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...
Smart meters haven’t delivered the promised benefits to electricity users. Here’s a way to fix the problems
By Ali Pourmousavi Kani Et Al
Billions of dollars are being spent worldwide to modernise electricity grids with smart meters. These meters promise to save households money by making it easier for us to understand and manage our energy use. However, our...
Online wellness content: 3 ways to tell evidence-based health information from pseudoscience
By Michelle Cohen
I drink borax! proclaims the smiling TikToker. Holding up a box of the laundry additive, she rhymes off a list of its supposed health benefits: Balances testosterone and estrogen. Its a powerhouse...
Emissions impossible? How the transport sector can help make the 2050 net-zero goal a reality
By Osman Alp Et Al
Meeting Canadas ambitious net-zero emissions target by 2050 necessitates significant technological, behavioural and systemic changes in the transportation sector, a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG)...
Evangelical bestsellers reveal diverse — and sometimes dangerous — ideas about morality
By Christopher Douglas
The bestselling evangelical Christian fiction of the 21st century couldnt be more morally different from itself.
For example, William Paul Youngs 2007 novel The Shack is about the kidnapping, abuse and murder of a...
What does Québec want? Politicians should heed what voters have repeatedly told them
By Charles Berthelet
Questions about what Québec wants have shaped Canadian politics for decades.
Its now been 30 years since Jacques Parizeau led the Parti Québécois to a majority victory in 1994.
The threat of...
Almost 50% of adult South Africans are overweight or obese. Poverty and poor nutrition are largely to blame
By Thokozani Simelane
Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight and obesity.
South Africa has undergone a nutritional transition over the past 30...
Snakebites: we thought we’d created a winning new antivenom but then it flopped. Why that turned out to be a good thing
By Christoffer Vinther Sørensen Et Al
Snakebites kill over 100,000 people each year, and hundreds of thousands of survivors are left with long-term disabilities such as amputations.
Africa, Asia and Latin America are the regions most heavily affected. The...
Economists say Australia shouldn’t try to transition to net zero by aping the mammoth US Inflation Reduction Act
By Peter Martin1
Australias top economists are pressing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to ape US President Joe Bidens think big approach to clean energy.
Bidens so-called Inflation Reduction Act dubbed the largest climate...
Gut microbiome: meet Roseburia intestinalis — the energy-producing bacterium that helps us fight against disease
By Conor Meehan
The hundreds of species of microorganisms that comprise the microbiome all have different, unique roles.
One of the important functions that takes place in the gut is the production of short-chain fatty acids. These...
Levelling up is not working as promised – our research shows why
By Abigail Taylor Et Al
The UK parliament has heard findings that levelling up arguably the Conservatives flagship policy agenda is beset by critical delays. In a report published on March 15, the public accounts committee, parliaments...
Tapeworm larvae found in man’s brain – how did they get there?
By John Worthington
We have all found ourselves in a place we would rather not be, a school reunion, the never-ending work meeting or a distant relatives wedding reception. In such situations, it is often a good option to make the best of it....
Michael Gove’s extremism definition: four things about his announcement that make no sense
By Chris Allen3
The UK government has unveiled its new definition of extremism, but has raised more questions than it has answered in the process.
Extremism is now defined as the promotion or advancement of an ideology based on...
Ukraine war: ten years after Putin annexed Crimea, Russia’s grip on the peninsula looks shaky
By Stefan Wolff
It is ten years since Russia illegally annexed Crimea on March 18 2014. Subsequent efforts to firmly integrate the peninsula into the Russian Federation, however, have been far from the success story that the Kremlin often...
Fuel poverty in England is probably 2.5 times higher than government statistics show
By Torran Semple Et Al
The cap set on how much UK energy suppliers can charge for domestic gas and electricity is set to fall by 15% from April 1 2024. Despite this, prices remain shockingly high. The average household energy bill in 2023 was...
Ravenser Odd: the medieval city Yorkshire lost to the sea
By Steve Simmons
April 1 2024 marks the 725th anniversary of King Edward I granting royal charters to two settlements in the north of England: Kingston upon Hull and Ravenser Odd.
The first, of course, is better known as Hull, the city...
Child health is in crisis in the UK – here’s what needs to change
By Katie Harron
A new report from the Academy of Medical Sciences highlights the appalling decline in child health and a need for urgent action. In recent years, child vaccination rates have fallen well below World Health Organization...
