One of the largest searches for alien life started 30 years ago. Its legacy lives on today
By Phil Edwards
In February 1995, a small research organisation known as the SETI Institute launched what was then the most comprehensive search for an answer to a centuries-old question: are we alone in the universe? This Sunday marks...
5 years after COVID began, outstanding fines mean marginalised Australians are still paying the highest price
By Shelley J. Walker Et Al
January 25 marked five years since the first COVID case was recorded in Australia. Many of us have tried to move on quickly from the pandemic, putting lockdowns and restrictions far behind us. But for some Australians,...
From breakbeats to the dance floor: How hip-hop and house revolutionized music and culture
By Joycelyn Wilson
Producers Fast Eddie and Joe Smooth mix at DJ International Studios in Chicago in 1990. Innovation was at the forefront of house and hip-hop. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images There was a time when artists representing two of...
Watch shows together, talk about them and have dance parties: how to rebalance screen use after the holidays
By Jennifer Stokes
As January lingers on, families may find themselves struggling with what a friend of mine has labelled the electronic nanny. Children have been out of their normal routines for weeks during the holidays. Some are still yet...
The best exercises to do while taking weight loss drugs
By Jack McNamara
Weight loss drugs, such as those containing GLP-1 agonists like Wegovy and Mounjaro, have emerged as effective tools for people struggling to lose weight. These drugs reduce appetite and sometimes slow digestion which can...
Swimming in the sweet spot: how marine animals save energy on long journeys
By Kimberley Stokes
Competitive swimmers know that swimming underwater causes less drag resistance than swimming at the surface. Splashing around making waves isnt the most efficient way to swim. Any energy spent creating waves is essentially...
Australia’s social media ban shows how extreme the technology debate has become – there’s a better way
By James Conroy
The recent decision by the Australian government to introduce a ban on social media for under-16s has been received with both praise and condemnation. Those who approve of the proposal tend to consider that children are...
Gen Z seeks safety above all else as the generation grows up amid constant crisis and existential threat
By Yalda T. Uhls
After many years of partisan politics, increasingly divisive language, finger-pointing and inflammatory speech have contributed to an environment of fear and uncertainty, affecting not just political dynamics but also the...
Why Trump’s meme coin is a cash grab
By Maximilian Brichta
Three days before his presidential inauguration, Donald Trump launched a meme coin, a type of cryptocurrency whose value is buoyed by social media and internet culture, rather than any sort of functionality or intrinsic...
Land seizure and South Africa’s new expropriation bill: scholar weighs up the new act
By Zsa-Zsa Temmers Boggenpoel
South Africa has a new law to govern the expropriation (or compulsory acquisition) of private property by government for public purposes or in the public interest. The passing of the Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 followed a...
‘Sustainable’ aviation fuel and other myths about green airport expansion debunked
By Jack Marley
Environmentalists and locals have resisted a third runway at Londons Heathrow, Europes busiest airport, for more than two decades. Today, their efforts took a major setback. The UK government has announced it will give the...
Commerce oversees everything from weather and salmon to trade and census − here are 3 challenges awaiting new secretary
By Linda J. Bilmes
Howard Lutnick, left, is President Donald Trumps nominee to run the Commerce Department. AP Photo/Evan Vucci The U.S. secretary of commerce oversees the smallest but arguably most complex of all Cabinet-level departments....
When news is stressful, how do you balance staying informed with ‘doomscrolling’?
By Lisa Harrison
Mart Production/Pexels It all begins innocently a late-night peek at your favourite social media site before bed. You catch a headline that grabs your attention with breaking news you cant afford to miss. Like following...
As the Myanmar junta’s hold on power weakens, could the devastating war be nearing a conclusion?
By Adam Simpson1 Et Al
It has now been four years since the Myanmar military launched its cataclysmic coup against the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1 2021, starting a civil war that has devastated the...
As the Black Summer megafires neared, people rallied to save wildlife and domestic animals. But it came at a real cost
By Danielle Celermajer Et Al
As the 2019-2020 megafires took hold across eastern Australia, many of us reeled at the sight of animals trying and often failing to flee. Our screens filled up with images of koalas with burned paws and possums in...
What’s in the supplements that claim to help you cut down on bathroom breaks? And do they work?
By Nial Wheate
Christian Moro/Shutterstock With one in four Australian adults experiencing problems with incontinence, some people look to supplements for relief. With ingredients such as pumpkin seed oil and soybean extract, a range of...
Lessons from Ireland: How the country’s electoral system would strengthen Canadian democracy
By Seána Glennon
Justin Trudeaus biggest regret, he said at his resignation news conference, is failing to achieve electoral reform in Canada even though hed promised to do so, and had the opportunity during his first majority government,...
