Humans, rats and dogs pushed the takahē into Fiordland – new genetic research maps its dramatic journey

By Nic Rawlence Et Al

Takahē are a striking bird and a national treasure in Aotearoa New Zealand. But the history and origin story of this flightless swamp hen have become a point of scientific debate. Our latest research uncovered the...

Endometriosis: It’s time to change the pattern of pain, stigma and barriers to diagnosis and treatment

By Sarah Seabrook Et Al

Endometriosis is a debilitating disease that affects an estimated one million Canadians. It involves the overgrowth of endometrial tissue (the tissue that lines the uterus), which typically sheds during menstruation and...

Best books of 2023: our experts share the books that have stayed with them

By Jen Webb Et Al

We asked 20 of our regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising. Whether youre looking for something relaxing or stimulating,...

Cruel summer ahead – why is Australia so unprepared?

By Susan Harris Rimmer

2023 has shattered climate records, accompanied by extreme weather that has left a trail of devastation and despair, according to the World Meteorological Organization at COP 28. Some of the most significant extreme heat...

Will Japanese encephalitis return this summer? What about other diseases mosquitoes spread?

By Cameron Webb Et Al

The last two summers have been swarming with mosquitoes thanks to near constant rain and flooding brought on by La Niña. With the return of El Niño, and a hot, dry summer in store, whats the outlook for...

'A deeply thoughtful and sensuous show': a rarely experienced intimacy with Louise Bourgeois

By Léa Vuong

As you make your way towards the Art Gallery of New South Wales, you will come across the giant sinewy bronze legs of the artists monumental sculpture Maman (mum in French) looming near the entrance. As large to us as...

Holiday co-parenting after separation or divorce: 6 legal and practical tips for surviving and thriving

By Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich

The approaching holiday season will be the first post-split for Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire, who separated in summer 2023. It may also be the first for you. Welcome to co-parenting,...

Rats are more human than you think – and they certainly like being around us

By Tobias Linné

Rats have a somewhat unfortunate tendency to enjoy living where people live. Thats how a biologist tried to explain peoples hatred for the rodents in a television news feature about rats gnawing electrical cables in parked...

How conspiracy theories can affect the communities they attack – new research

By Daniel Jolley Et Al

Scientists have learned a lot about why people believe in conspiracy theories and how they harm society over the past couple of decades. Yet little is known about how the groups targeted by conspiracy theories feel and...

How a hybrid heating system could lower your bills and shrink your carbon footprint

By Jovana Radulovic

To heat your home without damaging the climate, you will need to replace your gas boiler. UK government advisers recommend switching to appliances that run on electricity. However, if a root-and-branch conversion to...

Why iconic trees are so important to us – and how replacing those that fall is often complicated

By Helen Parish Et Al

An ancient kola tree has been cut down in southern Ghana. Local tradition held that the tree had grown on the spot where spiritual leader Komfo Anokye had spat a kola nut onto the ground three centuries...

Collagen supplements may help improve the health of your tendons and bones

By Rob Erskine

Collagen has become a popular ingredient in the skincare industry, with high-profile advocates such as Jennifer Aniston and the Kardashians taking it for its purported anti-ageing benefits. But it isnt just our skin...

Exercise benefits physical and brain health in people with Down's syndrome – new research

By Dan Gordon Et Al

Exercise is known to have many benefits when it comes to cognitive function such as improving memory and concentration skills. Research shows this is true for people in many different age groups, and even in those with...

Childhood pneumonia is surging in many countries – while the germs causing it are known, the effect of co-infections aren't

By Zania Stamataki

You may have heard reports about outbreaks of pneumonia affecting children in the Netherlands, Denmark and parts of the US and China, which are higher than usual for this time of year. Parents are keeping a watchful eye on...

Getting climate funds to conflict zones – a case for working with armed groups and local communities

By Ashley Jackson

Conflict-ridden and fragile countries are among the most vulnerable to climate change and least prepared to deal with it. They are largely excluded from climate adaptation programmes and funding. This is partly because...

COP28 president is wrong – science clearly shows fossil fuels must go (and fast)

By Steve Pye

According to the president of COP28, the latest round of UN climate negotiations in the United Arab Emirates, there is no science indicating that phasing out fossil fuels is necessary to restrict global heating to...

Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay – two experts on legal punishments explain why

By Alexes Harris Et Al

In todays American criminal legal system, courts impose fines and fees as a means to punish people and hold them accountable for legal violations. At times, people are sentenced to pay without incarceration, but...

