My involvement in the mission means that I will be...

The problem with using 'super recognisers' to spot criminals in a crowd

By Emma Portch

People often say that they never forget a face, but for some people, this claim might actually be true. So-called super recognisers are said to possess exceptional face recognition abilities, often remembering the faces of...

Why the world needs more women CEOs

By Kiran Trehan

Female CEOs of large firms are a rare breed. In the US in 2015, there were more CEOs called John running big companies in the US than women. In 2016, there were only six female CEOs in the firms covered by the FTSE 100...

Blockchains won't fix internet voting security – and could make it worse

By Ari Juels Et Al

Looking to modernize voting practices, speed waiting times at the polls, increase voter turnout and generally make voting more convenient, many government officials and some companies hawking voting systems are looking...

Trump sees opportunity in Venezuela's humanitarian crisis as midterms approach

By Marco Aponte-Moreno

President Donald Trump has spoken forcefully about the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, calling it a human tragedy at the United Nations General Assembly in September. Venezuelas humanitarian crisis which began in...

What Thomas Jefferson, Donald Trump and the American people think about freedom of the press

By Jill Darling Et Al

No government ought to be without censors and where the press is free no one ever will, wrote Thomas Jefferson to George Washington. It is a powerful description of press freedom and the crucial role of the press in a...