How to get control of your time
By Boróka Bó Et Al
GoodStudio/Shutterstock You wake up at 7:00 and reflexively reach for your phone. Between the stream of emails, WhatsApps and breaking news alerts, you see a worrying reminder: you averaged 11 hours of daily screen time...
What the looming federal election could mean for the Bank of Canada’s independence
By Andrew Allison
The independence of central banks from the democratic process has been a bedrock of economic policy for decades. The Bank of Canada is no exception, maintaining distance from elected officials to ensure monetary policy is...
Five reasons why vertical farming is still the future, despite all the recent business failures
By Gail Taylor
Dont believe the tripe. Amorn Suriyan Plant factories are failing, with multiple companies closing or going bankrupt in recent months. This includes the largest vertical farm on the planet, in Compton, Los Angeles. Owned...
Omagh bombing: why a public inquiry is being held more than 25 years after the atrocity
By Peter John McLoughlin
The 1998 Good Friday agreement is commonly seen to have ended what were euphemistically termed the Troubles in Northern Ireland. However, just four months after the peace accord was signed, an attack on the town of Omagh...
Armenia and Azerbaijan are at loggerheads again – here’s why tensions are rising
By Svante Lundgren
Azerbaijans president, Ilham Aliyev, has launched a fierce verbal attack on Armenia, which he has called a fascist state. Fascism must be destroyed, he said in an interview on local TV networks on January 7. Either the...
Why not all plans for a four-day working week would be a win for health
By Anne Skeldon Et Al
Dusan Petkovic/Shutterstock The right to request a short working week, with four longer shifts and three days off is being proposed as part of new flexible working legislation in the UK. Also known as working compressed...
Why fizzy water won’t help you lose weight – despite what some studies might suggest
By Duane Mellor
Fizzy water will probably not have a measurable effect on metabolism and weight. Jari Hindstroem/ Shutterstock For years it has been claimed that sparkling water may aid weight loss by helping you feel fuller reducing...
Suffocating seas: low oxygen levels emerging as third major threat to tropical coral reefs
By Maggie D. Johnson Et Al
Corals in low-oxygen seawater may not show visible signs of stress. Mike Workman/Shutterstock Coral reef research has focused on the twin evils birthed by record-high greenhouse gas emissions: warming oceans and...
Southport attacks: why the UK needs a unified approach to all violent attacks on the public
By Barry Richards
The conviction of Axel Rudakubana for the murder of three young girls in Southport has prompted many questions about how the UK handles violence without a clear ideological motive. This case has also shown up the confusion...
How people will be ringing in the year of the snake
By Sijing Lu
SeventyFour/Shutterstock Lunar new year is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese people, symbolising unity, prosperity and hope for the future. It is, however, celebrated all over Asia and in the...
Skin-to-skin contact is good for your baby and you – and not just straight after birth
By Viren Swami
SvetlanaFedoseyeva/Shutterstock In the 1950s, the American psychologist Harry Harlow provided a stark demonstration of the importance of a mothers touch. He famously and controversially showed that rhesus monkeys would...
As the ‘digital oligarchy’ grows in power, NZ will struggle to regulate its global reach and influence
By Alexandra Andhov
The images of President Donald Trump at his inauguration surrounded by the titans of the global tech industry is a warning of what could come: a global digital oligarchy dominated by a tiny tech elite. Companies like Meta,...
Peace in Sudan: a fresh mediation effort is needed – how it could work
By Gerrit Kurtz
Intense fighting has ravaged Sudan since 15 April 2023. The war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and its erstwhile comrades-in-arms, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, has created one of the worst humanitarian crises...
Rereading Rembrandt: how the slave trade helped establish the golden age of Dutch painting
By Caroline Fowler
Detail from Rembrandt van Rijns painting Two African Men. Sailko/The Mauritshuis/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY The so-called golden age of Dutch painting in the 1600s coincided with an economic boom that had a lot to do with...
Cameroon could do with some foreign help to solve anglophone crisis – but the state doesn’t want it
By Julius A. Amin
What began in late 2016 as a peaceful protest by lawyers and teachers in Cameroons North West and South West regions quickly turned violent and developed into whats become known as Cameroons anglophone crisis. The protest...
France’s military withdrawal presents opportunities and risks to West African states
By Yolaine Frossard de Saugy
In early January, Cte dIvoire announced that French troops would be withdrawing from the country and the military base of Port-Bout would be handed over to Cte dIvoires army. The announcement is part of a seismic shift in...