Texas is suing Planned Parenthood for $1.8B over $10M in allegedly fraudulent services it rendered – a health care economist explains what's going on

By Graham Gardner

Planned Parenthood no longer provides abortions in Texas, Louisiana and the other 10 states that have essentially banned abortion since the Supreme Court handed down its Dobbs v. Jackson decision in June 2022. But the...

Why isn't there any sound in space? An astronomer explains why in space no one can hear you scream

By Chris Impey

In space, no one can hear you scream. You may have heard this saying. Its the tagline from the famous 1979 science fiction movie Alien. Its a scary thought, but is it true? The simple answer is yes, no one can hear you...

The OpenAI saga demonstrates how big corporations dominate the shaping of our technological future

By Peter Bloom

The dramatic firing and reinstatement of Sam Altman as boss of OpenAI was more than a power shuffle. It was a glimpse at the overwhelming influence that big corporations and a few individuals possess when it comes to...

For domestic violence victim-survivors, a data or privacy breach can be extraordinarily dangerous

By Catherine Fitzpatrick

A suite of recent cybersecurity data breaches highlight an urgent need to overhaul how companies and government agencies handle our data. But these incidents pose particular risks to victim-survivors of domestic...

Nicola Willis warns of fiscal ‘snakes and snails’ – her first mini-budget will be a test of NZ’s no-surprises finance rules

By Michael Ryan

New finance minister Nicola Willis has claimed she was blindsided by the state of the governments books. Days after stepping into the role, she said: The outgoing government has left us with some nasty surprises....

A home among the gum trees: will the Great Koala National Park actually save koalas?

By Tim Cadman Et Al

Its a visionary idea: a national park for koalas. Conceived over a decade ago, the idea gained prominence after Labor took the idea to three successive elections in New South Wales. Now theyre in office and have finally...

We all know about JobKeeper, which helped Australians keep their jobs in a global crisis. So how about HomeKeeper?

By Chris Wallace

Bipartisan support for temporary extra government spending to preserve businesses and jobs through JobKeeper was one of the few positive outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognition that the long-term damage caused...

Happy birthday AUD: how our Australian dollar was floated, 40 years ago this week

By Selwyn Cornish Et Al

These days, we take for granted that the value of the Australian dollar fluctuates against other currencies, changing thousands of times a day and at times jumping or falling quite a lot in the space of a week. But for...

Hyped and expensive, hydrogen has a place in Australia’s energy transition, but only with urgent government support

By Alison Reeve

If you listen to the dreamers, hydrogen is the magical fuel of the future that can replace everything from the petrol in your car to the coal in a steelworks. Hype around hydrogen has been building in Australia since at...

4 tips to help your loved one with dementia enjoy the festive season

By Nikki-Anne Wilson

The festive season is fast approaching, and if youre organising celebrations with family or friends, you might be grappling with a seemingly endless to-do list. But as you make these plans, its important to consider how...

Australia has its first framework for AI use in schools – but we need to proceed with caution

By Lucinda McKnight Et Al

Federal and state governments have just released a national framework for generative AI in schools. This paves the way for generative AI algorithms that can create new content to be used routinely in classrooms around...

Classic Aussie cinema and new twists on old classics: our picks of December streaming

By Ari Mattes Et Al

At a time when it feels like it can be impossible to keep up with all the different streaming platforms both in time and in money the appearance of a new platform that breaks through the noise is something...

Canada’s Fall Economic Statement signals the ‘right to repair’ your tech devices

By Anthony D Rosborough

On Nov. 23, the Government of Canada released the 2023 Fall Economic Statement. In a bold move toward empowering consumers, reducing costs and promoting sustainability, the Canadian government has reiterated its commitment...

Why Canada's Smart Cities Challenge is missing the mark

By Ryan Burns

The Canadian federal government launched the Smart Cities Challenge in 2017 to award up to $50 million to municipal governments that are best able to leverage technology to improve life in their cities. The challenge is...

Equitable sentencing can mitigate anti-Black racism in Canada's justice system

By Ardavan Eizadirad Et Al

Black people continue to be overrepresented at all levels of the Canadian justice system. According to the Correctional Service of Canada, nine per cent of offenders in custody were Black in 2020-2021, despite only...

Payment controversy over ‘The Elephant Whisperers’ provokes questions about documentary storytelling

By Santasil Mallik

Months after the Indian film The Elephant Whisperers won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short at the Academy Awards this past March, the mahout (elephant rider or caretaker) couple Bomman and Bellie at the centre of the...

