What is a semiconductor? An electrical engineer explains how these critical electronic components work and how they are made

By Trevor Thornton Et Al

Semiconductors are a critical part of almost every modern electronic device, and the vast majority of semiconductors are made in Tawain. Increasing concerns over the reliance on Taiwain for semiconductors especially given...

Could cargo bike deliveries help green e-commerce?

By Antoine Robichet Et Al

As the world moves toward decarbonization, every option for slashing humanitys carbon footprint must be on the table. As it stands, transport represents almost a quarter of Europes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the...

Big Brother is coming back – the reality TV landscape today will demand a more caring show

By Helen Wood

ITV2 has announced the return of Big Brother to the UK with a promo trailer during this years Love Island final. Big Brothers successful format of putting a group of housemates together in a controlled environment as an...

How centuries of self-isolation turned Japan into one of the most sustainable societies on Earth

By Hiroko Oe

At the start of the 1600s, Japans rulers feared that Christianity which had recently been introduced to the southern parts of the country by European missionaries would spread. In response, they effectively sealed the...

How 'living architecture' could help the world avoid a soul-deadening digital future

By Tim Gorichanaz

My first Apple laptop felt like a piece of magic made just for me almost a part of myself. The rounded corners, the lively shading, the delightful animations. I had been using Windows my whole life, starting on my familys...

Key parts of US laws are hard for the public to find and read

By D. R. Jones

It happens in court cases from time to time: Lawyers and judges discussing the meaning of a law cant access the text they need to review. It happened in a federal court in Rhode Island in 2004 and in the Indiana Supreme...

Uranium prices are soaring, and Australia's hoary old nuclear debate is back in the headlines. Here's what it all means

By Erik Eklund

Last week, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sought to revive the hoary old debate of nuclear power in Australia, announcing an internal review into whether the Liberals should back the controversial technology. Dutton...

The January 6 hearings have been spectacular TV, but will they have any consequences for Trump?

By David Smith

There have now been nine televised hearings of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. The main purpose of these hearings has been to publicly present evidence of...

Monkeypox is now a national public health emergency in the U.S. – an epidemiologist explains what this means

By Kathryn H. Jacobsen

After news broke that the U.S. declared monkeypox to be a public health emergency, friends and family started asking me, an infectious disease epidemiologist, if monkeypox is about to begin causing widespread death and...

Wearable technology can change autistic people’s lives – if they’re involved in designing it

By Lauren Gillies-Walker Et Al

Many autistic people experience difficulties in expressing their emotions. This can result in increased anxiety, depression, anger and physical health problems. Research shows autistic adults are significantly more likely...

The US is revisiting its trade relations with African countries: key issues on the table

By Kefa M. Otiso Et Al

Last year, the USs Biden administration announced plans to increase two-way trade and investment between the US and Africa. The starting point was a revamp of the Trump-era Prosper Africa initiative. As American secretary...

What is neoliberalism?

By Anthony Kammas

Neoliberalism is a complex concept that many people use and overuse in different and often conflicting ways. So, what is it, really? When discussing neoliberalism with my students at the University of Southern...

Social media provides flood of images of death and carnage from Ukraine war – and contributes to weaker journalism standards

By Beena Sarwar

Photos of civilians killed or injured in the Russia-Ukraine war are widespread, particularly online, both on social media and in professional news media. Editors have always published images of dead or suffering people...

Why are nuclear weapons so hard to get rid of? Because they're tied up in nuclear countries' sense of right and wrong

By Thomas E. Doyle, II

Every five years, the nearly 200 member states of the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons meet to review their progress or lack thereof. After being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthlong...

After Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence

By Samuel Perry

In the run-up to the U.S. midterm elections, some politicians continue to ride the wave of whats known as Christian nationalism in ways that are increasingly vocal and direct. GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a...

Inflation: why it's happening and why interest rates are going up to combat it

By Supriya Kapoor

Soaring prices have forced central banks in many developed countries to raise their interest rates in recent weeks. These organisations are in charge of attempts to rein in rising costs that are threatening to wreak havoc...

Without a fresh new vision, the next UK Conservative prime minister risks leading their party to election loss

By Andrew S. Roe-Crines

The Conservative party has got a problem. The problem can best be described as the coming together of a series of problems that will make re-election harder. In the run-up to the next election, voters will have the...

