97% of adult Australians have limited skills to verify information online – new report
By Sora Park Et Al
Australians now use social media more often than any other type of media, including TV, radio and websites. While the increased use of social media platforms present new opportunities to access and engage with information,...
What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And how did the Islamist group evolve into a key player in Syria’s civil war?
By Sara Harmouch
A major offensive has seen rebel groups in Syria retake the countrys second city, Aleppo and demonstrated the growing prominence of the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham in the 13-year-long civil war.
The surprise...
Warmer winters are fuelling a growth in algal blooms across the Great Lakes
By Nandita Basu Et Al
While commonly associated with the summer, algal blooms can also persist into the fall. As of late October 2024, blooms were still present along the southern shores of Lake Erie.
In the warm weather, people flock to...
CrossFit: popular workout regime may decrease need for prescription drugs – new research
By Athalie Redwood-Brown Et Al
Though CrossFit is often seen as a sport for the super fit, that shouldnt put you off from trying it. CrossFit is designed to be accessible to everyone, with scalable workouts suited for all ages and abilities, embodying...
Indigenous women are dying violent, preventable deaths. Endless inquiries won’t help unless we act
By Kyllie Cripps Et Al
Recently, a landmark coronial inquiry into the deaths of four Indigenous women from domestic and family violence in the Northern Territory released its findings after a year-long investigation.
The coroner aimed to...
Many people don’t measure their blood pressure properly at home – here’s how to get accurate readings
By Niamh Chapman Et Al
Measuring your blood pressure at home means you can take readings over several days to get a better picture of your health, instead of one-off measurements at the doctors clinic.
Its important you follow specific steps...
Cheaper housing and better transport? What you need to know about Australia’s new National Urban Policy
By Ehsan Noroozinejad Et Al
Imagine a city where everyone can afford a safe home, reach work or school without long, stressful commutes, and enjoy green parks and clean air.
This is Anthony Albaneses decade-long vision for Australias cities after...
Privatisation by stealth: changes to education in NZ opening the door to private interests
By Karen Nairn Et Al
Since taking power last year, the New Zealand government has made rapid changes to the countrys education system including the introduction of structured approaches to literacy and maths and the promotion of charter...
Under-16 social media ban supported by 77% as economic sentiment lifts
By Adrian Beaumont
A national YouGov poll, conducted November 1521 from a sample of 1,515, had a 5050 tie, unchanged from the previous YouGov poll in September. Primary votes were 38% Coalition (down one), 30% Labor (steady), 13% Greens...
NZ’s gas shortage was not caused by the offshore exploration ban – but it was still a flawed policy
By David Dempsey1
Historically, gas in New Zealand traded below NZ$10 per gigajoule. When prices hit $50 per gigajoule in August this year, anyone with gas to sell could have made a lot of money.
But there clearly wasnt much gas around....
960 million dirty diapers are a big waste problem – what can be done with them
By James Wright Et Al
The use of disposable diapers (nappies) is growing in African countries. The disposable diaper undoubtedly makes it easier for many parents to work or spend time on other things, including their own and their childs...
Jet lag: your metabolism recovers quicker than your brain – new study
By Jonathan Johnston Et Al
The body has a network of daily (circadian) clocks that influences most areas of our health, including sleep and metabolism. A central clock in the brain is closely tied to daily sleep rhythms. But there are also clocks in...
Getting Britain to work without blaming ‘scroungers’ – can Starmer change the narrative?
By James Morrison
At face value, the governments approach to get Britain working marks a pointed departure from the toxic anti-welfare rhetoric of recent decades.
Both Keir Starmer and his work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, have...
Electric vehicle fires: How worried should we really be?
By César Martín-Gómez Et Al
Electric vehicles (EVs) bring not just environmental promise, but also raise critical safety questions chief among them, the fire risks posed by their lithium-ion batteries. While indispensable for powering EVs, these...
Africa’s making progress against HIV, but donor funds are drying up – what must change
By Yogan Pillay Et Al
Remarkable progress has been made against the HIV epidemic in the last two decades.
However, a loss of momentum in fighting HIV across the globe threatens to undermine the strides that have been made.
There is a...
Presidential term limits help protect democracy – long ones can be dangerous
By Rosalind Dixon Et Al
The purpose of presidential term limits is to protect democracy and ensure democratic competition. In recent years, however, many African presidents have attempted to amend constitutions to pursue extended mandates. For...
How a little-known far-right candidate manipulated TikTok to rise to the top in Romanian election
By Anda Iulia Solea
A far-right independent candidate called Călin Georgescu is leading the race to become Romanias next president. He took a shock lead in the first round of voting by securing 22.9% of the vote, followed by centre-right...
