Who's to blame when a self-driving car has an accident?

By Francesco Biondi

With self-driving cars gaining traction in todays automobile landscape, the issue of legal liability in the case of an accident has become more relevant. Research in human-vehicle interaction has shown time and again...

Marvel’s first on-screen Muslim superhero — Kamala Khan, Ms. Marvel's alter-ego — inspires big hopes

By Safiyya Hosein

Amid the stress of a rising second wave of COVID-19, comic book fans found something to celebrate this September. Marvel Studios announced the casting of its first on-screen Muslim superhero, Kamala Khan, the alter-ego of...

Mars colony: how to make breathable air and fuel from brine – new research

By David Rothery

NASA is planning to land a crew on the Moon by 2024, and then onward to Mars, possibly in the 2030s. One day, we will have permanently crewed bases on both worlds. Unlike the initial short-stay visits, long-term bases will...

Following a t-shirt from cotton field to landfill shows the true cost of fast fashion

By Mark Sumner

With many shops closed due to pandemic restrictions, Black Friday 2020 might have looked different from the frantic buying sprees of years past. But one thing remained the same: the relentless pace of fast fashion....

What history teaches us about shaping South Africa's new cannabis laws

By Thembisa Waetjen

South African cannabis policy is currently at a crossroads. In 2018, the Constitutional Court effectively decriminalised private cannabis use. Since then, the government has continued to grapple with how to regulate this...

Time spent on smartphones not linked to mental health problems – new research

By Heather Shaw Et Al

Smartphones have become an essential part of daily life. On the other hand, theres no shortage of research pointing towards supposed negative effects of smartphone use, with some even claiming that the more time you spend...

An all-out trade war with China would cost Australia 6% of GDP

By Rod Tyers Et Al

China accounts for more than a third of export dollars earned by Australia. The figures, for the 12 months to October, cover the period of coronavirus disruptions and disputes over trade. They apply to physical...

Australia demands apology from China over 'repugnant' slur on Twitter

By Michelle Grattan

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has demanded China apologise for and Twitter remove a highly offensive tweet depicting an Australian soldier with a knife to the throat of a child. Morrison described the tweet as...

Face masks cut disease spread in the lab, but have less impact in the community. We need to know why

By Paul Glasziou Et Al

In controlled laboratory situations, face masks appear to do a good job of reducing the spread of coronavirus (at least in hamsters) and other respiratory viruses. However, evidence shows mask-wearing policies seem to have...

SpaceX's Starlink satellites are about to ruin stargazing for everyone

By Samantha Lawler

I walk outside my rural Saskatchewan house before dawn and look up, expecting to have my breath taken away by the sheer number of stars overhead. Im a professional astronomer, but I still appreciate naked-eye stargazing as...

CBD sales soaring, but evidence still slim that the cannabis derivative makes a difference for anxiety or pain

By Hilary A. Marusak

Many people have turned to cannabis and its derivatives as they search for pandemic relief, and one of the most widely available ones is CBD. It is also legal and readily available. You can buy oils, tinctures, capsules,...

We may have to accept a 'good enough' COVID-19 vaccine, at least in 2021

By Paul Komesaroff Et Al

Australian health minister Greg Hunt said recently the government is on track to deliver COVID-19 vaccines from March 2021. US biotech firm Moderna has just announced its COVID-19 vaccine has 95% efficacy, following on...

San Francisco just banned gas in all new buildings. Could it ever happen in Australia?

By Madeline Taylor Et Al

Last week San Francisco became the latest city to ban natural gas in new buildings. The legislation will see all new construction, other than restaurants, use electric power only from June 2021, to cut greenhouse gas...

Hoarding, stockpiling, panic buying: What's normal behavior in an abnormal time?

By Carol Mathews

Symptoms of depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorders have emerged or worsened for many during the pandemic. This is no surprise to clinicians and scientists, who have been increasing worldwide access to...

We brewed beer from recycled wastewater – and it tasted great

By Leland Jackson

As the Earths population grows and approaches a projected 9.7 billion by 2050, the worlds freshwaters will face mounting pressure to supply the needs of population growth. Approximately 33 per cent of people do not have...

Digital privacy and Covid-19: between a paradox and a hard place

By Florencio Travieso

The situation in which the world is currently living is extraordinary in every sense of the word: since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been over 53 million confirmed cases and more than 1.3 million...