Could 'virtual nurses' be the answer to aged care staffing woes? Dream on

By Micah DJ Peters

Former Health Department Chief Martin Bowles has reportedly proposed virtual nurses could help address the shortage of nurses in aged care. This might involve remote, possibly artificial intelligence-assisted, virtual...

Should we be worried about our pet cats and dogs getting COVID?

By Hassan Vally

The SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes COVID, originated from bats and then, probably after passing through an intermediary host, gained the ability to infect humans. Many new viruses that emerge in this way, like...

Business can no longer ignore extreme heat events – it’s becoming a danger to the bottom line

By David Lont Et Al

When record-breaking heatwaves cause train tracks to bend, airport runways to buckle, and roads to melt, as happened in the United Kingdom last month, it is likely that business performance will suffer. The problem is...

How women's football can avoid being corrupted when more money comes its way

By Christina Philippou

The success of England at the Womens Euros has increased interest in womens football to unprecedented levels, with record-breaking viewing and attendance figures and an increase in Womens Super League (WSL) season-ticket...

Ukraine Recap: grain and gas were problems the west should have seen coming

By Jonathan Este

There was a perceptible sense of relief on Monday when the Razoni, a Sierra Leone-flagged vessel, left the port of Odesa with 26,000 tons of grain bound for Tripoli in Lebanon. This was the first ship out of the port city...

Inflation isn't the 6.1% they say it is – for many of us, it is much lower

By Ben Phillips

We learnt last week inflation is officially 6.1% way above the average over the past 20 years of 2.5%. This is right in the middle of the Reserve Banks 2-3% target band. But although the rate is now 6.1%, not everybody...

The manipulation of Uber’s public image profoundly impacted the lives of taxi drivers

By Kam Phung1 Et Al

In early July, the leak of 124,000 confidential files from Uber known as the Uber Files as part of an investigation by The Guardian revealed how the company knowingly flouted laws, secretly lobbied governments and...

Why Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan puts the White House in delicate straits of diplomacy with China

By Meredith Oyen

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on Aug. 2, 2022 a highly controversial trip that has been strongly opposed by China. Such is the sensitivity over the islands status that even before Pelosis plane...

Persecution of Christians in Nigeria is more complicated than it seems

By Jideofor Adibe

Nigeria has a long history of religious tensions against which the current spate of violence against Christians must be seen. There are a number of factors that have heightened religious tensions in Nigeria. The...

In Congress, the name of a bill may have nothing to do with what's in it - it's all about salesmanship

By Angela Bradbery

Quick quiz: Whats the name of the compromise climate bill that U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, last week agreed to support? Hint: In addition to being the most significant climate change-curbing...

What is a flash flood? A civil engineer explains

By Janey Camp

Flash flooding is a specific type of flooding that occurs in a short time frame after a precipitation event generally less than six hours. It often is caused by heavy or excessive rainfall and happens in areas near rivers...

Why food insecurity among Gen Z is so much higher than for other age groups

By Ahmad Zia Wahdat Et Al

Adult members of Generation Z are experiencing food insecurity at over twice the rate of the average American, according to our latest consumer food survey. In fact, about 1 in 3 Americans born from 1996-2004 have had...

What are automotive 'over-the-air' updates? A marketing professor explains

By Vivek Astvansh

Whenever automakers discover that a vehicle has a defect or does not comply with U.S. laws, they must notify the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and mail a notice to each customer who owns or leases the...

The 'gas trigger' won't be enough to stop our energy crisis escalating. We need a domestic reservation policy

By Samantha Hepburn

Australias east coast gas crisis is set to sharply worsen. A new report from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) notes supply conditions will deteriorate significantly in 2023 if no action is taken....

Why does the RBA keep hiking interest rates? It's scared it can't contain inflation

By Peter Martin1

There are signs inflation pressures are easing. Oil prices are down almost 20% on their peak in March. Theyve been falling consistently for a month. The average capital city unleaded price is down from A$2.11 per litre...

It's Beyoncé's world. We're just living in it

By Dr Phoebe Macrossan

As Rolling Stone wrote last month, for at least the past decade, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter has been the worlds greatest living entertainer. The African-American pop star has reached single-name fame status...

As tech giants face a financial downturn, some new players are focusing on people over profit

By Peter Bloom

The tech industry has been rocked by recent economic woes. While once thought of as close to recession proof, companies from Netflix to Meta are suddenly experiencing serious financial setbacks. As the Washington Post...

