Shuttered car factories in Australia could be repurposed to make houses faster and cheaper

By Ehsan Noroozinejad

Australia is in the grip of a severe housing shortage. Many people are finding it extremely difficult to find a place to live in the face of rising rents and property price surges. Homelessness is rising sharply. Tent...

Eating disorders don’t just affect teen girls. The risk may go up around pregnancy and menopause too

By Gemma Sharp Et Al

Eating disorders impact more than 1.1 million people in Australia, representing 4.5% of the population. These disorders include binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa. Meanwhile, more than 4.1 million...

How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis

By Alper Kara

After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, the UKs banking sector was placed under a much stricter regime. Bonuses were limited, regulations were beefed up and the whole industry scrutinised like never before. The idea...

A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away

By Vivien Parmentier Et Al

The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...

Can making the NHS cleaner slow the spread of disease?

By Jonathan R. Goodman

Several weeks ago, I visited a local NHS urgent care centre with my toddler on what might be called a semi-annual pilgrimage related to having a child in nursery. Owing to what is now a typical three- or four-hour wait,...

Why incest porn is more common and harmful than you think

By Clare McGlynn

Incest porn is finally facing long overdue scrutiny. The governments porn review recommends strengthening the extreme porn law to include incest porn and mandate its removal. The review also calls for much more proactive...

Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses

By Oren Reshef Et Al

Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study. In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned...

South Africa’s malnutrition crisis: why a cheaper basket of healthy food is the answer

By Julian May Et Al

The death in early February of a 9-year-old South African boy, Alti Willard, who drank poison while scavenging for food in rubbish bins with his father, is a tragic reflection of the persistent food insecurity crisis in...

Virgin Australia’s deal with Qatar has been given the green light. Travellers should be the winners

By Chrystal Zhang

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given the green light for Qatar Airways to buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, as part of a strategic alliance. The deal will shake up the Australian aviation market. The announcement follows a...

Why does music make us feel things?

By Katrina McFerran

Imagine a scene from the movie Jaws, with the great white shark closing in on another helpless victim. The iconic semi-tone pattern builds and your heartbeat rises with it; the suspense pulls you further to the edge of...

What’s the difference between burnout and depression?

By Gordon Parker

If your summer holiday already feels like a distant memory, youre not alone. Burnout a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion following prolonged stress has been described in workplaces since a 5th century...

We need to switch to heat pumps fast – but can they can overcome this problem?

By Jack Marley

People in the UK need to adopt heat pumps and electric vehicles as fast as they once embraced refrigerators, mobile phones and internet connection according to a new report by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). This...

Canada is one step closer to high-speed rail, but many hurdles remain

By Ryan M. Katz-Rosene

Canada is the only G7 country without a high-speed rail line, yet not for lack of trying. Over the last half century, numerous high-speed rail projects have been proposed, studied and even approved by political leaders....

The world needs a circular economy. But workers in developing countries shouldn’t pay the price

By Sukyung Park Et Al

The circular economy offers a fresh approach to how we produce and consume, focusing on reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering. It moves us away from the traditional make, use, discard model, creating a more...

From Messi to Mika Häkkinen: how top athletes can slow down time

By Steve Taylor

With the new Formula 1 season is about to begin, its worth pondering what makes a great racing driver. There are no doubt several important qualities, such as calmness under pressure, the courage to take risks, quick...

From sunscreen to essential oils, why some personal care products could be harmful to your health

By Asit Kumar Mishra

Each time you apply sunscreen to your face, you may inhale somewhere between 10 to 30 milligrams of ethanol, the type of alcohol used in alcoholic drinks. While the ethanol in sunscreen may not give you a buzz, it could...

What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it

By John Etnyre

When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like youre living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around...

How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms

By Ian Anson

With the 2024 U.S. election over and done with, political analysts and both major parties are already turning their attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2026. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33...

As Pennsylvania inches toward legalizing recreational cannabis, lawmakers propose selling it in state-owned dispensaries similar to state liquor stores

By Daniel J. Mallinson

After a long, largely successful march over 25 years to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, the movement had a tough election in 2024. Legalization ballot measures failed in Florida, North Dakota and South...