Moderna follows Pfizer with exciting vaccine news – how to read these dramatic developments

By Simon Kolstoe

It is very exciting to hear another positive story about vaccine trial results a good vaccine is the most likely way of ending the pandemic. Last week, interim results from Pfizer suggested its vaccine reduces cases of...

After a nuclear war, the world’s emergency food supply could be seafood — if overfishing stops now

By Eric Galbraith Et Al

People in wealthy, industrialized countries are used to finding their supermarket shelves fully stocked. Yet for a brief period early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some of those shelves emptied out, as panic drove shoppers to...

Biden’s stance against fossil fuels didn't turn away voters in Pennsylvania and other key states

By Sibo Chen

The United States election results have been a nail-biter that many polls did not predict. After days of uncertainty, the votes have tipped in favour of Joe Biden, and the U.S. president-elect has since kicked off his...

A circular economy could end waste – at the cost of our privacy

By Nigel Walton Et Al

In a circular economy, we wouldnt have any waste or pollution. Instead, everything we make and all our byproducts would be reused or repurposed, helping to end the over-exploitation of our finite resources and damage to...

Hydrogen: where is low-carbon fuel most useful for decarbonisation?

By Tom Baxter Et Al

Is hydrogen the lifeblood of a low-carbon future, or an overhyped distraction from real solutions? One thing is certain the coal, oil and natural gas which currently power much of daily life must be phased out within...

What's next for the Republicans after Trump? Here are 5 are reasons for pessimism — and 5 reasons for hope

By Timothy J. Lynch

In a post-election poll for the University of Melbournes US election webinar series we asked the several hundred people in the audience if President Donald Trumps defeat would mean the death of Trumpism. A full 92% said...

Joe Biden wins US presidential election as mail-in votes turn key states around

By Adrian Beaumont

Pennsylvania and Nevada were today called for Joe Biden, taking him to 279 Electoral Votes, nine more than the 270 required to win. Biden is now the US president-elect, defeating an incumbent president for the first time...

Why anti-competitive probe into tech giants could spell trouble for Apple and its App Store

By Greig Paul

If the coronavirus pandemic has shown us anything, its just how much people depend on a few large technology companies. The use of mobile apps and web services has increased significantly in recent years, as people adapted...

How Reagan's notions of a 'good society' resonate with Trump supporters today

By Diane Winston

If a ballooning federal deficit, tax breaks for the wealthy, rising income inequality, structural racism and cowboy diplomacy sound familiar, its because they were big issues in the 2020 presidential race. But theyre...

5 types of misinformation to watch out for while ballots are being counted – and after

By Kate Starbird Et Al

With no clear winner yet in the presidential election, theres an opportunity for partisan activists, conspiracy theorists and others to exploit public uncertainty and anxiety to attempt to delegitimize the election...

Ambiguity may offer short term political benefits, but in the long term is corrosive

By Andre Spicer

As the results of the US election began to arrive, political junkies tried their best to make sense of what was happening. But it soon became obvious that the only thing clear about the results was that they were...

COVID-19 drug and vaccine patents are putting profit before people

By Ronald Labonte Et Al

Since the birth of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, most member states have had to abide by the Agreement on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), which protects patents and copyrights including...

Congress could select the president in a disputed election

By Donald Brand

President Donald Trumps campaign is challenging results of battleground states with lawsuits, hoping to litigate its way to a win 2020 election. But the Founding Fathers meant for Congress not the courts to be the backup...

How working from home could revitalise rust belt cities

By Michel Serafinelli

For years, we have been promised a work-from-home revolution, and it seems that the pandemic has finally brought it to pass. In April this year, at the height of the first wave of coronavirus, 47% of people in the UK were...

How to handle the next lockdown and Christmas – some tips for recently separated parents

By Susan Kay-Flowers

The impact of lockdown has made many of us reflect on whats important in our lives and in our personal relationships. For some, this has led to swapping life in the city for more space in the countryside. For others,...

The pandemic has changed parliament – will it be forever?

By Alex Prior

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised a great deal of pragmatic and existential questions about global society. Weve had to adapt quickly and some of the things we take for granted have been upturned very suddenly. The same...

How fintech can help Indonesia's small and medium enterprises survive the COVID-19 pandemic

By Nurhastuty K. Wardhani Et Al

In Indonesia Southeast Asias largest economy small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute to around 60% percent of the nations economy and absorb 97% of its domestic workforce. However, while there are more than 60...

