Here's what happens in your brain when you're trying to make or break a habit
By Dr Ashleigh Elizabeth Smith Et Al
Did you set a New Years resolution to kick a bad habit, only to find yourself falling back into old patterns? Youre not alone. In fact, research suggests up to 40% of our daily actions are habits automatic routines we do...
Leveraging digital platforms for public good: Stories of positive impact from India
By Suchit Ahuja Et Al
Digital platforms such as Uber, Airbnb, WeChat and TaskRabbit have changed the world by creating new economic opportunities through gig work culture and enabling a sharing economy. However, concerns remain about how these...
Consumer Privacy Protection Act could lead to fines for deceptive designs in apps and websites
By Jonathan Obar
Canadas proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) prohibits online consent processes that are deceptive or misleading.
Companies may face fines for breaking the acts rules. This could be trouble for social media...
In Brazil, the future of environmental sustainability needs a strong ally: collectors of recyclable materials
By Jannsen Santana Et Al
When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was sworn in for his third term as president of Brazil on January 1, 2023, he invited a diverse group to accompany him as he ascended the ramp to his offices. Among them, two...
Drones gather new and useful data for marine research, but they can disturb whales and dolphins
By Jaclyn A. Aubin
Drones have changed the way researchers study whales and dolphins. While we were once confined to the decks of boats and observation platforms, glimpsing the backs of surfacing animals, we can now watch them from above....
Inflation is proving particularly stubborn -- but jitters over banking failures, softening economy complicate Fed rate decision
By Christopher Decker
The Federal Reserve is facing a rather sticky problem. Despite its best efforts over the past year, inflation is stubbornly refusing to head south with any urgency to a target of 2%.
Rather, the inflation report...
ChatGPT: why it will probably remain just a tool that does inefficient work more efficiently
By Stuart Mills
ChatGPT is a remarkable technological development, capable of writing compelling prose that comes across as natural, coherent and knowledgeable.
But it has its limits, and can be made to say silly things. I managed to...
TikTok bans: what the evidence says about security and privacy concerns
By Benjamin Dowling
The UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, recently hinted that he may ban the social media application TikTok from devices used by government employees.
His comments follow similar bans by the European Commission and US...
UK food shortages: how growing more fruit and veg in cities could reduce the impact of empty supermarket shelves
By Jill Edmondson Et Al
British supermarkets are imposing limits on how many salad staples shoppers can buy as supply shortages leave shelves empty of some types of fruit and vegetables. The disappearance of fresh produce is said to be largely...
Fuel poverty makes you sick – so why has nothing changed since I was a child living in a cold home?
By Jan Gilbertson
During the 1970s and 1980s I grew up in a cold home. On very cold mornings, ice would be crusted on my bedroom window and my every breath would condense in the air.
Things had to be done in a rush to avoid the cold. I...
Why government budgets are exercises in distributing life and death as much as fiscal calculations
By Hazem Zohny
Sacrificial dilemmas are popular among philosophers. Should you divert a train from five people strapped to the tracks to a side-track with only one person strapped to it? What if that one person were a renowned cancer...
Nigeria's central bank made critical mistakes that doomed the country's currency redesign
By Stephen Onyeiwu
Nigeria has successfully introduced new banknotes on about 10 occasions since independence in 1960. So why has the latest attempt been so controversial and traumatic? And what measures need to be taken to avoid a future...
How to use free satellite data to monitor natural disasters and environmental changes
By Qiusheng Wu
If you want to track changes in the Amazon rainforest, see the full expanse of a hurricane or figure out where people need help after a disaster, its much easier to do with the view from a satellite orbiting a few hundred...
Don't trust the news media? That's good
By Michael J. Socolow
Everyone seems to hate what they call the media.
Attacking journalism even accurate and verified reporting provides a quick lift for politicians.
Its not just Donald Trump. Trumps rival for the 2024 Republican...
Pensioners and homeowners pay capital gains tax in real-time – it's time the richest Australians did too
By Peter Martin1
In drawing up his plans to more effectively tax large superannuation accounts, Treasurer Jim Chalmers might have stumbled upon a really good idea.
If applied more broadly, it could at last tax rich Australians in...
How cars 'waste' two thirds of their fuel
By Noël Brunetière
With the rise in gas prices showing no signs of abating, it seems like an appropriate time to ask ourselves: are our cars not efficient enough? Europe has decided to ban the production of new combustion engine-powered...
The earliest modern humans in Europe mastered bow-and-arrow technology 54,000 years ago
By Laure Metz Et Al
Based on research in Frances Mandrin cave, in February 2022 we published a study in the journal Science Advances that pushed back the earliest evidence of the arrival of the first Homo sapiens in Europe to 54,000 years ago...
