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The hero’s journey in three stages - separation, initiation, return - offers a narrative framework for understanding character progression. Pineapples101

Are you monomythic? Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey

When you tell someone a story, do you plan it out beforehand so that it’ll sound good? Do you carefully plot what you’ll say, in a specific order? Or does the story find a way of telling itself, the plot…
Used as a weight-loss or body-sculpting supplement, DNP can cause side effects when used in doses recommended by body-building websites. Ian Carroll/Flickr

‘Fat blaster’ drug can give you weight loss to die for

Losing weight is very hard, so it’s not surprising many people succumb to the allure of miracle weight-loss pills and potions available online. But they do so at their own peril, as today’s Emergency Medicine…
What exactly is peer review? Flickr/AJ Cann

Explainer: what is peer review?

We’ve all heard the phrase “peer review” as giving credence to research and scholarly papers, but what does it actually mean? How does it work? Peer review is one of the gold standards of science. It’s…
More than 90% of kids are vaccinated compared with 74% of adults aged over 65 years. Shutterstock

Vaccination isn’t just for kids – a guide for over-65s

We live in an ageing society, with the global median age rising steadily. Australia’s economic viability will increasingly rely on retaining older people in the workforce for longer. This, of course, relies…
The toxic effects of cigarette smoke reach far into the lungs. Flickr/SOCIALisBETTER

Explainer: what is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Almost everyone will know someone with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): an incurable disease of the lungs that makes breathing difficult. Never heard of it? Well, chances are you’ve heard…
Chile’s Alexis Sanchez fell victim to a goal disallowed by an offside call in the 2010 World Cup. So what are the nuts and bolts of the rule? EPA/Sergey Dolzhenko

Explainer: the offside rule

The offside rule is perhaps one of the most controversial rules ever applied to football. We only need to look to Mexico vs Cameroon on day two of the 2014 World Cup. Thank god for the 61st minute goal…
Neuroeconomics is a burgeoning field aimed at helping us understand decision-making. Image sourced from www.shutterstock.com

Explainer: neuroeconomics, where science and economics meet

Whether choosing a dinner, a car, a spouse or an investment, experts now know what part of the brain our likes and dislikes are encoded, how we represent alternatives, and even how we choose. This has…
It’s probably easier to say what contemporary dance is not. John Hogg/EPA

Explainer: what is contemporary dance?

Contemporary dance is a catch-all phrase used fairly indiscriminately, meaning many things to different dance communities across a wide range of cultures. In fact, it’s probably easier to say what contemporary…
The yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti, taking a bloodmeal. James Gathany/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Travelling to Brazil? Here’s what you should know about yellow fever

Of the dangers facing travellers to Brazil for the World Cup, yellow fever is one of the least likely to pose a real threat. But there are two important things to know about the illness. First, it’s a…
Most infections by this family of viruses are acquired in childhood and are usually mild. gabi menashe/Flickr

Explainer: what is parechovirus?

An outbreak of parechoviruses in Queensland is causing concern because of the severity of the illness among infants younger than three months old. Dozens of cases have been detected in Australia since…
By mimicking each other, humans try to physically understand each others’ emotions. Flickr: modenadude

Explainer: how we understand people and why it’s important

Social cognition is our ability to understand other people, and it enables us to predict their behaviour and share experiences. It’s also critical to understanding the many nuances underpinning everyday…
Mad Men actor Jon Hamm claims to be diagnosed with the skin condition vitiligo – but what is it, exactly? EPA/Gus Ruelas

Explainer: what is vitiligo?

Vitiligo, a human skin condition that turns patches of skin and hair white, it is not a disease we hear much about, although it affects approximately 1% of the population. Most famously, Michael Jackson…
Unless Victorian opposition leader Daniel Andrews accepts Geoff Shaw’s vote, there will be no progress on anything in the state’s political crisis. AAP/Julian Smith

Explainer: the constitutional implications of Victoria’s ‘crisis’

After a night of political uncertainty, the Victorian Labor opposition has indicated it will move to have ex-Liberal MP Geoff Shaw expelled from parliament instead of accepting his offer of support for…
‘Bang’ composed of 886-three legged wooden by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei at the German during the 55th International Art Exhibition in Venice, Italy, 2013. EPA/ Andrea Merola

Explainer: what is a biennale?

Chances are you’ve heard of an art biennale, even if you haven’t visited one. This year’s Biennale of Sydney hit the headlines with a controversy over sponsor Transfield’s links to off-shore refugee detention…
You can trust some but not others. williamhartz

Explainer: is your Wi-Fi secure?

James Lyne from IT security firm Sophos recently carried out a two-day public awareness exercise as part of the InfoSec 2014 conference. In a low-emission variation of war driving, Lyne cycled around the…
Of the over 70 bloodsucking arthropods known as ticks that live in Australia, the paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus dominates. Doggett

Tackling the tricky task of tick removal

Tick bite poses a potentially serious health risk in itself but sometimes the way people try to remove ticks just makes things worse. This is because urban myths and conflicted advice from local and overseas…
Following the announcement of the budget, a mass of legislation to implement the new policies and allow the government to spend money is introduced into parliament. AAP/Lukas Coch

Explainer: can the Senate block the budget?

In the days since the Abbott government released its first budget, the Labor Party, the Greens and the Palmer United Party have all said they will block parts of it in the Senate. Threats to block the…
The judge in Oscar Pistorius’ trial has asked for his mental health to be assessed. EPA/Gianluigi Guercia

Oscar Pistorius faces psychiatric tests – what are anxiety disorders?

Oscar Pistorius’ trial took another dramatic turn earlier this week when the judge in the case agreed to a prosecution request to have his mental health assessed. After a psychiatrist called by the defence…
Rare genetics. Embraceablemovie.com/Kent Creative

Explainer: what is Williams syndrome?

The vast majority of people can probably tell you that autism is associated with problems relating to others and interacting socially. Far fewer people will be able to tell you about another developmental…
Modernism is typified by a commitment to exploratory experimentation. Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe by Edouard Manet (1862-63), Wikimedia Commons

Explainer: what is modernism?

I first came across modernism through the lens of postmodernism in the early 1980s. At that time postmodernism – explained here – was washing through the academy, promising to transform everything by placing…

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