‘Pandemic babies’ turn 5: Here’s what research tells us about their development and remarkable resilience
By Gerald Giesbrecht Et Al
Early brain development lays the foundation for lifelong health and success. But disruptions to a childs early environment can leave a long-lasting imprint on their development and success. For example, research shows that...
Quantum technologies are changing our world – what does NZ need to be part of the next revolution?
By David Hutchinson
As part of a major reform of the science sector, the government plans to set up a research organisation focused on emerging technologies, including quantum technologies. The first quantum revolution based on understanding...
What can you do if your child is being bullied?
By Barbara Spears Et Al
Bullying is one of the top concerns Australian parents have about their childrens health. Unfortunately about one in four Australian students between Year 4 and Year 9 report being bullied at least every few weeks. The...
Replacing stamp duty with a land tax could save home buyers big money. Here’s how
By Jason Nassios Et Al
Infrastructure Victoria has released a draft 30-year plan outlining how the state can grow sustainably. It focuses on key areas like transport, housing, energy, and public services to support a growing population and...
5 years since COVID was declared a pandemic, we’re still poorly prepared for the next one
By Sharon Lewin Et Al
On March 11, 2020, as COVID continued to spread rapidly around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared a pandemic. More than 7 million people have since died from COVID. The virus, and the public...
Five years after the pandemic, the world is poorly prepared for another one
By Anthony Staines
In Europe ten people died from measles in 2024, and the US has had several major outbreaks. Bird flu has affected dairy herds in 17 US states from North Carolina to California and has just been reported in cats. So far, it...
How the US has tried to annex Canada before – and why some Canadians wanted to become American
By Kristofer Allerfeldt
Canada never, ever will be part of America in any way, shape or form, said Canadas new prime minister-in-waiting, Mark Carney, after winning the race to lead the countrys Liberal party. Carneys message was a response to...
What does Egypt’s plan to rebuild Gaza involve and what challenges does it face?
By Rafik Omar
Arab leaders endorsed a US$53 billion (41 billion) plan to rebuild war-torn Gaza at an emergency summit in Cairo on March 4. The proposal, which was drawn up by Egypt and has been backed by France, Germany, Italy and...
How the pandemic’s narratives are still unfolding, five years on
By Erica Charters
Do you clearly remember the choices you made a few years ago during the early days of the COVID pandemic? Did you painstakingly wipe down your groceries before putting them away, quarantine your mail three days before...
Parasites are ecological dark matter – and they need protecting
By Timothy Brown Et Al
The two species of African rhinoceros are conservation icons. Large, charismatic, and vitally important for their ecosystems, to lose either species would be a devastating blow. But what of their parasites? If the black...
What’s so special about Ukraine’s minerals? A geologist explains
By Munira Raji
Ukraines minerals have become central to global geopolitics, with the US president, Donald Trump, seeking a deal with Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky to access them. But what are these minerals exactly and why are...
Is Trump’s assault on Canada bringing Québec and the rest of the country closer together?
By Yulia Bosworth
As Canadians rally around national unity in response to American tariffs and threats of annexation, kindling a renewed sense of Canadian nationalism, Québec stands in solidarity with the rest of Canada. A February...
Australia’s major sports codes are considered not-for-profits – is it time for them to pay up?
By Matt Nichol Et Al
Not-for-profit organisations support a range of needs and activities, such as financial disadvantage, health and education. Governments support these entities through various measures, notably exemption from income tax and...
Elon Musk thinks the US should leave the UN – what if Trump does it?
By Chris Ogden
When Donald Trumps benefactor and cost-cutter-in-chief Elon Musk recently supported a call for the United States to quit NATO and the United Nations, it should perhaps have been more surprising. But the first months of the...
Investors value green labels — but not always for the right reasons
By Vasundhara Saravade
Imagine you are choosing between two similar investment options. One has a green label, promising to fund climate-friendly projects and assets. The other offers a slightly higher return, but has no green label. Which do...
The US energy market has its troubles, though it may not be a ‘national emergency’
By Seth Blumsack
President Donald Trumps declaration of a national energy emergency on his first day in office and which he reiterated during his address to Congress on March 4, 2025 might have seemed to echo other national emergencies,...
Are our thoughts ‘real’? Here’s what philosophy says
By Sam Baron
You can doubt just about anything. But theres one thing you can know for sure: you are having thoughts right now. This idea came to characterise the philosophical thinking of 17th century philosopher René Descartes....