Silencing Sarah Jama diminishes Canadian democracy

By David Said Et Al

Sarah Jama, the MPP for Hamilton Centre, is suing the Ontario government and Legislative Assembly after being censured in the legislature by members of the Progressive Conservative government. On Oct. 23, the Ontario...

Government's preventative detention for ex-detainees who pose serious risks set to pass this week

By Michelle Grattan

The government on Wednesday will introduce its legislation to enable preventative detention of former immigration detainees judged to pose a high risk of committing serious violent or sexual crimes. The legislation will...

African countries lost control to foreign mining companies – the 3 steps that allowed this to happen

By Ben Radley

Within a few years of independence, African governments asserted sovereignty over their metal and mineral resources. Prior to this, the resources were exploited by European mining corporations. Since the 1990s,...

Nine out of 10 South African criminals reoffend, while in Finland it's 1 in 3. This is why

By Casper Lӧtter

A very large percentage of South Africans who are released from prison end up being rearrested and being convicted for crimes again. The country has one of the highest recidivism rates in the world. Criminologist Casper...

COP28: 7 food and agriculture innovations needed to protect the climate and feed a rapidly growing world

By Paul Winters

For the first time ever, food and agriculture took center stage at the annual United Nations climate conference in 2023. More than 130 countries signed a declaration on Dec. 1, committing to make their food systems ...

Alleged assassination plots in the U.S. and Canada signal a more assertive Indian foreign policy

By Reeta Tremblay

A recent indictment from the United States Department of Justice has alleged an Indian security official was involved in attempting to assassinate a U.S. and Canadian citizen in New York. The alleged target, Gurpatwant...

COP28: the climate summit’s first Health Day points to what needs to change in NZ

By Alistair Woodward

Climate change has many effects, but one of the most significant will feature for the first time at COP28 its impact on human health. Now under way in Dubai, the latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework...

Massive planet too big for its own sun pushes astronomers to rethink exoplanet formation

By Suvrath Mahadevan Et Al

Imagine youre a farmer searching for eggs in the chicken coop but instead of a chicken egg, you find an ostrich egg, much larger than anything a chicken could lay. Thats a little how our team of astronomers felt when...

The news is fading from sight on big social media platforms – where does that leave journalism?

By Merja Myllylahti

According to a recent survey by the News Media Association, 90% of editors in the United Kingdom believe that Google and Meta pose an existential threat to journalism. Why the pessimism? Because being in the news...

Why renewed China-US cooperation bodes well for climate action

By Yixian Sun

The relationship between the US and China is the most important in the world, and it has been unstable and sometimes under extreme stress in recent years. But a recent meeting between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in...

We don't know how many victims of modern slavery are in prison – why that's a problem

By Marija Jovanovic

Modern slavery affects an estimated 120,000 people in the UK. Under international law, countries must identify and protect survivors, while prosecuting and punishing those who traffic and exploit them. Courts in England...

Do we live in a giant void? It could solve the puzzle of the universe's expansion

By Indranil Banik

One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is the rate at which the universe is expanding. This can be predicted using the standard model of cosmology, also known as Lambda-cold dark matter (ΛCDM). This model is...

Google's $100 million to Canada's news industry is a small price to pay to avoid regulation

By Alfred Hermida

The deal between Google and the federal government to resolve their dispute over paying for news online will come as a relief for the media industry in Canada. News publishers were facing the prospect of disappearing...

Henry Kissinger was a global – and deeply flawed – foreign policy heavyweight

By Amelia Hadfield

Declarations of the end of an era are made only in exceptional circumstances. Henry Kissingers death is one of them. Kissinger was born into a Jewish family in Germany, and fled to the US in 1938 after the Nazis seized...

People who experienced childhood adversity had poorer COVID-19 outcomes, new study shows

By Jamie Hanson

Adults who faced adversity during childhood were significantly more likely to die from or be hospitalized because of COVID-19. Thats the key finding of my teams recent study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and...

US food insecurity surveys aren't getting accurate data regarding Latino families

By Cassandra M. Johnson Et Al

The federal government has conducted the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module for more than 25 years. The data collected annually from about 50,000 U.S. households helps form estimates of the scale of food insecurity...

3 ways AI can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern agriculture

By Joe Hollis

For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI, and doomsday scenarios of superintelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has...