How Web3 and Blockchain Are Shaping the Future of Digital News

By Sonny Kwon

The digital media industry is at a crossroads, facing ongoing challenges in delivering trustworthy news in an era of information overload. Web3 and blockchain technology are emerging as potential game-changers, offering a...

Solar above, batteries below: here’s how warehouses and shopping centres could produce 25% of Australia’s power

By Bruce Mountain

Imagine if Australian cities became major producers of clean energy, rather than relying on far-flung solar and wind farms. Far fetched? Hardly. Our cities and towns are full of warehouses, commercial areas, shopping...

Study shows video games can improve mental wellbeing – but you can have too much of a good thing

By Katarina Fritzon Et Al

A study of almost 100,000 people in Japan aged 10 to 69 found playing video games or even owning a console can be good for mental health. But playing too much each day can harm wellbeing. Video games and other forms...

New ABC show The Assembly highlights how neurodivergence can enhance jobs or study

By Sandra Thom-Jones

The Assembly, a new ABC documentary series, introduces us to a diverse group of autistic people who are interested in pursuing journalism careers. The first episode strikes a nice balance between introducing the...

A city at the crossroads: how Gaza became one of the great intellectual hubs of the Roman Empire

By Christopher Mallan

The years 2023 and 2024 will certainly be remembered as some of the darkest in the long and often violent history of Gaza. The recent destruction of schools and universities in the Gaza strip has attracted the attention...

NZ’s white-collar crime gap: just 1% of serious fraud complaints result in prosecution

By Lisa Marriott

Despite long being considered one of the least corrupt countries ranked third in the world by Transparency International New Zealand is lagging behind when it comes to handling white-collar crime. This can be loosely...

‘Gig workers’ get minimum standards from Monday. Here’s what will change

By Juan Diaz-Granados Et Al

Monday August 26 is when the governments updated Fair Work legislation comes into force. The new laws will offer new rights to so-called gig workers who take on jobs through platforms such as Uber, Menulog and...

Concerned about your early reader? Why ‘wait and see’ isn’t advised for reading struggles

By Katelyn Bryant

At Western Universitys Mary J. Wright Child and Youth Development Clinic, I work on a team training future school psychologists. In our work, we encounter parents concerned about their childrens learning on an almost daily...

Five things that can help autistic students settle into university

By Harriet Axbey

As the summer draws to a close, the start of your very first term looms if you are starting university. You will hopefully be looking forward to going, although you may be feeling a little apprehensive and may even be very...

A more varied diet would help the world’s economy as well as its health

By Shonil Bhagwat Et Al

More than 75% of the food consumed in the world today comes from just 12 plant and five animal species. The over-dependence on this small selection, which includes rice, maize and wheat, damages the environment and human...

How fly fishing strengthens our connection with wildlife and fosters conservation efforts

By Avi Shankar Et Al

Whether its to reset our mental health or simply to take time out from the hurly-burly of work and urban life, many of us head for oceans and rivers to enjoy their restorative capacities. Encountering wild animals in...

What your nose can tell you about your health

By Dan Baumgardt

Thanks to a quirk known as unconscious selective attention, your brain has learned to ignore your nose. A prominent feature thats positioned closely to the eyes, the schnoz could get in the way of our vision but the...

Learn how to budget with the help of psychology

By Amr Saber Algarhi Et Al

Developing an understanding of how to manage personal finances can be even more crucial in the early stages of your career when your salary may be relatively low. But traditional financial advice often falls short of...

Bali gives a snapshot of what ‘overtourism’ looks like in the developing world

By Rama Permana

Barcelona residents marched against tourists in July after similar protests in Venice earlier in 2024. Recently, residents of Santorini in Greece were in uproar after a Facebook post reportedly asked them to stay home and...

How Russian gender-based disinformation could influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election

By Owen Wong

Most people have a general understanding of disinformation false information that is intentionally created to cause harm. Disinformation becomes gendered when deliberately false information draws on common understandings...

The WHO has declared Mpox a ‘public health emergency of international concern.’ Is it time to worry?

By Kiffer George Card

On Aug. 14, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified Mpox virus, which is surging across several African countries, as a public health emergency of international concern. This action will help mobilize global and...

Hope on the horizon? What Bangladesh’s regime change could mean for Rohingya refugees

By Sarah Nandi

Bangladesh is experiencing a seismic shift after 18 years of Awami League rule ended abruptly due to intensive student protests. This upheaval, and the crackdowns that resulted in the deaths of more than 300 protesters,...