Consumer resistance is rising in the age of Trump. History shows how boycotts can be effective
By Garritt C. Van Dyk
Boycotts are back. With people worried about everything from labour practices and human rights to tariffs and equal opportunity initiatives, collective consumer resistance has been rising globally. Right now, there are...
Shuttered car factories in Australia could be repurposed to make houses faster and cheaper
By Ehsan Noroozinejad
Australia is in the grip of a severe housing shortage. Many people are finding it extremely difficult to find a place to live in the face of rising rents and property price surges. Homelessness is rising sharply. Tent...
Eating disorders don’t just affect teen girls. The risk may go up around pregnancy and menopause too
By Gemma Sharp Et Al
Eating disorders impact more than 1.1 million people in Australia, representing 4.5% of the population. These disorders include binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, and anorexia nervosa. Meanwhile, more than 4.1 million...
How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis
By Alper Kara
After the global financial crisis of 2007-08, the UKs banking sector was placed under a much stricter regime. Bonuses were limited, regulations were beefed up and the whole industry scrutinised like never before. The idea...
A new study reveals the structure of violent winds 1,300 light years away
By Vivien Parmentier Et Al
The planet WASP-121b is extreme. Its a gas giant almost twice as big as Jupiter orbiting extremely close to its star50 times closer than the Earth does around the Sun. WASP-121b is so close to its star that tidal forces...
Can making the NHS cleaner slow the spread of disease?
By Jonathan R. Goodman
Several weeks ago, I visited a local NHS urgent care centre with my toddler on what might be called a semi-annual pilgrimage related to having a child in nursery. Owing to what is now a typical three- or four-hour wait,...
Why incest porn is more common and harmful than you think
By Clare McGlynn
Incest porn is finally facing long overdue scrutiny. The governments porn review recommends strengthening the extreme porn law to include incest porn and mandate its removal. The review also calls for much more proactive...
Identifying brands as Black-owned can pay off for businesses
By Oren Reshef Et Al
Labeling businesses as Black-owned can significantly boost their sales, we found in a recent study. In June 2020, the business-review website Yelp introduced a feature allowing consumers to search for Black-owned...
South Africa’s malnutrition crisis: why a cheaper basket of healthy food is the answer
By Julian May Et Al
The death in early February of a 9-year-old South African boy, Alti Willard, who drank poison while scavenging for food in rubbish bins with his father, is a tragic reflection of the persistent food insecurity crisis in...
Virgin Australia’s deal with Qatar has been given the green light. Travellers should be the winners
By Chrystal Zhang
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has given the green light for Qatar Airways to buy a 25% stake in Virgin Australia, as part of a strategic alliance. The deal will shake up the Australian aviation market. The announcement follows a...
Why does music make us feel things?
By Katrina McFerran
Imagine a scene from the movie Jaws, with the great white shark closing in on another helpless victim. The iconic semi-tone pattern builds and your heartbeat rises with it; the suspense pulls you further to the edge of...
What’s the difference between burnout and depression?
By Gordon Parker
If your summer holiday already feels like a distant memory, youre not alone. Burnout a state of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion following prolonged stress has been described in workplaces since a 5th century...
We need to switch to heat pumps fast – but can they can overcome this problem?
By Jack Marley
People in the UK need to adopt heat pumps and electric vehicles as fast as they once embraced refrigerators, mobile phones and internet connection according to a new report by the Climate Change Committee (CCC). This...
Canada is one step closer to high-speed rail, but many hurdles remain
By Ryan M. Katz-Rosene
Canada is the only G7 country without a high-speed rail line, yet not for lack of trying. Over the last half century, numerous high-speed rail projects have been proposed, studied and even approved by political leaders....
The world needs a circular economy. But workers in developing countries shouldn’t pay the price
By Sukyung Park Et Al
The circular economy offers a fresh approach to how we produce and consume, focusing on reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering. It moves us away from the traditional make, use, discard model, creating a more...
From Messi to Mika Häkkinen: how top athletes can slow down time
By Steve Taylor
With the new Formula 1 season is about to begin, its worth pondering what makes a great racing driver. There are no doubt several important qualities, such as calmness under pressure, the courage to take risks, quick...
From sunscreen to essential oils, why some personal care products could be harmful to your health
By Asit Kumar Mishra
Each time you apply sunscreen to your face, you may inhale somewhere between 10 to 30 milligrams of ethanol, the type of alcohol used in alcoholic drinks. While the ethanol in sunscreen may not give you a buzz, it could...