The mystery of consciousness shows there may be a limit to what science alone can achieve
By Philip Goff
The progress of science in the last 400 years is mind-blowing. Who would have thought wed be able to trace the history of our universe to its origins 14 billion years ago? Science has increased the length and the quality...
Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents
By Jess Auerbach Jahajeeah
Large parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the...
Jury convicts father who bought the gun used in son’s Michigan mass shooting
By Thaddeus Hoffmeister
In a case of what prosecutors described as gross negligence, a Michigan jury convicted James Crumbley on charges of involuntary manslaughter for his role in his sons deadly rampage at Oxford High School nearly three years...
How ‘Dune’ became a beacon for the fledgling environmental movement
By Devin Griffiths
Dune, widely considered one of the best sci-fi novels of all time, continues to influence how writers, artists and inventors envision the future.
Of course, there are Denis Villeneuves visually stunning films, Dune:...
Trump wouldn’t be the first presidential candidate to campaign from a prison cell
By Thomas Doherty
The first trial ever of a former president, the so-called hush money case against former president and likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, is scheduled to begin with jury selection in New York on March 25, 2024,...
Did Biden really steal the election? Students learn how to debunk conspiracy theories in this course
By David Cason
Title of course:
Debunking conspiracy theories
What prompted the idea for the course?
I am interested in how people internalize or learn about political beliefs they go on to adopt. This interest coincided with my...
Pacemaker powered by light eliminates need for batteries and allows the heart to function more naturally − new research
By Pengju Li
By harnessing light, my colleagues and I designed a wireless, ultrathin pacemaker that operates like a solar panel. This design not only eliminates the need for batteries but also minimizes disruptions to the hearts...
What is the ‘great replacement theory’? A scholar of race relations explains
By Rodney Coates
The great replacement theory, whose origins date back to the late 19th century, argues that Jews and some Western elites are conspiring to replace white Americans and Europeans with people of non-European descent,...
Israel’s army exemptions for the ultra-Orthodox are part of a bigger challenge: The Jewish state is divided over the Jewish religion
By Michael Brenner
Just when you think nothing can surprise you anymore in Israeli politics, someone always comes along with a new twist.
This time it was Yitzhak Yosef, one of Israels two chief rabbis. In response to debates over whether...
Why do airlines charge so much for checked bags? This obscure rule helps explain why
By Jay L. Zagorsky
Five out of the six biggest U.S. airlines have raised their checked bag fees since January 2024.
Take American Airlines. In 2023, it cost US$30 to check a standard bag in with the airline; today, as of March 2024, it...
How meth became an epidemic in America, and what’s happening now that it’s faded from the headlines
By William Garriott
Rural America has long suffered from an epidemic of methamphetamine use, which accounts for thousands of drug overdoses and deaths every year.
William Garriott, an anthropologist at Drake University, explored meths...
There’s an extra $1 billion on the table for NT schools. This could change lives if spent well
By Ruth Wallace Et Al
The federal and Northern Territory governments have just made a historic funding announcement of about A$1 billion for schools in the territory.
This includes an extra $737.7 million from the federal government and an...
Ultra-fast fashion is a disturbing trend undermining efforts to make the whole industry more sustainable
By Taylor Brydges
Since the 1990s, fast fashion has enabled everyday people to buy the latest catwalk trends. But the sheer volume of garments being whipped up, sold and soon discarded is contributing to a global sustainability...
Love, loss and tears – but also laughter: Belvoir’s compelling and skilful staging of Holding the Man
By Huw Griffiths
Walking through Chippendale on my way to Sydneys Belvoir Street Theatre, where this production of Holding the Man is playing, I pass by the York Theatre. This was the theatre where, in 1985, Timothy Conigrave, author of...
Lost in translation: the geopolitical risks of declining foreign language learning in Australia and NZ
By Geoffrey Miller Et Al
As the 2024 academic year begins in Australia and New Zealand, optimism over the state of foreign language learning at universities is in short supply.
Languages have taken a post-pandemic battering. In 2023 alone, New...
What is minoxidil, the anti-balding hair growth treatment? Here’s what the science says
By Jacinta L. Johnson Et Al
Hair loss (also known as alopecia) often affects the scalp but can occur anywhere on the body. Its very common and usually nothing to worry about; about half of Australian men show signs of visible baldness at age 50 and...