Russian flags waved during Nigeria protests: why it’s a cause for concern

By Olayinka Ajala

The #EndBadGovernance protest in Nigeria from 1 August to 10 August took a rather unexpected dimension when some protesters in Kano and Kaduna states, both in the countrys north-west region, were seen waving and sharing...

Slingshot in space: the tricky manoeuvre that will use Earth and the Moon to send the Juice mission to Jupiter

By Nicola Baresi Et Al

A European spacecraft is about to zip by both Earth and the Moon in the space of 24 hours. In the early 2030s, the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission will be the first European probe to orbit Jupiter. But first, it...

Biden administration’s negotiated price cuts for 10 common prescription drugs likely to save Medicare billions, beginning in 2026

By Simon F. Haeder

The Biden administration announced on Aug. 16, 2024, the reduced prices of the first 10 drugs it has negotiated with pharmaceutical companies over their Medicare prices. Provisions authorizing these negotiations were...

Astronomers have warned against colonial practices in the space industry − a philosopher of science explains how the industry could explore other planets without exploiting them

By Mary-Jane Rubenstein

The past decade has seen a rapid expansion of the commercial space industry. Rival nations are competing for prime military and economic positions beyond the Earth. Public and private entities are clamoring to mine the...

Could we use volcanoes to make electricity?

By David Kitchen

Turning red-hot lava from an active volcano into electricity would be dangerous and unreliable. Volcanoes dont erupt on predictable schedules, and lava cools too quickly. But many countries, including the U.S., have found...

Who is the ‘Laughing Buddha’? A scholar of East Asian Buddhism explains

By Megan Bryson

With his delighted expression, round belly, bald head and monastic robes, the Laughing Buddha is instantly identifiable. However, astute observers might wonder why this buddha does not look like the historical Buddha, who...

Multiverse films take characters to increasingly dark places – as Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom casting shows

By Alex Fitch Et Al

The multiverse, the idea of different universes that exist at the same time, has been a plot device on screen and in comic books for years. The success of the recently released Deadpool Wolverine, which has already earned...

Elon Musk is moving X and SpaceX to Texas

By Jonathan Lord

Elon Musk recently announced that he was relocating the companies SpaceX and X (formerly Twitter) from their current headquarters in California to Texas. The news has placed a spotlight on the rise in big tech shifting its...

With more lawsuits potentially looming, should politicians be allowed to sue for defamation?

By Brendan Clift

Western Australia Senator Linda Reynolds is already embroiled in a bruising defamation fight against her former staffer Brittany Higgins. Now, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is reportedly considering suing independent MP...

Thailand’s democracy has taken another hit, but it won’t halt the march toward a more progressive society

By Adam Simpson1

After two tumultuous weeks in Thai politics, the country has a new prime minister and new opposition party in parliament. The sweeping changes have demonstrated yet again the power of the Constitutional Court over...

Alain Delon was an enigmatic anti-hero, and France’s most beautiful male movie star

By Ben McCann

Alain Delons death at the age of 88 brings down the curtain of one of postwar European cinemas most important film stars. Known for his striking movie star look chiselled features, piercing blue eyes and magnetic...

What is ‘model collapse’? An expert explains the rumours about an impending AI doom

By Aaron Snoswell

Artificial intelligence (AI) prophets and newsmongers are forecasting the end of the generative AI hype, with talk of an impending catastrophic model collapse. But how realistic are these predictions? And what is model...

Generative AI hype is ending – and now the technology might actually become useful

By Vitomir Kovanovic

Less than two years ago, the launch of ChatGPT started a generative AI frenzy. Some said the technology would trigger a fourth industrial revolution, completely reshaping the world as we know it. In March 2023, Goldman...

Russia-Ukraine war spills into west Africa: Mali attacks signal dangerous times ahead

By Olayinka Ajala

Russia suffered significant blows to its reputation in mid-2024. An attack on its territory by Ukraine came as a surprise. In west Africa, the Wagner mercenary group, supported by Russia, suffered one of its heaviest...

A double whammy of winter fuel payment cuts and scrapping a planned cap on social care costs is set to hit older people

By Martin Powell

Before the general election, former prime minister Rishi Sunak was asked on TV why he hated pensioners. After her recent speech in parliament, the same question might be directed at Chancellor Rachel Reeves. She has...

How a currency devaluation in Kazakhstan made the country’s poor worse off

By Anatoli Colicev Et Al

It is the job of the government to keep a countrys economy in check. But sometimes policies dont work out as planned. Governments often take economic decisions that follow specific political agendas, and these decisions...