$Trump and $Melania crypto tokens illustrate the risks posed by trendy meme coins
By Anwar Sheluchin
Meme coins like the ones recently launched by United States President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are a hot trend in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The rise of these digital tokens reflects the influence of internet...
4 steps to building a healthier relationship with your phone
By Jamie Gruman
Being constantly connected to your electronic devices, and the social media they enable, may be bad for your health and well-being and working remotely only compounds these challenges. Until very recently, I didnt have a...
Medical research depends on government money – even a day’s delay in the intricate funding process throws science off-kilter
By Aliasger K. Salem
In the early days of the second Trump administration, a directive to pause all public communication from the Department of Health and Human Services created uncertainty and anxiety among biomedical researchers in the U.S....
Engineering the social: Students in this course use systems thinking to help solve human rights, disease and homelessness
By Raúl Ordóñez
Uncommon Courses is an occasional series from The Conversation U.S. highlighting unconventional approaches to teaching. Title of course: Engineering Systems for the Common Good What prompted the idea for the course? As a...
The global wildlife trade is an enormous market – the US imports billions of animals from nearly 30,000 species
By Michael Tlusty Et Al
When people think of wildlife trade, they often picture smugglers sneaking in rare and endangered species from far-off countries. Yet most wildlife trade is actually legal, and the United States is one of the worlds...
Trump 2.0: the rise of an ‘anti-elite’ elite in US politics
By William Genieys Et Al
US president Donald Trump is surrounded by a new cohort of politicians and officials. While one of his campaign promises was to overthrow the corrupt elites he accuses of flooding the American political arena, his second...
Disaster evacuations can take much longer than people expect − computer simulations could help save lives and avoid chaos
By Ashley Bosa
When a wildfire notification goes off on your mobile phone, it can trigger all kinds of emotions and confusion. You might glance outside and see no smoke. Across the street, your neighbors have mixed reactions: One is...
Nutrition advice is rife with misinformation − a medical education specialist explains how to tell valid health information from pseudoscience
By Aimee Pugh Bernard
The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated a vast landscape of misinformation about many topics, science and health chief among them. Since then, information overload continues unabated, and many people are rightfully confused by...
Getting mail to your door is just one part of what the postmaster general does
By Jena Martin
The postmaster general is responsible for getting billions of pieces of mail across the globe, managing hundreds of thousands of employees and caring for some of the countrys most vulnerable Americans. The agency is...
What are sleep retreats? A sleep scientist explains the latest wellness trend
By Jason Ellis
Considering the effect of poor sleep on the individual as well as on society and the economy, it is hardly surprising sleep has become an intense area of research focus in recent years. Most recently we have seen an...
Deepseek: China’s gamechanging AI system has big implications for UK tech development
By Feng Li
DeepSeek sent ripples through the global tech landscape this week as it soared above ChatGPT in Apples app store. The meteoric rise has shifted the dynamics of US-China tech competition, shocked global tech stock...
Flu vaccines have prevented millions of deaths – our research proves it
By Estanislao Nistal Villán Et Al
The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was caused by a particularly virulent strain of influenza virus. It infected 500 million people, caused around 50 million deaths, and its impact was so severe that global life expectancy fell...
DeepSeek shatters beliefs about the cost of AI, leaving US tech giants reeling
By Michael J. Davern Et Al
Almost A$1 trillion (US$600 billion) was wiped off the value of artificial intelligence microchip maker Nvidia overnight on Monday, when a little-known Chinese start up, DeepSeek, threatened to upend the US tech market....
DeepSeek: how a small Chinese AI company is shaking up US tech heavyweights
By Tongliang Liu
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek has sent shockwaves through the tech community, with the release of extremely efficient AI models that can compete with cutting-edge products from US companies such as...
Fermented clothing? Here’s how the biofilm on kombucha can be turned into green textiles
By Rajkishore Nayak Et Al
A SCOBY biofilm atop kombucha l i g h t p o e t/Shutterstock If youve ever made kombucha, you will be familiar with the term SCOBY a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. Its impossible to miss its the floating...
What is the story of hongbao, the red envelopes given out at celebrations like Lunar New Year?
By Ming Gao
Remi Chow/Unsplash Red envelopes, known as hongbao in Mandarin, are a cherished cultural tradition in China and many other parts of Asia. In China, the vibrant red colour symbolises good fortune and joy. Hongbao can be...
New York to Paris in 30 mins? How to achieve Elon Musk’s vision of rockets replacing long haul
By Angadh Nanjangud
Of all the things that Donald Trumps return as US president could mean, one is that Elon Musks plan to use Starship rockets for long-distance flights on Earth could move forward. Dubbed Starship Earth to Earth, this would...