Gabon’s coup leaders have changed the constitution to entrench their power – it’s a growing trend in west Africa
By Jonathan Powell Et Al
More than a year after a military coup, Gabonese citizens have held a referendum in which they approved a new draft constitution. The constitutional revisions targeted dynastic rule by introducing presidential term limits...
Liberals argue Labor’s electoral reform package should stand or fall as a whole in any court challenge
By Michelle Grattan
An attempt by the Liberals to insert a potential legal time bomb into the electoral reform legislation and a Labor proposal that would give the ACTU a generous donation cap were main reasons an expected bipartisan deal on...
The Reserve Bank of Australia will now have a separate board just to set interest rates. Here’s why that’s significant
By John Hawkins1 Et Al
On Thursday night, after a whirlwind day in Canberra, the Senate finally passed the federal governments long-delayed amendments to the Reserve Bank Act.
The reforms will create two separate boards for the Reserve Bank...
Giller Prize controversy spotlights tensions between politics and literary prizes
By Julien Lefort-Favreau
Canadas Giller Prize was recently awarded to novelist and poet Anne Michaels for her novel Held amid controversy.
The Giller Prize is Canadas most lucrative literary award, with a prize package of $100,000 for the...
A new model accurately predicts the migration of humpback whales – and may help them survive climate change
By Jasper de Bie
This years humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) season in Australia has almost come to an end. The beloved mammals are on their way to Antarctica for a summer of feeding. Next year from April onwards, millions of people...
After the hīkoi, the challenge: the Treaty principles debate and an honest reckoning with history
By Anne Salmond
After the hīkoi, the haka, the flags and the tumult, what next?
In the absence of obvious answers, a thoughtful and respectful discussion about te Tiriti o Waitangi/Treaty of Waitangi would be timely, to help guide us...
Welcome to Babel: new documentary charts the creation of painter Jiawei Shen’s three-storey magnum opus
By Joanna Mendelssohn
When Jiawei Shen first came to Australia, he bought a copy of that great western ideological text, the Bible. The doctrine that had shaped his life until then had come from the writings of the great Marxist thinkers Karl...
Long COVID appears to be driven by ‘long infection’. Here’s what the science says
By Brendan Crabb Et Al
Around 510% of people with COVID infections go on to experience long COVID, with symptoms lasting three months or more.
Researchers have proposed several biological mechanisms to explain long COVID. However, in a...
What’s a trade war?
By Lisa Toohey
Thanks to US President-elect Donald Trump, the term trade war is back in the headlines. Trump campaigned successfully on a platform of aggressive trade policies, and since being elected, has only doubled down on this...
A tax on new plastic would slash waste – if built into the global treaty on plastics
By Amelia Leavesley
Earlier this week, the mining magnate Andrew Forrest made headlines calling for a global polymer premium or plastic tax to be placed on every tonne of newly manufactured plastics. A tax like this could form part of the...
Will the fragile peace between Hezbollah and Israel hold?
By Sam Phelps
A ceasefire deal came into effect between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah in the early hours of November 26, bringing two months of hostilities in Lebanon to an end. The countrys main roads have since then...
Why some people don’t lose weight with Wegovy
By Simon Cork
Clinical trials have shown that people using weight-loss jabs, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, lose anywhere between 16% and 21% of their body weight. But the drugs dont work for everyone.
In those trials, a group of...
How our public spaces can be safer and more welcoming for children
By Anahita Shadkam
A Georgia mother was recently arrested for reckless endangerment after her 10-year-old son was seen walking outside alone. The warrant for her arrest claimed she willingly and knowingly endangered her sons safety.
The...
Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal promises a precarious peace in a region racked by conflict
By Vanessa Newby Et Al
After two months of ground war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, a negotiated ceasefire has been reached which for now should help to relieve civilian suffering. However, much will depend on both local and global...
Lagos street hawkers are blamed for crimes in traffic – but gangs are the real problem
By Felix Ajiola
Traffic in Lagos, Nigerias biggest city, is congested and chaotic. About 1.8 million vehicles used Lagos roads in 2022. The city has 226 vehicles per kilometre. The global average is 11 cars per km and the Nigerian...
What the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire means for the region – expert Q&A
By John Strawson
After nearly two months of hostilities between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah in Lebanon, the two sides have agreed a 60-day ceasefire, allowing many of the civilians who have been forced to flee the...
Black Friday: why our brains love a bargain
By Cathrine Jansson-Boyd
Do you prefer Black Friday or Cyber Monday? The January sales or Amazons Prime Day? Or perhaps you like to hold out for a good old fashioned everything-must-go shop clearance.