Oil prices will whipsaw as we move to net zero, which could be disastrous for low-income producer countries

By Adi Imsirovic

One huge question for the future of the global economy is how oil will be affected by the transition to net zero. Any energy economist will tell you that predicting oil prices is something of a fools errand, given all the...

Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide

By Li-Jun Ma

Did you know that the bananas you eat today are not the same type as the ones people were eating a few generations ago? The banana you might have had with your breakfast today is a variety called the Cavendish banana,...

Ethiopia’s bold economic reforms target stability and growth, but they come with risks

By Tsegay Tekleselassie

Ethiopias recent macroeconomic reforms, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, could have profound implications for the country and the region. The key reforms include the use of a floating...

Complicated app settings are a threat to user privacy

By Joseph K. Nwankpa

Default privacy settings in popular mobile apps seem like a convenience, allowing you to use a single setting to control the level of privacy who can see which actions you take across all of the apps functions. But...

Boeing Starliner astronauts: what six months stuck in space may do to their perception of time

By Ruth Ogden Et Al

Two astronauts marooned in space may sound like the plot of a Hollywood blockbuster, but for two Nasa crew members, it is now a reality. Commander Barry Wilmore and pilot Sunita Williams are currently in limbo on the...

US military presence in Syria carries substantial risks, but so does complete withdrawal

By Sefa Secen

U.S.-backed forces in eastern Syria launched a major attack on three posts manned by pro-government gunmen on Aug. 12, 2024, killing at least 18 fighters in a rare provocation near the border with Iraq. The assault...

Gen Z has a trust problem with British institutions – especially the police

By Paolo Morini

The new government has come to power at a time when trust in politics is, in the Labour partys words, shattered. Keir Starmer has set out his governments aim to restore the highest standard of integrity and honesty in...

4 ways to cut down on meat when dining out – and still make healthy choices

By Laura Marchese Et Al

Many of us are looking for ways to eat a healthier and more sustainable diet. And one way to do this is by reducing the amount of meat we eat. That doesnt mean you need to become a vegan or vegetarian. Our recent...

Thailand’s conservative elites oust prime minister and ban opposition

By Petra Alderman

Thailands Constitutional Court has dissolved the countrys largest opposition party and official winner of the 2023 general election, Move Forward. The same court has now dismissed Thailands prime minister, Srettha...

Google monopoly ruling: where the tech giant goes from here

By Renaud Foucart

A US judge has found that Google is a monopoly and has used this dominance to reinforce its market position. This ruling, which is subject to appeal, brings the US regulator close to the European Commission in its...

What is mpox? A microbiologist explains what’s known about this smallpox cousin

By Rodney E. Rohde

On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern. There have been over 15,600 cases and over 530 deaths reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and...

Real-time crime centers are transforming policing – a criminologist explains how these advanced surveillance systems work

By Kimberly Przeszlowski

In 2021, a driver in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ran a red light, striking and killing a 7-year-old and injuring his father. The suspect fled the scene and eventually escaped to Mexico. Using camera footage and cellphone...

Raising the retirement age won’t defuse China’s demographic time bomb – but mass immigration might

By Dudley L. Poston Jr.

Chinese workers may soon have to work just a little bit longer. In late July 2024, Chinas ruling Communist Party adopted a resolution that would see the countrys statutory retirement age gradually rise over the next...

Chicagoans watch films of the violent 1968 convention protests to get ready for the Democratic convention

By Heather Hendershot

On the third day of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago police beat protesters in a free-for-all on Michigan Avenue. The iconic images of that melee have since been incorporated into almost every documentary...

Kamala Harris’ sudden political rise echoes that of another female politician, New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern

By Lydia Nobbs

`Kamala Harris quick, unexpected transformation from a low-profile vice president to the headline-dominating Democratic presidential nominee has upended the 2024 election in just a few short weeks. Across the Pacific...

Local elections are less partisan because voters will cross party lines when issues hit close to home

By Edward L. Lascher Jr. Et Al

Hand-wringing over American politics commonly focuses on the sharp and growing divisions between Democrats and Republicans. Accumulating evidence indicates that voters are less likely than ever to split their ticket or...

Trees compete for space, light and resources, and those clashes can leave battle scars

By Wayne K. Clatterbuck

When you walk through a forest, it may feel like a static setting where very little is happening. But trees are constantly interacting and reacting to each other as they grow. Theres intense competition for light and...