What’s the shape of the universe? Mathematicians use topology to study the shape of the world and everything in it
By John Etnyre
When you look at your surrounding environment, it might seem like youre living on a flat plane. After all, this is why you can navigate a new city using a map: a flat piece of paper that represents all the places around...
How ticket-splitting voters could shape the 2026 midterms
By Ian Anson
With the 2024 U.S. election over and done with, political analysts and both major parties are already turning their attention to the upcoming midterm elections in 2026. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 33...
As Pennsylvania inches toward legalizing recreational cannabis, lawmakers propose selling it in state-owned dispensaries similar to state liquor stores
By Daniel J. Mallinson
After a long, largely successful march over 25 years to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, the movement had a tough election in 2024. Legalization ballot measures failed in Florida, North Dakota and South...
The quest to extend human life is both fascinating and fraught with moral peril
By Richard Gunderman
Who wants to live forever? Freddie Mercury mournfully asks in Queens 1986 song of the same name. The answer: Quite a few people so much so that life extension has long been a cottage industry. As a physician and scholar...
Asteroid has a very small chance of hitting Earth in 2032, but a collision could devastate a city
By Maggie Lieu
In December 2024, astronomers in Chile spotted a new asteroid streaking through the sky, which they named 2024 YR4. Whats significant about this 100m-wide space rock is that it has a small chance of hitting Earth in 2023....
Ukraine war: Trump is not trying to appease Putin – he has a vision of a new US-China-Russia order
By Stefan Wolff
There has been much and justified focus on the implications of a likely deal between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and the overwhelmingly negative consequences this will have for...
South Africa’s ‘working for water’ programme is meant to lead to skills and jobs: why it’s failing
By Sinazo Ntsonge
South Africas Expanded Public Works Programme is part of its social safety net. It complements the countrys social grants system, which has over 28 million recipients. The public works programme helps fill a gap for people...
Erotica, gore and racism: how America’s war on ‘ideological bias’ is letting AI off the leash
By Judith Bishop
Badly behaved artificial intelligence (AI) systems have a long history in science fiction. Way back in 1961, in the famous Astro Boy comics by Osamu Tezuka, a clone of a popular robot magician was reprogrammed into a...
China didn’t violate any rules with its live-fire naval exercises. So, why are Australia and NZ so worried?
By Donald Rothwell
In recent days, the Chinese Navy conducted two live-fire military exercises in waters near Australia and New Zealand, sparking concern in both countries. The Albanese government lodged a diplomatic protest with Beijing....
Suicide or accident? The hidden complexities of intentional road crashes in Australia
By Milad Haghani Et Al
In Australia, fatal road crashes are climbing again, especially since the pandemic, and despite years of attempts to reduce road trauma, the numbers remain stubbornly high. Strategies to reduce the road toll have largely...
Parliament passes landmark election donation laws. They may be a ‘stich up’ but they also improve Australia’s democracy
By Joo-Cheong Tham
Federal parliament has passed the biggest changes to Australias electoral funding laws in decades. The Albanese governments Electoral Legislation Amendment (Electoral Reform) Bill 2024 cleared the Senate on Wednesday...
An unexpected anomaly was found in the Pacific Ocean – and it could be a global time marker
By Dominik Koll
Earth must have experienced something exceptional 10 million years ago. Our study of rock samples from the floor of the Pacific Ocean has found a strange increase in the radioactive isotope beryllium-10 during that time....
How Asian immigrants to the U.S. resisted pressures to assimilate, creating a vibrant American suburbia
By Bianca Mabute-Louie
This article is adapted from UNASSIMILABLE: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie (HarperCollins, January 2025). I grew up in San Gabriel Valley also referred to as SGV or the 626. SGV...
What to do if your partner wants to speak to your baby in a language you don’t understand
By Una Cunningham
Finding out you and your partner are expecting a baby throws many discussions that might have once been hypothetical into stark relief. This certainly may be the case if your partner speaks another language beyond the one...
The heart is symbol of love – things weren’t always like that
By Michelle Spear
Valentines Day is all about the hearts: heart-shaped chocolates, cards, balloons and even pizza. But the heart hasnt always just been a symbol of romance. Across cultures and centuries, the heart has been revered as the...
How to cope with romantic rejection – a psychologist’s advice
By Veronica Lamarche
Has a romantic partner, or someone you had a crush on, ever hurt your feelings? Youre far from alone. Very few people can boast a 100% success rate when it comes to attracting love interests. And even for those who have...