Armed militias in Brazil hold enormous sway over fate of Amazon – and the global climate

By Nicholas Pope

The future of the environmental agenda is on a collision course with Brazils violent past, as the murders of Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira and British journalist Dom Phillips have recently illustrated. Three...

Ukraine war: first grain ship leaves Odesa, but EU should have seen food and energy crises coming

By Anna-Sophie Maass

Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine has resulted in four interrelated security crises. The war in Ukraine is a tragedy for human security, but it affects geopolitical security as well as food and energy security. These...

Unpacking the power plays over Western Sahara

By Jacob Mundy

The western Mediterranean region has recently witnessed an intensifying set of diplomatic and economic stand-offs between neighbours Morocco, Algeria, and Spain. In 2021, Algiers completely severed its already fractured...

Ride-hailing in Lagos: algorithmic impacts and driver resistance

By Daniel Arubayi

In July 2014, the ride-hailing app Uber emerged in Lagos, offering the public improved mobility through technology. Uber, at the time, was valued at US$18 billion and had launched in 205 cities. Its competitor, Bolt,...

If all the vehicles in the world were to convert to electric, would it be quieter?

By Erica D. Walker

If all of the vehicles in the world were to convert to electric, would it be quieter? Joseph, age 10, Chatham, New Jersey If everyone everywhere received a free electric vehicle at the same time and owners were...

Inflation is spiking around the world – not just in the United States

By Christopher Decker

The 9.1% increase in U.S. consumer prices in the 12 months ending in June 2022, the highest in four decades, has prompted many sobering headlines. Meanwhile, annual inflation in Germany and the U.K. countries with...

How the blue economy will shape the future of Canada's oceans — and its coastal communities

By Andrés M. Cisneros-Montemayor Et Al

The words blue economy will soon shape the future of Canadas oceans, from the fiords and straits of British Columbia to the rugged coastlines of the Atlantic to the vast seascapes of the Arctic. The transformation of...

Central bank digital currencies could mean the end of democracy

By Ori Freiman

In recent years, we have witnessed a growing interest in the idea of central bank digital currencies. Similar to cash, central bank digital currencies are a form of money issued by central banks. In each country, a...

Good news: highway underpasses for wildlife actually work

By Ross Goldingay

Australias wildlife is increasingly threatened with extinction. One key driver of this is habitat clearing and fragmentation. An associated factor is the expansion of our road network, particularly the upgrade and...

Solar is the cheapest power, and a literal light-bulb moment showed us we can cut costs and emissions even further

By Bruno Vicari Stefani Et Al

Recent extreme weather events have underscored the need to cut the CO₂ emissions that are driving up global temperatures. This requires a rapid transition of the energy economy to renewable energy sources, the cheapest...

Biden tests positive for COVID-19: An infectious disease doctor explains the risks and treatments available for the 79-year-old president

By Patrick Jackson

1. What are the important risk factors for Biden? The most important risk factor for developing severe COVID-19 is age. If you are 79 years old when you become infected with COVID-19, like President Biden, you are eight...

Russia says peace in Ukraine will be ‘on our terms’ – but what can the West accept and at what cost?

By Alexander Gillespie

The recent assertion by Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russias security council (and former president), that the invasion of Ukraine will achieve all its goals and that peace will be on our terms raises an obvious...

Ukraine Recap: Putin goes in search of friends while his ministers threaten his enemies

By Jonathan Este

Its childish, I realise, but I experienced a frisson of amused pleasure on watching the video of Vladimir Putin pacing up and down for nearly a minute while waiting for the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, to show...

Can electric vehicle batteries be recycled?

By Serge Pelissier

Between 2000 and 2018, the number of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) manufactured was multiplied by 80. In 2018, 66% of them were used in electric vehicles (EVs). The planned development of electric mobility will increase...

Russia and Iran's growing friendship shows their weakness not their strength

By Scott Lucas

Facing economic and military difficulties in his invasion of Ukraine, the Russian president Vladimir Putin popped up this week in Irans capital Tehran. His plan was to show the world that, despite sanctions on Moscow and...

If we want better municipal politicians, we should pay better wages

By Zachary Spicer

Ontarios 2022 municipal election campaign is well underway, as is British Columbias. Four years ago in Ontario, 6,658 candidates put their names forward for 2,864 seats on local councils. Its safe to assume a similar...