For whatever your shopping habits, theres a...
Elon Musk’s team-up with Donald Trump is different to how media barons operated in the past. Here’s why
By Gordon Fletcher
Elon Musks regular posts of strong support for president-elect Donald Trump on his social media platform X and his expected role within the new US administration present a rolling live case study on the role of social...
How the UK’s austerity policies caused life expectancy to fall
By Gerry McCartney Et Al
Between 1945, when the second world war ended, and the start of the 2010s, average life expectancy and mortality rates in high-income countries improved continuously. But from around 2012, in the UK and in several other...
What is Bluesky? Why tens of millions of people are heading for a ‘decentralised’ social media platform
By Rachel Burgess Et Al
After Elon Musk bought Twitter (now rebranded X) in 2022, disaffected users began to seek alternatives. Alongside Metas Threads and the open source project Mastodon, Bluesky was one of several contenders.
Threads...
Unmasking hidden online hate: a new tool helps catch nasty comments – even when they’re disguised
By Johnny Chan
People determined to spread toxic messages online have taken to masking their words to bypass automated moderation filters.
A user might replace letters with numbers or symbols, for example, writing Y0ure st00pid...
Trump’s next HUD secretary would have a lot to do to address the history of racist housing policy – and Trump’s own comments and history suggest that’s unlikely
By Colin Gordon
Donald Trump has picked former football player Scott Turner to lead the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. While not much is known about Turners positions as he awaits confirmation by the Senate, Trumps...
Live in an apartment and want to charge an electric car at home? Here are 4 ways to help that happen
By Thomas Longden1
Being able to charge your car at home is a big drawcard for many electric vehicle buyers. But its rare to find chargers installed at apartment complexes in Australia.
Installing chargers in existing apartment blocks can...
Track your spending, use cash and DIY gifts: how to keep your costs down this Christmas
By Angelique Nadia Sweetman McInnes
Australians are expected to spend more this Christmas than last, with spending projected to rise to A$69.7 billion. This is a 2.7% increase on what we spent last year on gifts, food and other treats for ourselves and...
How much for cash? Why the informal economy is bad for business, consumers and society
By Danny Buckley Et Al
Who hasnt heard someone ask, How much for cash? While it may seem harmless, research reveals such demands contribute to a growing culture of informality in business.
This grey economy, where economic activities occur...
Their DNA survives in diverse populations across the world – but who were the Denisovans?
By Linda Ongaro
It started with a finger bone found in a cave in the Altai mountains in Siberia in the late 2000s. Thanks to advances in DNA analysis, this was all that was required for scientists to be able to identify an entirely new...
Feud between Marcos and Duterte families distracts from suffering of typhoon-hit Philippines
By Tom Smith
Politics in the Philippines is beset by clan rivalry at the best of times but recent events have well and truly blown the lid off a box of snakes. A vice-president making assassination threats towards her own president,...
Canada’s housing crisis: Innovative tech must come with policy reform
By Ehsan Noroozinejad Farsangi Et Al
Earlier this year, the Canadian government released a new housing plan aimed at building more homes and addressing housing unaffordability. As part of that plan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that $600 million in...
Paul Watson vs Japan: Disrupting the whaling industry’s logistics – and logic
By Gilles Paché
Paul Watson, the iconic environmental activist and founder of the organisation Sea Shepherd, is no stranger to clashes with corporations and governments. Known for his bold and often controversial actions, he has dedicated...
China’s influence grows at COP29 climate talks as US leadership fades
By Lucia Green-Weiskel
The 2024 U.N. climate talks ended in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Nov. 24 after two weeks of arguments, agreements and side deals involving 106 heads of states and over 50,000 business leaders, activists and government...
How the gladiators inspired evangelicals’ sense of persecution
By Cavan W. Concannon
With the release of Ridley Scotts Gladiator II, audiences will be plunged back into the cinematic excitement of the Roman amphitheater so vividly captured in its predecessor, Gladiator.
Scotts film will undoubtedly...
Amid lull in tit-for-tat missile exchange, Iran and Israel seek to control the online narrative
By Shirvin Zeinalzadeh
Is Iran poised for a succession in leadership? Well, that depends on what you read.
For weeks, rumors have been swirling about the health of the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as...
Tiny laboratories that fit in your hand can rapidly identify pathogens using electricity
By Blanca H. Lapizco-Encinas
When you think of electric fields, you likely think of electricity the stuff that makes modern life possible by powering everything from household appliances to cellphones. Researchers have been studying the principles of...
