Review: Sonic Sea at the Environmental Film Festival
The increasing use of the sea for human activities has resulted in a dramatic rise in noise levels.
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
Analysis and Comment
Australia is at risk of losing migrants who are vital to the health of our economy
The government needs to change conditions for migrant workers to secure Australia's economic future, a new report finds.
DIY pill testing – is it better than nothing?
In the absence of any more sophisticated options, drug consumers are resorting to drug testing kits they can access themselves.
Australia has a history of courting the Chinese gambler
Chinese gamblers in Australia were once prosecuted and had to stand up for their rights, now they are sought after by Australian casino owners.
VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the political gun debate
The Turnbull-Abbott hostilities erupted in a very public manner this week over the terms of a ban on the importation of the Adler seven-shot lever-action shotgun.
Housing: the hidden health intervention
The effects of unaffordable housing cascade into other areas of life, in particular, affecting mental health.
How social media is helping Australian journalists uncover stories hidden in plain sight
From a social media post that cracked open a decades-old abuse scandal in the UK and Australia, through to tracking asylum seekers, social media can be vital in breaking investigative news stories.
Gable Tostee case: how common is death by falling?
Cases of homicide by falling are rare. But the Gable Tostee case is not the first instance of a fall from a building causing death being linked to criminal conduct.
Are wind farms messing up the electricity market?
South Australia's recent blackout raised questions about the role of wind energy in Australia's electricity network.
Meet Savannasaurus, Australia’s newest titanosaur
Dinosaur bones unearthed at one of Australia's richest fossil sites have introduced us to a new species: Savannasaurus, one of a family of huge dinosaurs that trekked here more than 100 million years ago.
Areas with more poker machines have higher rates of domestic violence
The uneven provisioning of poker machines across Victoria may be contributing to the incidence of domestic violence in areas with many poker machines.
Grattan on Friday: A ‘game-changer’ gun changes Turnbull-Abbott game
Political pundits often talk about the 'transactional costs' of coups.
Trump’s claims of a conspiracy against him are undermining democracy
Democracy rests heavily on the idea that, though we may not like those who govern, they gained that power by fair means. Donald Trump is undermining that idea.
Yes, you heard right: more cane toads really can help us fight cane toads
It sounds weird, but releasing small cane toads ahead of the main invasion front can help predators learn to avoid the biggest, most toxic ones. Here's exactly how it works.
Chew on this: we finally know how our jaws evolved
Next time you bite down on something you're eating, spare a thought for the evolutioniary leap made by an ancient fish that gave rise to our jaws.
Friday essay: why literary celebrity is a double-edged sword
Bob Dylan is now a literary celebrity. And next week, the Booker Prize judges will anoint another. The tag is still chiefly attached to men but women authors shouldn't despair: fame and good writing can be uneasy bedfellows.
September brought the world’s record-breaking hot streak to an end – but don’t chill out
Since April 2015, each month has been the hottest on record and it's the longest hot streak on record.
Corporate climate risk is all about turning a profit, not fixing the problem
Most businesses construct climate risk solely through the lens of profitability and market opportunity.
Is the red wine compound resveratrol a miracle drug for infertility and ageing?
You would need to drink over a thousand bottles of red wine per day to get the amount of resveratrol - the compound said to have many health benefits - needed to even have an effect.
Business Briefing: rate tracker mortgages
Business Briefing: rate tracker mortgages.
The Conversation16.3 MB (download)
Rate tracker mortgages could provide some certainty for customers and increase trust in the banking sector.
Clinton and Trump meet in final presidential debate: experts respond
The Conversation's experts respond to the third and final US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
In 887, Robert Lepage has built a memory palace out of theatre
We all store parts of our memory outside of our head: in our phones, our computers and our friends. In 887, Robert Lepage brings his memory to life in a gloriously intricate one-man production.
Cracked it! A 30-year cold case involving an egg and the mysterious Night Parrot
For more than three decades an egg found in a remote Australian desert was thought to be from a rare nocturnal parrot. So what happened when scientists decided to double-check?
Poo transplants and probiotics – does anything work to improve the health of our gut?
The modern lifestyle, particularly diet and hygiene changes, have altered our relationship with our microbes. But can we restore it?
It’s complicated: Australia’s relationship with eating meat
A new SBS doco will spark more questions about if and how we should eat meat.
Protection, not public shaming, is the way forward for child offenders
Changes that would widen the gulf between Australian practice and international standards should be avoided at all costs.
Research and News
Teenagers with low reading levels don’t find it any harder to get work
Vocational Education and Training helps low school achievers up skill and avoid disadvantage in the workplace.
Collapse of Australian car manufacturing will harm R&D in other sectors: study
The collapse of the car manufacturing industry will require more investment in R&D and technological innovation to ensure Australia doesn't fall behind.
Turnbull and Abbott in conflict over deal on sunset clause
Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott are sharply at odds over Abbott's denial of knowledge about a 2015 deal to insert a sunset clause on the import ban of a shotgun.
Podcasts
Race to the White House
What you need to know about the 2016 US elections.
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Politics with Michelle Grattan
Talking politics with politicians and experts, from Capital Hill.
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Business Briefing
Brief analysis of what's making news in Business and Economy.
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Change Agents
A podcast series about change and the people who make it happen
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Speaking with…
Ideas and analysis from the sharpest minds in the academic and research world.
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Gut health
Poo transplants and probiotics – does anything work to improve the health of our gut?
The modern lifestyle, particularly diet and hygiene changes, have altered our relationship with our microbes. But can we restore it?
