The headquarters of the Australian Space Agency will be in Adelaide. So how did we get to this point? Here are ten essential reads to fill you in.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
The Moon has gravity of its own, which pulls the oceans (and us) towards it.
Genome editing technology has, and will always have, limits. Limits that are related not to the technology itself but to the intrinsic complexity of the human genome.
The ACCC would like closer scrutiny of digital platforms such as Facebook and Google – in particular with regards to user privacy, market power and operational algorithms.
Both the Coalition and Labor agreed to new laws that will give law enforcement agencies the power to access encrypted systems.
If the Australian space industry is to grow and create thousands of jobs then we need new policy around satellites to meet the challenges involved.
The Athena Swan charter commits research institutions to create a gender inclusive workplace, through taking action and being held accountable. 15 Australian institutions are now bronze awardees.
Digital identity assets, such as property records and Parliamentary proceedings, embody who and what Australia is as a nation. We need to do more to protect them.
Younger generations could learn a thing or two from their older counterparts about how to have a healthier relationship with digital technologies like social media.
The arrival of autonomous vehicles would ideally reduce the number of cars on our roads. But this is a pipe dream without a robust public transport system and willingness to share.
Osiris-REx will spend the next year looking for a good place to land on asteroid Bennu before it collects grains and brings them home.
More ripples in space-time have been detected from merging pairs of black holes, one of which was the most massive and distant gravitational-wave source ever observed.
Long ago in the distant past, our entire Universe was microscopic – just like an atom – and obeyed completely different rules of cause and effect.
Around 175,000 dogs and cats in Australian animal shelters are put down each year. But you can gift a pet a new home this Christmas, with the support of animal welfare groups.
Ancient stone tools found in what is now Algeria show early humans likely spread across Africa more rapidly than first thought.
Liquid minerals containing sulfur behave like a hot knife through butter – they're so corrosive they can melt their way through solid rock.
Research and News
Voyager 2 launched in 1977 and visited all four gas giants in our Solar System. It's now almost 18 billion kilometres from Earth and has finally joined its twin in interstellar space.
Sexual subcultures create space for critical social conversations and the formation of meaningful political alliances.
Hacking #auspol
Chinese-language social media in Australia are increasingly a focus for local political parties.
A lot of attention has been focused on Russia’s efforts to influence American politics, but Australia has also been a target – and continues to be a target – of covert foreign influence.
Australia has one of the most secure electoral systems imaginable thanks to paper ballots. Cybersecurity experts caution against e-voting.
This is research
Clinical trials can assess impact of a medication on a disease. The ideal design is 'blind' – when the researchers and participants do not know who is assigned to the different treatments.
What contributes most to being at high risk of diabetes – diet, genes or something else? Big research questions need robust research approaches, so let's break it down.
Important research questions can almost always be answered better with a combination of methods – where both quantitive and qualitative data play a role.
Once upon a time, a group of disheartened scientists found their tearoom bereft of teaspoons. They explored the problem with a longitudinal study design.
From around the world
Ionic winds – charged particles flowing through the air – can move airplanes using only electricity; no propellers or jet engines needed. The scholar who led the project explains how it works.
A fresh look at museum artifacts fills in a gap in the Asian archaeological record and refutes the idea that an advanced technique was imported from the West by early modern humans.
South Africa's fossils can step out of the shadows of being undated and undateable.
PhD scholarships
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
Plane disaster
The flight data may only shed light on what happened. Investigators must systematically investigate other evidence to find out why JT-610 crashed.
God vs science
'I don't believe in God, I believe in science,' atheists often argue. But that doesn't mean their thinking is evidence-based.
The news that a former moderator is suing Facebook over unsafe work practices suggests it's time we finally took the mental health of moderators seriously.
Desert people
They were looking to study rock art at a remote desert site but what they found showed people had been using the place almost since the first people arrived in Australia.
Take control
Our unproductive 'zombie' screen hours can creep up – but they don't need to rule us. Here are four steps to help you use new tools to monitor and change your technology habits.
Surprising salt
We take salt water for granted, and often overlook how important it is for our own lives and in sustaining a healthy planet.
Busy ants
Ants have many tricks to deal with rain – like holding their breath, blocking nest entrances or drinking excess water and releasing it elsewhere by 'communal peeing.' But can they see rain coming?
Science books
New research shows children's images of scientists are all too often male.
Community angst
Research has shown that large social platforms like Facebook can reinforce problematic social hierarchies and prejudices around gender, sexuality and race.
Job Board
Where experts find jobs
-
Lect./ Snr. Lect./ Assoc. Professor In Small Animal Surgery
-
Research Fellow Grade 1 Or 2, Ecosystem Modeller
-
Manager, Academic Services (Carlton)
-
Digital Advisor – Teaching and Learning
-
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer Software Engineering
Events
-
International Symposium on ethical algorithms — University of Sydney
-
How to Build Ethical Organisations? — University of Technology Sydney
-
Australian Gender Economics Workshop: Call for papers now open — RMIT University
-
Australian Gender Economics Workshop (AGEW) 2019 — RMIT University
How we are different
10 reasons
Most Read past week
- Australia is still listening to Voyager 2 as NASA confirms the probe is now in interstellar space
- Sexual subcultures are collateral damage in Tumblr’s ban on adult content
- The government’s encryption laws finally passed despite concerns over security
- Digital platforms. Why the ACCC’s proposals for Google and Facebook matter big time
- The problems with small satellites – and what Australia’s Space Agency can do to help
Pitch an idea
Got a news tip or article idea for The Conversation?
Our Audience
The Conversation has a monthly audience of 10.7 million users, and reach of 38.2 million through Creative Commons republication.
Want to Write?
Write an article and join a growing community of more than 77,000 academics and researchers from 2,653 institutions.
Make a Donation
The Conversation relies on sector, government and reader support. If you would like to help us have even better conversations, then you may like to make a one-off or on-going donation.