Housing policies need to fully consider market dynamics to move beyond ‘tall and sprawl’ cities
By Dawn Parker
The federal Task Force for Housing and Climate recently released its final recommendations for solving Canadas housing crisis. The Blueprint for More and Better Housing contains suggestions for adding new affordable and...
In France, abortion rights and hijab bans highlight a double standard on women’s rights
By Roshan Arah Jahangeer
The French parliament recently voted in favour of enshrining the right to abortion into the countrys constitution. While crowds celebrated outside, the slogan my body my choice was projected onto the Eiffel Tower in giant...
Could ADHD drugs reduce the risk of early death? Unpacking the findings from a new Swedish study
By Hassan Vally
For many, a diagnosis of ADHD, whether in childhood or adulthood, is life changing. It means finally having an explanation for these challenges, and opens up the opportunity for treatment, including medication.
Although...
Meet the kowari: a pint-sized predator on the fast track to extinction
By Katherine Moseby Et Al
Australia is home to more than 350 species of native mammals, 87% of which are found nowhere else on Earth. But with 39 of these species already extinct and a further 110 listed as threatened, theres every chance many will...
What washing machine settings can I use to make my clothes last longer?
By Alessandra Sutti Et Al
Orbiting 400 kilometres above Earths surface, the astronauts on the International Space Station live a pretty normal social life, if not for one thing: they happily wear their unwashed clothes for days and weeks at a time....
Debate: The amorality of ‘Oppenheimer’
By Paul Ham
As part of the research for Hiroshima Nagasaki: The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and Their Aftermath, published in 2013 by Penguin Random House (UK) and Pan Macmillan (US), author Paul Ham interviewed 80 survivors of...
Ukraine recap: Russian election special – and the winner will be … Vladimir Putin
By Jonathan Este
Russian voters have been heading to the polls this week. But it would be misleading to say they were voting to choose a president. Thats already been done for them itll be Vladimir Putin.
If there had ever been any...
Mike Tyson is getting back in the ring at 58 – what could go wrong?
By Stephen Hughes
If at 58, I were to agree to a boxing match with a person half my age, much alarm would be caused. My daughters would burst into tears, my partner would have strong words, and my students would have final confirmation that...
Is it ethical to watch AI pornography?
By Chantal Gautier
If youre in your 20s and 30s, you probably watch pornography. Millennials and gen Z are watching more pornography than any other age group and are also more likely than any other demographic to experiment with AI...
Ukraine war: a warning for Kyiv’s western allies from the failed Polish uprising of 1830-31
By Gervase Phillips
It has been reported that the US president, Joe Biden, has managed to scrape together US$300 million (235 million) as an emergency measure to supply the Ukraine military with at least some ammunition as it struggles to...
How news organisations decide whether a photo is ‘too edited’
By Andrew Pearsall
In the era of artificial intelligence and accessible photo editing, you cant believe everything you see online. One exception, of course, is (usually) if its published by a reputable news source.
The foundation of...
Ghostbots: AI versions of deceased loved ones could be a serious threat to mental health
By Nigel Mulligan
We all experience loss and grief. Imagine, though, that you dont need to say goodbye to your loved ones. That you can recreate them virtually so you can have conversations and find out how theyre feeling.
For Kim...
For-profit nursing homes are cutting corners on safety and draining resources with financial shenanigans − especially at midsize chains that dodge public scrutiny
By Sean Campbell1 Et Al
The care at Landmark of Louisville Rehabilitation and Nursing was abysmal when state inspectors filed their survey report of the Kentucky facility on July 3, 2021.
Residents wandered the halls in a facility that can...
Proteins in milk and blood could one day let doctors detect breast cancer earlier – and save lives
By Danielle Whitham
Doctors may someday be able to use bodily fluids to noninvasively detect breast cancer in patients earlier than is possible now.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S. and is...
Robo-advisers are here – the pros and cons of using AI in investing
By Laurence Jones
Artificial intelligence (AI) is shaking up the way we invest our money. Gone are the days when complex tools were reserved for the wealthy or financial institutions.
AI-powered robo-advisers, such as Betterment and...
Be wary of the ‘vibes’: positive investor sentiment doesn’t necessarily match the true value of stocks
By Jedrzej Bialkowski
Global stock prices dropped across the board late last year, by between 10% and 15% in a matter of weeks.
Fears of a recession took hold after a series of interest rate increases, stubborn inflation and geopolitical...