CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: More than half of Australia’s population can be classified as overweight and obese. This statistic is alarming but some of the risk factors associated with obesity – such as poor…
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Last night, SBS screened the first instalment of a three-part documentary by Adam Curtis, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. The program attracted intense debate when broadcast in the UK earlier…
Anyone observing the climate change debate from Australia might think the world is moving away from carbon trading schemes. That would be understandable, but wrong. International carbon markets exist…
Research published in this month’s BioEssays confirms something many of us have always known: women have stronger immune systems than men. We fight off infections more readily, are less likely to develop…
In 2009, medical editors from around the world gathered at a Peer Review Congress in Vancouver, Canada, to discuss, among other things, “ghost authorship” of medical research articles. Ghost authorship…
Welcome to “The most powerful companies you’ve never heard of” – an ongoing series from The Conversation that sheds light on big companies with low profiles. Today, Deakin University’s Philip Soos examines…
For more than a decade, the Tasmanian devil has been fighting for survival against an unusual enemy – Devil Facial Tumour Disease (or DFTD). This deadly infectious cancer has ravaged the Tasmanian devil…
There is common assumption that those of us who undertake applied research with the commercial world must be biased. This month the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), which…
When Gilad Shalit was dragged away in a cross-border raid in June 2006, it’s doubtful he or his captors would have imagined five years’ of negotiations lay ahead. Nor in their most fevered imaginings would…
Telstra shareholders have agreed to an $11 billion deal today that will hand over the telco’s fixed line network to NBN Co. Under the deal, Telstra will decommission its copper line network as customers…
AUSTRALIA IN ASIA: In the eighth part of our series, Sandy Gordon of the Australian National University looks at the possibility of an agreement which would draw the key Asian states together. The CIA…
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics in the United Kingdom has suggested a scheme to gauge support for the idea of government funding for funerals of people who donate their organs. The recommendation follows…
The Pacific Island State of Tuvalu recently reported that it had just days of water supply left for its population of 10,000. The Government has declared a state of emergency and rationed each household…
Australia’s dispersed population and its vast tyrannies of distance has created a major, ongoing, cultural divide. The relative costs of consuming culture between bush and city are starkly skewed in favour…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: What are you paying for when you buy a new bike? Materials … sure. Design … without doubt. Manufacture … yes, of course. But beyond that, what’s going on? Why can these objects, beautiful…
I’m a relatively well-disciplined guy. In my brief time in this world, I’ve managed to complete a degree, quit smoking, and exercise thirty-odd kilos of self-indulgence away. But if there’s a TV on in…
Conflict between Indigenous (“Black”) and environmental (“Green”) groups is a growing feature of Australia’s political landscape. This has been highlighted by very public disputes over Wild Rivers legislation…
It’s no secret that prisoners inject drugs. And because they don’t have access to sterile needles, inmates not only share needles – they share infectious diseases as well. The ACT government is currently…
Welcome to “The most powerful companies you’ve never heard of” – an ongoing series from The Conversation that sheds light on big companies with low profiles. Today, Monash University’s Remy Davison examines…
Newly-minted Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt reflects on the state of Australian science. The feted astronomer is optimistic about the future and the contribution science can make to improving lives…
The Sveriges Riksbank’s Prize in Economic Sciences - or the Nobel prize in economics - awarded last week to Thomas Sargent and Christopher Sims- implicitly claims that economics is a science. But how accurate…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: In 1970, nearly all young people in Australia walked, cycled or took public transport to school or university (84%). Few travelled by car (16%). Fast forward to 2011 and most children…
Last week demonstrated how fast fortunes may change in politics. Just as the government thought it could get onto the front foot, it experienced a significant setback by not being able to make changes…
Telstra’s Business Women of the Year awards are not usually known for attracting controversy. So, few people were prepared for the outrage that was sparked last week by Queensland winner, Dimity Dornan…
The recent release of the Apple iPhone 4S was met with some disappointment because it wasn’t the iPhone 5. Curiously, people seemed to be most disappointed that the shape of the phone hadn’t changed. What…