Pope Francis: the first post-colonial papacy to deliver messages that resonate with Africans
By Stan Chu Ilo
When he was presented to a cheering crowd at St Peters Square, Vatican City, on 13 March 2013, few people outside Latin America knew much about Jorge Bergoglio.
But a decade later, based on my work as a scholar of...
One-third of childhood sexual abuse is perpetrated by another child. Shannon Molloy tells his story – and urges us not to look away
By Daryl Higgins
Journalist Shannon Molloy is used to sharing his story. In his 2020 memoir, Fourteen (now adapted for the stage), he wrote about growing up gay in regional Queensland in the 1990s, enduring severe bullying.
He wrote in...
Forget the conspiracies, 15-minute cities will free us to improve our mental health and wellbeing
By Christopher Patterson Et Al
The idea of the 15-minute city, according to its originator Carlos Moreno, is that people are no more than a 15-minute walk or bike ride away from all the services they need to live, learn and thrive.
The idea is...
Is menopause making me put on weight? No, but it's complicated
By Nick Fuller
Its a question people ask often: does menopause cause weight gain?
Women commonly put on weight as they enter menopause. Research shows women aged 46-57 gain an average of 2.1kg over five years.
But like many things...
Astronomers just discovered a comet that could be brighter than most stars when we see it next year. Or will it?
By Jonti Horner
Hot on the heels of the disappointing Green Comet, astronomers have just discovered a new comet with the potential to be next years big story C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).
Although it is still more than 18 months from...
JetBlue merger with Spirit not cleared for takeoff – why Justice Department is suing to scupper deal
By Joe Mazur
The U.S. Department of Justice has intervened to block a proposed deal that would see carrier JetBlue buy budget service Spirit Airlines.
In a lawsuit filed on March 7, 2023, the department warned that allowing the...
Silicon Valley Bank biggest US lender to fail since 2008 financial crisis
By William Chittenden
Silicon Valley Bank, which catered to the tech industry for three decades, collapsed on March 10, 2023, after the Santa Clara, California-based lender suffered from an old-fashioned bank run. State regulators seized the...
Squid fishing grew by 68% in just three years, raising fears the industry is out of control
By Quentin Hanich Et Al
Global squid fishing increased by 68% between 2017 and 2020, according to our international analysis, prompting concerns that much of the international fishing fleet is sidestepping necessary conservation and...
Somatic genome editing therapies are becoming a reality – but debate over ethics, equitable access and governance continue
By Olga C. Pandos
Hundreds of experts from around the world gathered at the Francis Crick Institute in London this week for the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing.
As at the first and second summits, held in Washington DC...
Who are Jehovah's Witnesses? A religion scholar explains the history of the often misunderstood group
By Mathew Schmalz
Six adults were killed March 9, 2023, in Hamburg, Germany, in what police described as a rampage after an evening religious service. Several others were wounded during the attack at a Jehovahs Witness center, called a...
Why employment remains red hot even as the Federal Reserve tries to put job market on ice
By Edouard Wemy
The hot U.S. labor market is showing few signs of cooling down, with the latest jobs report showing continued strong gains, particularly in service industries such as retail and hospitality. The robust employment landscape...
The rise and rise of property guardianship and what it says about our broken housing system
By Chris Bevan
With homeownership slipping out of reach for millions and soaring rents, the dearth of genuinely affordable homes is seeing property guardianship on the rise.
Property guardians live in empty or disused premises that...
A brief history of the UK's Winchcombe meteorite
By Martin D. Suttle
On 28 February 2021, for the first time in 30 years, a meteorite fell in the UK and was later recovered by scientists. Today, theres an international effort to study this space rock and learn more about its place in the...
Are interest rates really going to keep rising sharply?
By Supriya Kapoor
For anyone trying to understand where interest rates and inflation are heading, it has been a strenuous few days. Jay Powell, chairman of US central bank the Federal Reserve, warned senators he may have to do more to fight...
Three years on, the COVID pandemic may never end – but the public health impact is becoming more manageable
By Michael Head
Three years ago, on March 11 2020, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus first formally described COVID-19 as a pandemic.
The impact of the pandemic on all aspects of society has...
The UK now ranks as one of the most socially liberal countries in Europe – new research
By Bobby Duffy
Its easy to lose sight of just how accepting the UK now is as a nation. What were once pressing moral concerns have become simple facts of life for much of the public. The UK, in fact, now ranks as one of the most...