The quest to extend human life is both fascinating and fraught with moral peril

By Richard Gunderman

Who wants to live forever? Freddie Mercury mournfully asks in Queens 1986 song of the same name. The answer: Quite a few people so much so that life extension has long been a cottage industry. As a physician and scholar...

Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city

By Maggie Lieu

In December 2024, astronomers in Chile spotted a new asteroid streaking through the sky, which they named 2024 YR4. Whats significant about this 100m-wide space rock is that it has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2023....

Ukraine war: Trump is not trying to appease Putin – he has a vision of a new US-China-Russia order

By Stefan Wolff

There has been much and justified focus on the implications of a likely deal between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and the overwhelmingly negative consequences this will have for...

South Africa’s ‘working for water’ programme is meant to lead to skills and jobs: why it’s failing

By Sinazo Ntsonge

South Africas Expanded Public Works Programme is part of its social safety net. It complements the countrys social grants system, which has over 28 million recipients. The public works programme helps fill a gap for people...

Erotica, gore and racism: how America’s war on ‘ideological bias’ is letting AI off the leash

By Judith Bishop

Badly behaved artificial intelligence (AI) systems have a long history in science fiction. Way back in 1961, in the famous Astro Boy comics by Osamu Tezuka, a clone of a popular robot magician was reprogrammed into a...

China didn’t violate any rules with its live-fire naval exercises. So, why are Australia and NZ so worried?

By Donald Rothwell

In recent days, the Chinese Navy conducted two live-fire military exercises in waters near Australia and New Zealand, sparking concern in both countries. The Albanese government lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing....

Suicide or accident? The hidden complexities of intentional road crashes in Australia

By Milad Haghani Et Al

In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers remain stubbornly high. Strategies to reduce the road toll have largely...

Parliament passes landmark election donation laws. They may be a ‘stich up’ but they also improve Australia’s democracy

By Joo-Cheong Tham

Federal parliament has passed the biggest changes to Australias electoral funding laws in decades. The Albanese governments Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2024 cleared the Senate on Wednesday...

An unexpected anomaly was found in the Pacific Ocean – and it could be a global time marker

By Dominik Koll

Earth must have experienced something exceptional 10 million years ago. Our study of rock samples from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has found a strange increase in the radioactive isotope beryllium-10 during that time....

How Asian immigrants to the U.S. resisted pressures to assimilate, creating a vibrant American suburbia

By Bianca Mabute-Louie

This article is adapted from UNASSIMILABLE: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie (HarperCollins, January 2025). I grew up in San Gabriel Valley also referred to as SGV or the 626. SGV...

What to do if your partner wants to speak to your baby in a language you don’t understand

By Una Cunningham

Finding out you and your partner are expecting a baby throws many discussions that might have once been hypothetical into stark relief. This certainly may be the case if your partner speaks another language beyond the one...

The heart is symbol of love – things weren’t always like that

By Michelle Spear

Valentines Day is all about the hearts: heart-shaped chocolates, cards, balloons and even pizza. But the heart hasnt always just been a symbol of romance. Across cultures and centuries, the heart has been revered as the...

How to cope with romantic rejection – a psychologist’s advice

By Veronica Lamarche

Has a romantic partner, or someone you had a crush on, ever hurt your feelings? Youre far from alone. Very few people can boast a 100% success rate when it comes to attracting love interests. And even for those who have...

Can the president really kill off the penny – and should he?

By Jay L. Zagorsky

In the middle of Super Bowl LIX, President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was getting rid of the penny. Since the lowly penny in 2024 cost about 3.7 cents to make meaning the government loses money on every...

Decentralised social media offers an alternative to big tech platforms like X and Meta. How does it work? Podcast

By Gemma Ware1

When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022, many users looked for alternatives, fuelling a wave of online migration from the social media platform. Musk says hes using Twitter, now named X, to champion free speech and that...

USAID’s freeze has thrust the entire global aid system into uncertainty

By Borja Santos Porras

The Trump administrations decision to suspend USAID workers for 90 days and pause most of its international aid work has rocked the foundations of the global aid system. The move, which has sparked outrage in the...

