The US military’s assassination of Osama bin Laden in North Pakistan is an important landmark in the “war on terror”. As the leader of al Qaeda he was the primary target of the military campaign to defeat…
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Without a strong legal foundation, any carbon pricing scheme we come up with will be on shaky ground. And right now, the signs aren’t promising. While we don’t yet have a firm idea of what will be incorporated…
Some people have argued that Pi’s days are numbered and that other tools, such as tau, could do its job more efficiently. As someone who has studied Pi throughout his entire working life, my response to…
The world changes, but our categories fail to keep pace. We try to understand the new through the familiar, and become puzzled when things no longer make sense. Criticisms last week of the Melbourne Model…
Queensland doctors have seen a surge in the number of patients presenting with mental health problems following a spate of natural disasters earlier this year, a survey by an industry body has found. A…
You don’t have to be a monarchist to see that the Royal wedding has been a triumph of cultural diplomacy for the United Kingdom, and a powerful statement to the world about the importance of tradition…
If you look closely at the ways diseases are defined and at the panels of experts who draw the line between sickness and health, you find an extraordinary phenomenon. Many of these panels are heavily conflicted…
Osama bin Laden is dead. Or is he? The newly-deceased Saudi militant was long a central figure for the world’s conspiracy theorists. He was actually a CIA agent said some. He really died of kidney failure…
I’d like to respond to a recent article for The Conversation by Martin Sevior, an active scientist and church leader. Sevior argues that – apart from fundamentalism – science and religion are complementary…
As an environmental scientist, I am a: Biologist Geologist Ecologist Physicist Chemist Soil Scientist Sociologist Psychologist Anthropologist Economist Political Scientist Teacher Communicator and nature…
The release of surveys such as the Gallup Global Well-Being Index produce vast column inches of what are fun but largely meaningless articles on how Australians are happier than New Zealanders (they are…
At the heart of the Gillard Government’s health reform are an Independent Hospital Pricing Authority and a National Health Performance Authority. New details of how these bodies may work have been leaked…
A mismatch between the cultural make-up of schools and the suburbs in which they are located could lead to social problems in future, according to a Sydney researcher who analysed the trend. Using data…
Scientists have pinpointed a new link between a particular gene and a rare form of dwarfism, opening the door to prenatal testing and paving the way for new approaches to treating common diseases such…
Carbon farming - or biosequestration - seems to be the only climate change mitigation measure that both sides of politics can agree on. But its effectiveness may be sorely overstated. Biosequestration…
It has been a lousy few weeks for technology companies when it comes to maintaining both the privacy and confidence of their customers. In the last few days, Sony had admitted a recent security breach…
It’s almost exactly two years since the emergence of the swine flu virus was announced by the World Health Organisation (WHO). This was the first flu pandemic in 41 years and the start of another flu season…
The killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces on Pakistani soil has come at a time when relations between the two countries have been rather strained. Analysts point out that al-Qaida today is a diffuse…
The Space Shuttle Endeavour, one of the most complex machines ever created, is about to take its last trip into space. But not just yet. The countdown to Endeavour’s final flight began a few days ago…
University education around the world is in a time of considerable change. One key driving issue which has built up for some years is the massive and exponential increase in the knowledge base and the…
Where were you when you heard about Osama bin Laden’s death? Increasingly, the answer to this and similar questions may be, “I was on Twitter.” From the “inland tsunami” washing down Queensland’s Lockyer…
Osama bin Laden has long been a focus for conspiracy theorists with many claiming that he did not in fact play a role in the 9/11 attacks on the United States. That catastrophe was, so the theory goes…
The AFL is happy with the broadcast deal for 2012 - 2016 it has negotiated. Channel 7 and Foxtel are happy. The players will be happy too, once their pay negotiations are worked out. A billion dollars…
We’ve come a long way in our understanding of diabetes over the past few decades. Rather than cutting down on sugar, the prevention and management of diabetes hinges on weight control and a balanced diet…
You know, it’s odd being a rocket scientist. The people you meet assume you’re not just smart, but some super-colossal paragon of intelligence with the wits of an atomic lovechild of Albert Einstein and…