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The saltmarsh mosquito, Aedes vigilax, transmits Ross River virus in many coastal regions of Australia. Mr Stephen Doggett (Medical Entomology, Pathology West - ICPMR Westmead)

Explainer: what is Ross River virus?

Ross River virus infection is the most commonly reported mosquito-borne disease in Australia, with more than 4,000 cases of illness are reported every year. Activity has been recorded from every state…
A cancer cluster generally features an unusually high number of the same type of cancer occurring in a group of people with a common exposure. Shutterstock

Explainer: what are cancer clusters?

Most of us are living longer and we are all expected to be working longer. Because the likelihood of cancer increases as we age, we’re more likely to be diagnosed with cancer while still a member of the…
Ice core samples storing mysteries from bygone eras. Genericprofilename

Explainer: what are ice cores?

Ice cores are cylinders of ice drilled from glaciers and ice sheets. When snow falls it takes with it a record of many aspects of the atmosphere. As long as no melting takes place, this information is…
Emerging economies: still basket cases? Wander/Flickr

Explainer: why do emerging markets have so many crises?

In past decades, emerging markets were traditionally thought of as “basket case” economies, with the associated stigma. Perceptions have improved in recent years, but there are still concerns these economies…
Australia’s most prolific Oscar winner, Catherine Martin, was awarded her fourth Oscar for production design on The Great Gatsby. What is it that production designers actually do? AAP

Explainer: what is production design?

When we watch a movie, how do we know where and when it is taking place? This is just one of the questions a production designer working on a film or TV show helps audiences answer. They do so through…
Maybe pink planets have life too. gsfc

Explainer: how do you find exoplanets?

Astronomers didn’t know, 20 years ago, whether planets existed around any stars other than the Sun. All that changed in 1995 with the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting the star 51 Pegasi. And by the beginning…
Give me five of these any day. Nancy D. Regan

Explainer: what is nutrigenomics?

“Eat your five-a-day” is a health slogan that has been kicking around since the 1980s. The UK government made it an official campaign in 2003. But understanding the exact benefits (and harms) that our…
Malignant tumours known as medulloblastoma account for more deaths in children than leukaemia. The Advocacy Project/Flickr

Explainer: brain tumours that affect children

Malignant brain tumours are the most common cause of cancer death in children. And the most common of these are called medulloblastoma. Although these tumours can occur in both children and adults (they…
Amid the constant debate about Religious Instruction in schools, what does the law say? www.shutterstock.com.au

Explainer: what the law says about Religious Instruction in schools

In recent weeks the issue of the religious content of Australian education has been hotly debated. Last week The Age reported the latest development. Principals in several Victorian state schools had ceased…
Proteins hold keys to making more effective medicine. Jeff Fillmore, Flickr

Looking at proteins to make new medicines and better wine

The Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, mapping out all of the genes of the human genome. When the first draft of results were published many were surprised that we had only 24,000 genes. This…
The content of zines can be as idiosyncratic as individual publishers choose. scott_bl8ke

Explainer: zines

Zines are small-circulation, self-published magazines. Their emergence can be traced back to fanzine, a term used by science-fiction fans from the 1940s to set their amateur publications about popular…
The fragile five economies have become surrogates for the developing world in meetings like the G20. Shutterstock

Explainer: the G20 and the fragile five

Financial markets love to come up with snappy acronyms – you have all heard of BRICS, but there are many others, with the “fragile five” being the latest. The BIITS - Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa…
Taste the current. arselectronica

Explainer: what is a Tesla coil?

Picture a reclusive man, dripping with sweat all night in a dark lab, illuminated only by crackling sparks that periodically leap from enormous machines and cast a purple glow across his face. This was…
Bariatric surgery is the last-line option for weight loss. Chris J/FLickr

Explainer: the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery

You don’t need an expert to tell you obesity has become a major health problem worldwide. The World Health Organisation estimates 35% of the world’s adults are overweight and 11% obese, double the rate…
When it comes to sharks, it’s important we know size and species. Scubaben/Flickr

Explainer: sharks — why size and species matter

Dozens of sharks have reportedly been caught since Western Australia’s “catch-and-kill” drum line program began two weeks ago. Firm numbers are not available given the WA government’s unwillingness to…
What do the royal commission into union corruption’s terms of reference, as released by the Abbott government, suggest about the scope of its inquiry? AAP/Dan Peled

Royal commission gets broad brief to crack union corruption

The terms of reference for a royal commission into allegations of corruption and misconduct in the unions were lodged earlier this week by the federal government. The remit of the royal commission is both…
Most biologists argue viruses aren’t alive because they can’t replicate by themselves. Tom Thai/Flikr

Explainer: what is a virus?

It may seem like a fairly fundamental question, but there is still debate over whether viruses should be considered a form of life. The diversity of viral infections is immense. Viruses cause everything…
Should companies with large cash reserves buy back shares from investors? It’s not that simple. EPA/Gino Domenico

Explainer: are share buybacks good for investors?

Only a few hours after announcing he had purchased nearly US$2.5 billion of Apple shares, investor Carl Icahn was demanding the company buy back US$150 billion of its own shares. Now the company has done…

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