Power to the people: a new book reveals the true story of how Australian democracy works

By Amanda Dunn

When I was a child, I lived in a very politically engaged household. My parents were always talking politics, and my dad in particular was often growling at the television when the face of someone he disagreed with...

Here’s why some people still evade public transport fares – even when they’re 50 cents

By Milad Haghani Et Al

Public transport in Queensland now costs just 50 cents. Yet in the first six months of the trial, its been revealed that thousands of commuters were fined for fare evasion. More than 3,000 people received fines of A$322...

Heads vs tails? A simple coin flip can be enough to change how we treat others

By Eliane Deschrijver Et Al

Imagine you are asked to give a small amount of money to a stranger. Its not your money, so it doesnt cost you anything. Youre just deciding how much they get. But first, a pair of coins is flipped one for you and one for...

Inflation is heating up again, putting pressure on Trump to cool it on tariffs

By Jason Reed

Inflation figures released on Feb. 12, 2025, will come as a disappointment to Americans who hoped President Donald Trump would be true to his word on bringing down prices on Day One. It will also put pressure on the new...

Why federal courts are unlikely to save democracy from Trump’s and Musk’s attacks

By Maya Sen

State governments, community groups, advocacy nonprofits and regular Americans have filed a large and growing number of federal lawsuits opposing President Donald Trumps barrage of executive orders and policy statements....

How Valentine’s Day was transformed by the Industrial Revolution and ‘manufactured intimacy’

By Christopher Ferguson

When we think of Valentines Day, chubby Cupids, hearts and roses generally come to mind, not industrial processes like mass production and the division of labor. Yet the latter were essential to the holidays history. As a...

Do parties win elections because of their leaders, or in spite of them? History shows it’s a bit of both

By Pandanus Petter Et Al

The upcoming federal election will see the incumbent Labor prime minister, Anthony Albanese, face off against Liberal opposition leader, Peter Dutton. Well likely see a strong focus on the personal qualities and...

The Paris AI summit marks a tipping point on the technology’s safety and sustainability

By Robert Diab

United States Vice President JD Vance made headlines this week by refusing to sign a declaration at a global summit in Paris on artificial intelligence. In his first appearance on the world stage, Vance made clear that the...

Why ‘low carbon’ roses are flown around the world

By Will de Freitas

As you read this, planes full of roses are heading from east Africa and South America to almost every corner of the world. If you buy someone a rose this Valentines Day, it may be in the air right now or perhaps in a...

Kendrick Lamar’s big Super Bowl moment

By Christina L. Myers

In the September 2024 NFL ad announcing Kendrick Lamar as the halftime performer at Super Bowl 59, the 37-year-old rapper stands before a colossal American flag, feeding footballs into a machine that launches the balls to...

Trump’s push to shut down USAID shows how international development is all about strategic interests

By Nelson Duenas

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is on the verge of being shut down by United States President Donald Trumps administration. On Feb. 4, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the agency would be...

Current cultural citizens: the importance of creating spaces in art galleries for young people

By Naomi Zouwer Et Al

Galleries and art museums can be intimidating and alienating even for adults. Imagine it from a childs point of view. Stern security guards in uniforms stationed the doors, bags checked, snacks banned and people hushed....

Habitat restoration is a long-haul job. Here are 3 groups that have endured

By Nigel Tucker

TREAT volunteers planting trees TREAT Like ferns and the tides, community conservation groups come and go. Many achieve their goal. Volunteers restore a local wetland or protect a patch of urban bush and then hang up the...

The transformation of Jordan Mailata: from rugby league in Sydney to a second NFL Super Bowl

By Justin Keogh Et Al

Jordan Mailata is an Australian-born NFL star who plays for the Philadelphia Eagles as an offensive left tackle. This position favours very tall, heavy and strong athletes who also possess good footwork, agility and...

Do investment tax breaks work? A new study finds the evidence is ‘mixed at best’

By Kerrie Sadiq Et Al

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) released a discussion paper this week on investment tax breaks. The study looks at whether tax incentives, such as instant asset write-offs for utes, boost business investment. Business...