Sure, the US election is gerrymandered, but so are others, and its hard to stop

By Richard Holden

At the time of writing we dont yet know who will win the US presidential election. But we do know this for sure: Donald Trump will be able to win with less than half the votes cast. Put another way, Joe Biden will be...

We studied mental toughness in ultra-marathon runners. Mind over matter is real — but won't take you all the way

By Kendall George

For most people, running a marathon sounds like a lot of work and they probably wouldnt even consider completing more than one within 24 hours. The will to go the extra mile is what lies at the very heart of...

California voters decide Uber and Lyft drivers are 'contractors' as gig workers continue search for a livable wage

By Juliet B. Schor

Uber, TaskRabbit and other ride-hailing and delivery service companies in California can keep classifying their workers as independent contractors rather than employees after California voters approved a measure known as...

How a simple brain training program could help you stay away from alcohol

By Victoria Manning

Around one in five Australians will develop an alcohol use disorder, such as dependence, during their lifetime. Reports suggest some people have been drinking more during the COVID pandemic, potentially putting...

The International Space Station at 20 offers hope and a template for future cooperation

By Wendy Whitman Cobb

On Nov. 2, 2020, the International Space Station celebrated its 20th anniversary of continuous human occupation. With astronauts and cosmonauts from around the world working together, the ISS has demonstrated humankinds...

China's push for Mandarin education in Mongolia is a tool for political repression

By Shannon Ward

In early September, Human Rights Watch reported widespread protests over the expansion of Mandarin Chinese teaching in Inner Mongolias schools. This new bilingual education policy threatens the Mongolian language and...

A second Trump term? Or a Biden presidency? What it means for Canada

By Thomas Klassen

After a surreal election campaign in the midst of a pandemic, were still not sure of the outcome either Donald Trump won a second term, or Joe Biden will become the next president. Although pre-election polls showed Trump...

Pompeii is famous for its ruins and bodies, but what about its wine?

By Emlyn Dodd

Pompeii is famed for plaster-cast bodies, ruins, frescoes and the rare snapshot it provides of a rather typical ancient Roman city. But less famous is its evidence of viticulture. Wild grapevines probably existed across...

Universities in crisis? They've been there before, and found a way out

By Gwilym Croucher Et Al

This is an edited extract of a new history, Australian Universities: A history of common cause, by Gwilym Croucher and James Waghorne (UNSW Press). In the early 1950s the universities faced an acute financial crisis,...

Who invented the Electoral College?

By Phillip J VanFossen

The delegates in Philadelphia agreed, in the summer of 1787, that the new country they were creating would not have a king but rather an elected executive. But they did not agree on how to choose that...

Prioritising home ownership hurts everyone – owners as well as renters

By Marc Schelhase

The quest to own a home has become a mainstay in UK society. Successive governments of all stripes have prioritised home ownership over other forms of tenure. In August 2020, following Boris Johnsons mantra earlier in...

Satellite data provides fresh insights into the amount of water in the Nile basin

By Emad Hasan Et Al

Flowing through 11 African countries, the Nile River plays an important role in the lives of more than 24% of Africas population. To both upstream and downstream countries, the Nile waters are crucial in development...

South Africa is testing digital technology to detect outbreaks of respiratory diseases

By Cheryl Cohen Et Al

Global mobility has increased and the world has become more connected. But this comes with a greater risk of the spread of respiratory diseases, particularly pneumonia, which is a leading cause of death in children under...

South Africa has failed to harness the digital revolution: how it can fix the problem

By David Richard Walwyn Et Al

The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a migration from physical work spaces in many sectors of the economy to online, digital services, supported by staff working from home. Parts of the economy such as mining,...

Depression, anxiety and heart disease risk all linked to single brain region

By Laith Alexander Et Al

Although depression and anxiety affect millions of people worldwide, theres still much we dont know about them. In fact, we still dont fully understand which brain regions are involved in depression and anxiety, and how...

'Smartphone pinky' and other injuries caused by excessive phone use

By Adam Taylor

We use our phones three hours and 15 minutes a day on average. So perhaps its hardly surprising people are reporting a new injury on social media and in the news smartphone pinky. People claiming to have the condition...

The future of nuclear: power stations could make hydrogen, heat homes and decarbonise industry

By Bill Lee Et Al

Nuclear power has provided low-carbon electricity to the UK for over 60 years and today it generates 17% of the countrys electricity. Until mid-2018, 15 nuclear reactors were the countrys largest source of low-carbon...