Industry shutdowns are messy and painful: 4 lessons Australia’s coal sector can learn from car-makers about bowing out
By Vigya Sharma
Shifting Australias electricity sector to low-carbon technologies and closing coal plants is vital to tackling climate change. But such transitions are easier said than done.
People and economies are often deeply...
We have revealed a unique time capsule of Australia’s first coastal people from 50,000 years ago
By Peter Veth Et Al
Barrow Island, located 60 kilometres off the Pilbara in Western Australia, was once a hill overlooking an expansive coast. This was the northwestern shelf of the Australian continent, now permanently submerged by the...
How Moscow terror attack fits ISIS-K strategy to widen agenda, take fight to its perceived enemies
By Sara Harmouch Et Al
Russia is reeling from the worst terror strike on its soil in a generation following an attack on March 22, 2024, that killed at least 137 concertgoers in Moscow.
The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State group....
Australia’s biggest chemist is merging with a giant wholesaler. Could we soon be paying more?
By Angel Zhong
Corporate Australia loves a big merger. And amid a growing flurry of them across the business scene, a new blockbuster has emerged.
All eyes are on two titans of the pharmacy industry Chemist Warehouse and Sigma...
We’ve taken smoking from ‘normal’ to ‘uncommon’ and we can do the same with vaping – here’s how
By Carolyn Holbrook Et Al
Vaping is a pressing public health issue. While adult smoking rates continue to fall, vaping rates are rising. Seven per cent of adults now vape daily, up nearly three-fold since 2019. Most alarmingly, the rate of daily...
We created a VR tool to test brain function. It could one day help diagnose dementia
By Joyce Siette Et Al
If you or a loved one have noticed changes in your memory or thinking as youve grown older, this could reflect typical changes that occur with ageing. In some cases though, it might suggest something more, such as the...
‘The ghost has taken the spirit of the Moon’: how Torres Strait Islanders predict eclipses
By David Bosun Et Al
Its eclipse season. The Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned so its possible for the Earth and Moon to cast each other into shadow.
A faint lunar eclipse will occur on March 25, visible at dusk from Australia and eastern...
Alien invasions, a lesbian road movie and tropical architecture – the best things to watch and do this week
By Anna Walker
This article was first published in our email newsletter Something Good, which every fortnight brings you a summary of the best things to watch, visit and read, as recommended and analysed by academic experts. Click here...
An eclipse for everyone – how visually impaired students can ‘get a feel for’ eclipses
By Cassandra Runyon Et Al
Many people in the U.S. will have an opportunity to witness nearly four minutes of a total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8, 2024, as it moves from southern Texas to Maine. But in the U.S., over 7 million people are blind...
What happens to F1 drivers’ bodies, and what sort of training do they do?
By Dan van den Hoek Et Al
Various forms of motorsport are passionately followed around the world, and the pinnacle of the sport is Formula 1 a fast-paced battle between drivers and teams with some of the most finely engineered vehicles in the...
Conspiracy theorist tactics show it’s too easy to get around Facebook’s content policies
By Amelia Johns Et Al
During the COVID pandemic, social media platforms were swarmed by far-right and anti-vaccination communities that spread dangerous conspiracy theories.
These included the false claims that vaccines are a form of...
NZ is in recession – so far there are few signs the government has a plan to stimulate and grow the economy
By Grant Duncan
If you live in New Zealand and youre feeling poorer, youre not imagining it. Stats NZ has revealed the economy was in recession over the second half of last year. GDP fell in the September and December quarters by 0.3% and...
The stakes could not be higher as Canada sets its 2035 emissions target
By Christopher Campbell-Duruflé
The Government of Canada is in the midst of a public engagement on the 2035 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target.
The timeline is short, and the stakes could not be higher.
According to Section 7 of the Canadian...
Ethnic diversity is still a serious issue at the top level in accounting firms
By Zvi Singer
In recent years, there has been a growing concern about the lack of diversity in workplaces, particularly in terms of ethnic and gender diversity. To address this, many companies have taken action by adjusting their...
The ideal James Bond is an actor on the cusp of superstardom – as film history shows
By James Chapman
More people have walked on the Moon than have played James Bond, so its no wonder that the suave secret agent with a licence to kill is one of the most coveted roles in cinema. The casting of a new 007 always grabs the...
Even presidents need a touch of madness − in March
By Daniel Palazzolo
Why would a president faced with lingering inflation at home and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, among other problems, take time out to participate in the annual sports fans ritual of March Madness?
The madness...
