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...

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...

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...

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...

Are seed oils really as harmful as Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims?

By Raysa El Zein

RFK Jr., Donald Trumps pick to head the us Health and Human Services Department, wrote on X that Americans are being unknowingly poisoned by seed oils. He joins the growing list of people claiming that these oils are...

Five ways you might already encounter AI in cities (and not realise it)

By Noortje Marres

Youd probably notice if the car that cut you off or pulled up beside you at a light didnt have a driver. In the UK, self-driving cars are still required by law to have a safety driver at the wheel, so it is difficult to...

Social media companies won’t be able to compel people to provide digital or government-issued ID to verify age

By Michelle Grattan

Big tech platforms wont be able to compel people to provide digital ID or government-issued identification documents such as a passport, when verifying age for social media accounts. The government is inserting this...

Plastic pollution: Why doing nothing will cost us far more than taking action

By Mateo Cordier

When you buy a bottle of Coca-Cola or a Snickers bar, the price probably doesnt break the bank. But what if the true cost of the plastic packaging is taken into account at the supermarket checkout? Say, for example, the...

Should France’s wine industry fear a new Trump tariff?

By Jean-Marie Cardebat

During his recent presidential campaign, Donald Trump displayed a fierce protectionist orientation. It is no longer just China in his sights, but the whole world. As far as international trade is concerned, Trumps second...

The rise of ‘sober curiosity’: Why Gen Zers are reducing their alcohol consumption

By Omar H. Fares Et Al

Generation Z is leading a significant shift in drinking habits. In fact, compared to preceding generations, Generation Z may be the soberest generation yet. Members of Gen Z consume about one-third less beer and wine...

Gen Z heads home: How to navigate the evolving parent-child relationship as kids become adults

By Amy Root

As a professor of child development and family science, every year I witness college students heading home for the holidays after a few months of relative independence. Anecdotally, most students express excitement about...

Canada Post strike highlights labour struggle over gig economy and precarious work

By Adam D.K. King

The Canada Post strike has entered its second week, with no resolution in sight yet. Though a federal mediator is attempting to broker a settlement between the Crown corporation and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers,...

Trump joins Putin, Xi and Modi as the ‘four horsemen’ of global authoritarianism

By Chris Ogden

The election of Donald Trump for his second presidential term has led to widespread fears of an imminent authoritarian descent in the United States. Quite how that might play out remains speculative, for now at least....

Why the EU’s stance on Israel is starting to change

By Catherine Gegout

The EU has stood in solidarity with Israel since the start of the war with Hamas, and has been consistent in saying the country has the right to defend itself. But the EU has always said that this has to be done in line...

Ukraine war: polls show more than half of Ukrainians would support a negotiated peace as Russian advances continue

By Stefan Wolff Et Al

The war in Ukraine is at a critical juncture. Kyiv has been given permission to use western-supplied Atacms and Storm Shadow missiles against targets inside Russia. It did so as soon as that permission was granted, with...

Dune: Prophecy – the prequel series takes liberties with the Herberts’ vision, but not for the worse

By Jack Fennell

Dune is one of the most revered works in science fiction, due to the scale and granular detail (no pun intended) of Frank Herberts world-building. The original novel comes with multiple appendices covering millennia of...

As Trump touts plans for immigrant roundup, militias are standing back, but standing by

By Amy Cooter

President-elect Donald Trump has reaffirmed that once he takes office he plans to declare a national emergency and use the military on American streets to accomplish his promises to round up and deport millions of...

AI has been a boon for marketing, but the dark side of using algorithms to sell products and brands is little studied

By Lauren Labrecque

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the way companies market their products, enabling them to target consumers in personalized and interactive ways that not long ago seemed like the realm of science...

Is TikTok right? Are there health benefits to eating sea moss?

By Margaret Murray

Sea moss is the latest superfood wellness influencers are swearing by. They claim sea moss products usually in gel form have multiple health benefits. These include supporting brain and immune function, or protecting...

Banning under-16s from social media may be unconstitutional – and ripe for High Court challenge

By Sarah Joseph

On November 21 2024, the Albanese government unveiled its bill to introduce a minimum age of 16 for most social media platforms. The government claims the bill is necessary to protect children from social harm. But it...

Why Monday is the most dangerous day on a building site

By Milad Haghani

Australias construction industry employs more than 1.3 million workers. Thats about 9% of the workforce. But construction sites can be dangerous workplaces. There are also more accidents on a Monday than any other...

Australia in a baby bust? It’s not that simple – and a panic won’t help

By Edith Gray

There is a seemingly endless stream of news headlines about plummeting birth rates. Many have alarmist narratives about the perils of baby busts and population decline. This reflects a deep-seated anxiety about what...