Fat or thin: can the bacteria in our gut affect our eating habits and weight?
When we can't lose weight, we tend to want to blame something outside our control. Could it be related to the mictobiota – the bacteria and other organisms – that colonise your gut?
Social media influence
Algorithms might be everywhere, but like us, they’re deeply flawed
Think it's a mere coincidence the first two letters of "algorithm" hint at Artificial Intelligence?
Is social media turning people into narcissists?
Narcissists are more self-promoting on social media and tend to have large numbers of 'friends' and followers.
How investigative journalists are using social media to uncover the truth
Social media and crime: the good, the bad and the ugly
Trump and tram reactions show social media’s complex role in responding to sexual harassment
I’m right, you’re wrong, and here’s a link to prove it: how social media shapes public debate
Social media for tracking disease outbreaks – fad or way of the future?
Has social media really shifted the line between personal and private forever?
Social media abuse is a sign that the feminist project still far from finished
Nobel prizes 2016
Explainer: are Bob Dylan’s songs ‘Literature’?
Ancient poems were accompanied by a musical instrument called the lyre – from which we get the word 'lyric'. 'Literature' and 'poetry' are categories of our own making - so moving beyond them in a major award seems long overdue.
In honouring Dylan, the Nobel Prize judges have made a category error
Why Bob Dylan deserves his Nobel prize in literature
Explainer: what is contract theory and why it deserved a Nobel Prize
Why contract theory won Hart and Holmström the Nobel economics prize
Nobel prize-winning autophagy research laid groundwork for potential Parkinson’s treatment
Physicists explore exotic states of matter inspired by Nobel-winning research
The curious history of the Nobel Peace Prize
From muscles to motors: 2016 chemistry Nobel goes to creators of the world’s tiniest machines
Why insights of Nobel physicists could revolutionise 21st-century computing
Yoshinori Ohsumi – a deserving winner of the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine
20 years on, what impact has the Nobel Prize for medicine had on our immune systems?
The Nobel Prize for Physics goes to topology – and mathematicians applaud
US Election 2016
Columnists
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“ Non-deceptive placebo use would still be manipulative and disempowering for patients
Michael Vagg -
“ Despite the rhetoric, America is a nation politically divided by gender and ethnicity
Bryan Cranston -
Brian McNair — “Trump will not go quietly, and others will come after him with similar beliefs”
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Camilla Nelson — “Present tense writing is billed as the roar of late modernity, but it’s not so simple”
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Simon Chapman — “As e-cigarette growth slows, Big Tobacco is focusing on its new tobacco products”
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David Malet — “The real drama is in the battle for control of the Senate and the Supreme Court”
Research and Expert Database
Editors’ Picks
QLD drug overdoses
Explainer: what is NBOMe?
NBOMe is an abbreviation for N-methoxybenzyl. While NBOMe is often referred to as a drug, it’s not a singular drug but a series of drugs that contain an N-methoxybenzyl group. The most common NBOMes that…
US election
Clinton and Trump meet in final presidential debate: experts respond
The Conversation's experts respond to the third and final US presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Science prize
Teaching reptiles to avoid cane toads earns top honour in PM’s science prizes
University of Sydney conservation scientist Rick Shine has won a top science honour, for work that uses evolutionary theory to try and keep cane toads from killing Australia's native wildlife.
Education
Respectful relationships education isn’t about activating a gender war
Research shows that many young Australians are not aware of appropriate boundaries in relationships. It's important that children are informed by research rather than rhetoric.
Gen Y
Young people don’t expect to rely on the ‘bank of mum and dad’: study
Young people actually take responsibility for their own financial decisions but they fail to learn from their parents about how to handle money, new research shows.
Caffeine
Research Check: can drinking coffee reduce your dementia risk?
A study was reported to show caffeine protects older women from dementia. But looking closer at the research, we can't truly claim coffee was the reason some of the women had a lower risk of dementia.
Nobel prize
In honouring Dylan, the Nobel Prize judges have made a category error
Were there really no poets or novelists or essayists - no people who have spent their lives in the field of literature - considered Nobel-worthy? This nostalgic decision is discourteous to writers.
Gendered politics
Grattan on Friday: Sometimes, sexism gets the reward it deserves
Four years after her famous 'misogyny speech' attacking Tony Abbott, Julia Gillard reflected this week on her experience as a woman at the top.
Bad science communication
No, enjoying a gin and tonic doesn’t mean you’re a psychopath
Claims that gin lovers are more likely to be psychopaths are just another case of science media misreporting - which should be a tonic to any tipplers who were worried by the news.
Animal welfare
New South Wales overturns greyhound ban: a win for the industry, but a massive loss for the dogs
New South Wales' U-turn on its greyhound ban says much about the calibre of politicians and their subjugation to the media.
The gut
Healthy guts are swarming with bugs, so what do they do?
The make-up of our gut is constantly changing and affects everything from our immune system and digestion, to our brain function.
US election
Post-truth politics and the US election: why the narrative trumps the facts
To decide between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, American voters will have to decide which narrative they prefer, leaving the truth to emerge later from the political rubble.
Honorary titles
Why do we still hand out honorary academic titles?
The decision to award former Prime Minister John Howard an honorary doctorate was criticised. So what are honorary titles - and why do we still have them?
Virtual reality film Collisions is part disaster movie, part travelogue and completely immersive
What if your first contact with the Western world was witnessing an atomic test? This is the story of Nyarri Nyarri Morgan, told in stunning virtual reality in animation/documentary hybrid Collisions.
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- Grattan on Friday: A ‘game-changer’ gun changes Turnbull-Abbott game
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