AI’s excessive water consumption threatens to drown out its environmental contributions
By Joyeeta Gupta Et Al
Water is needed for development, production and consumption, yet we are overusing and polluting an unsubstitutable resource and system.
Eight safe and just boundaries for five domains (climate, biosphere, water,...
This is how President Ramaphosa got to the 25% figure of progress in land reform in South Africa
By Johann Kirsten Et Al
Nearly three decades into democracy, land reform remains central to South Africas transformation policies and agricultural policy.
We have over the years pointed out that the progress on land reform has been incorrectly...
The Program: Netflix show exposes the dark side of America’s ‘troubled teens’ schools
By Sarah Golightley
A new Netflix documentary series, The Program: Cons, Cults, and Kidnapping, about the troubled-teen industry, is laying bare the way teenagers with so-called behavioural issues are systematically abused and tortured in the...
Gaza war: if there’s a lesson from the Berlin airlift it’s that political will is required to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe
By Claudia Milena Adler Et Al
The crisis in Gaza transcends mere statistics to reveal a deep human tragedy that continues to escalate. According to the latest figures from the Gaza health ministry, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 30,000...
Six innovative ways to float skyscraper-sized wind turbines
By Emma C. Edwards
Yes, you read that right float. You may have seen a wind turbine in the sea before, but chances are you were looking at a fixed turbine that is, one that sits on top of a foundation drilled into the seabed. For the new...
How do halibut migrate? Clues are in their ear bones
By Charlotte Gauthier
Rising temperatures, changes in major currents, oxygen depletion at great depths: the Gulf of St. Lawrence has undergone major changes in its environmental conditions in recent decades. That has put many species in danger...
Elon Musk says ketamine can get you out of a ‘negative frame of mind’. What does the research say?
By Julaine Allan
X owner Elon Musk recently described using small amounts of ketamine once every other week to manage the chemical tides that cause his depression. He says its helpful to get out of a negative frame of mind.
This has...
What Article 23 means for the future of Hong Kong and its once vibrant pro-democracy movement
By Michael C. Davis
Lawmakers in Hong Kong passed new security legislation on March 19, 2024, handing authorities in the semi-autonomous city-state further power to clamp down on dissent.
The law, under Article 23, has been decades in the...
Supreme Court lets Texas’ immigration law stand, intensifying fight between Texas and the US government over securing the Mexico border
By Mark P Jones
The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on March 19, 2024, that Texas can at least for now have state authorities deport undocumented migrants, which has traditionally been the federal governments...
Bill C-372: Banning fossil fuel ads does not go far enough
By Peter Dietsch
When the New Democratic Party MP Charlie Angus proposed private members bill C-372 in February to ban fossil-fuel advertising it is unsurprising that he struck a nerve with many. After all, standing up to fossil fuel...
How ‘social financing’ could help fund higher education for under-represented students
By Shelley Legin Et Al
Canadas new international student cap will likely have a significant impact on universities, which are already facing financial pressures and other challenges related to artificial intelligence and climate change all...
Can AI improve football teams’ success from corner kicks? Liverpool and others are betting it can
By Mark Scanlan
Last Sunday, Liverpool faced Manchester United in the quarter finals of the FA Cup and in the final minute of extra time, with the score tied at three-all, Liverpool had the crucial opportunity of a corner kick. A goal...
Liberalism is in crisis. A new book traces how we got here, but lets neoliberal ideologues off the hook
By Jane Goodall
What is post-liberalism? That is no simple question, though the simplest responses are given by those who identify with it as a movement.
Adrian Pabst, author of the most influential book on the subject, proposes it as...
Japan has abandoned decades of pacifism in response to Ukraine invasion and increased Chinese pressure on Taiwan
By Paul O'Shea Et Al
Russias invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in Gaza, have left tens of thousands dead and sent shockwaves across Europe and the Middle East. But brutal and tragic as they are the wars in Ukraine and Gaza are regionally...
Smart rings’ ultra-precise movement tracking take wearable technology to the next level
By Horia Maior Et Al
There is a lot of hype about smart rings right now Samsung is due to release a Galaxy ring, and there is unsubstantiated speculation that Apple is considering a ring too. But why would you want a smart ring in the first...
Deepfakes are still new, but 2024 could be the year they have an impact on elections
By Eileen Culloty
Disinformation caught many people off guard during the 2016 Brexit referendum and US presidential election. Since then, a mini-industry has developed to analyse and counter it.
Yet despite that, we have entered 2024 a...