How COVID lockdowns triggered changes in peregrine falcon diets – and what this means for urban pest control
By Brandon Mak Et Al
Many people saw their eating habits change during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Some ate more frequently or experimented with healthier recipes. Others ordered more deliveries.
But human diets werent the only ones to change....
Uncovering the secret religious and spiritual lives of sex workers
By Daisy Matthews Et Al
Tanya* is telling me just how important her Methodist Christianity is to her. Were chatting over a video call, and I can see Tanyas living room in the background. This also happens to be her workspace because Tanya, who is...
As Australia's military ties with the US deepen, the Top End becomes even more vital to our security
By John Garrick Et Al
There are several challenges making Australias national security strategy more complicated these days Russias invasion of Ukraine, the impacts of climate change, our green energy transition and economic...
Why universities need to look beyond grades when admitting international students
By David Baidoo-Anu Et Al
International students play an instrumental role in the development of Canadas current and future economy.
One recent indication of the importance of international students for Canadas labour force and knowledge economy...
Pandemic pet boom has increased the demand for pet-friendly workplaces
By Tina Sharifi Et Al
About one in three Canadian households have adopted a pet since the start of the pandemic. Around one-third of these are first-time pet owners. These pandemic pets, along with their pre-pandemic counterparts, have brought...
Protecting privacy online begins with tackling 'digital resignation'
By Meiling Fong Et Al
From smart watches and meditation apps to digital assistants and social media platforms, we interact with technology daily. And some of these technologies have become an essential part of our social and professional...
How policies favouring rich, older people make young Australians Generation F-d
By Alison Pennington
Working to buy your own home is a rite of passage in Australia, firmly rooted in a time when government delivered plentiful, affordable housing. Following the senseless poverty and destitution inflicted by price-gouging...
Thinking of having a baby as the planet collapses? First, ask yourself 5 big ethical questions
By Craig Stanbury
Do you want to have a baby? But, on a planet rocked by the climate crisis, ecosystem collapse, famine and poverty, is having one just adding to the problem and therefore unethical?
I am a PhD Candidate at Monash...
My Health Record is meant to empower patients – but with little useful information stored, is it worth saving?
By Megan Prictor
Australias My Health Record is a national, integrated electronic record, intended to overcome the problem of having personal health information siloed in different systems.
People can access their own My Health Record...
Scientists just revealed the most detailed geological model of Earth's past 100 million years
By Tristan Salles
Earths surface is the living skin of our planet it connects the physical, chemical, and biological systems. Over geological time, landscapes change as this surface evolves, regulating the carbon cycle and nutrient...
Cyclone Gabrielle broke vital communication links when people needed them most – what happened and how do we fix it?
By Ulrich Speidel
Modern communication systems need two main things: power, and what engineers call backhaul, the connections that link cell towers and exchanges to the national network. When Cyclone Gabrielle struck, both were badly...
A white riot in Vancouver: Tracing the steps of the 1907 anti-Asian mob
By Henry Tsang
Editors note: Below is an edited account from the forthcoming book, White Riot: The 1907 Anti-Asian Riots in Vancouver, by Henry Tsang (Arsenal Pulp Press).
On Sept. 7, 1907, a crowd gathered at 7 p.m. at the Cambie...
Windsor framework: why Rishi Sunak was able to secure the Brexit deal that others couldn't
By Uta Staiger
For years, the EU-UK relationship has been bruised by the seemingly impossible puzzle of post-Brexit, Northern Ireland trade arrangements. Yet, after just four months of talks led by Rishi Sunaks government, we now have a...
Deciding what to wear to work isn't getting any easier for women, even as business dress codes relax
By Lucy Newton Et Al
HSBC has recently introduced what it calls a more casual uniform for its branch staff, including jumpsuits and jeans, menopause-friendly clothing, as well as ethnic wear. The uniforms aim to make staff immediately visible...
De La Soul is coming to streaming services – a brief guide to their best work
By Adam de Paor-Evans
De La Soul is one of the most significant and iconic groups in the history of hip hop. Comprising three members, Trugoy The Dove, Posdnous and Maseo, De La Soul worked together for 35 years releasing innovative music,...
Animal architecture: why we need to design buildings for wildlife as well as people
By Paul Dobraszczyk
How did early humans first learn to build? Its quite possible that it was by observing animals that had already mastered the art. Indeed, when you look at the animal world many birds, insects and mammals are excellent...
Lucky girl syndrome: the potential dark side of TikTok’s extreme positive thinking trend
By Lowri Dowthwaite-Walsh
If youre looking for ways to bring more positive changes into your life, TikTok recommends jumping on the lucky girl syndrome trend. The hashtag links countless videos, all claiming this new form of positive thinking can...