Why China’s economy has hit a wall
By Hong Bo
Chinas annual parliamentary meetings in Beijing came to a close on March 11. They were conducted under great pressure: a weak economy and high expectations from both the domestic public and international observers as to...
Building fairness into AI is crucial – and hard to get right
By Ferdinando Fioretto
Artificial intelligences capacity to process and analyze vast amounts of data has revolutionized decision-making processes, making operations in health care, finance, criminal justice and other sectors of society more...
With nominations decided, Trump leads Biden in US polls
By Adrian Beaumont
Joe Biden and Donald Trump have both secured their parties nominations for the November 5 United States general election by winning a majority of all delegates to their parties conventions, including delegates not yet...
Mentorship is key to improving social and economic outcomes for Black youth
By Bukola Salami Et Al
Black youth in Canada experience poorer educational achievement than other children and youth, which leads to subsequent poor economic outcomes.
A series of problems and barriers contribute to poor educational outcomes....
Political donations rules are finally in the spotlight – here’s what the government should do
By Kate Griffiths
Australias political donations rules are woefully inadequate, but donations reform is finally on the agenda. The federal government has signalled its interest in reform and will soon begin briefing MPs on its plan. Greater...
Study links microplastics with human health problems – but there’s still a lot we don’t know
By Mark Patrick Taylor Et Al
A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has linked microplastics with risk to human health.
The study involved patients in Italy who had a condition called carotid artery plaque,...
Do you have 7,513 unread emails in your inbox? Research suggests that’s unwise
By Matt Balogh
How do you manage your emails? Are you an inbox zero kind of person, or do you just leave thousands of them unread?
Our new study, published today in the journal Information Research, suggests that leaving all your...
The hidden racist history of hair loss
By Glen Jankowski
Hair loss is common in men and women, particularly with age for example, androgenetic alopecia (or pattern baldness) affects 80% of men and 40% of women. For the most part, it can be physically inconsequential.
Yet,...
Oil firms want to drill in four of the UK’s areas of outstanding natural beauty
By Tom Rogers
Think of onshore oil fields and images of oil derricks and nodding donkeys may spring to mind, perhaps in Texas or the Middle East. So it might come as a surprise to learn that the UK has its own onshore oil fields, mostly...
Vladimir Putin’s gold strategy explains why sanctions against Russia have failed
By Robert Huish
There are more than 16,000 sanctions imposed against Russia. Yet the Russian economy and war machine grew by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and is projected to grow another 2.6 in 2024.
Nearly six per cent of Russias gross...
There are ways to improve the London Stock Exchange crisis, but they’re not pretty
By John Colley
Another week, another set of signs that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is running aground. Two medium-sized listed businesses are selling out to US rivals: tech-testing firm Spirent Communications, based Crawley, West...
Glastonbury’s first K-pop group is a reflection of years of Korean government strategy
By Sarah A. Son
The 13-member K-pop boy band SEVENTEEN will make history this year as they become the first Korean group on the Glastonbury music festival lineup. While top Korean groups such as Blackpink and BTS have performed in the UK...
As the US government and record labels go after TikTok, musicians get the squeeze
By Ediz Ozelkan
For much of the year, TikTok has been on the defensive.
On March 13, 2024, the House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that would force the short-form video app to be sold off from its Chinese parent company to...
How do airplanes fly? An aerospace engineer explains the physics of flight
By Craig Merrett
Airplane flight is one of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century. The invention of the airplane allows people to travel from one side of the planet to the other in less than a day, compared...
Stamp duty is holding us back from moving homes – we’ve worked out how much
By Nick Garvin
This article is part of The Conversations series examining the housing crisis. Read the other articles in the series here.
If just one state of Australia, New South Wales, scrapped its stamp duty on real-estate...
Outrage is a key performance indicator for Peter Dutton, the ‘bad cop’ of politics. But what does he value?
By Judith Brett
Lech Blaine and Peter Dutton are both from Queensland, where the political culture is tough and masculine and politics south of the border always good for a spot of confected outrage.
So Blaine, author of Quarterly...
Narendra Modi’s economy isn’t booming for India’s unemployed youth
By Ian Hall
India will soon hold the biggest election ever conducted, starting on April 19 and running through early June. Almost 950 million registered voters will be able to cast ballots to elect the 543 members of the Lok Sabha,...
Something felt ‘off’ – how AI messed with our human research, and what we learned
By Alexandra Gibson Et Al
All levels of research are being changed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Dont have time to read that journal article? AI-powered tools such as TLDRthis will summarise it for you.
Struggling to find relevant...