Harvard University has been listed first in the world and the University of Melbourne first in Australia in the 2013 Times Higher Education World Reputation Rankings. The reputation rankings are a spin-off…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Georgina Scambler, The Conversation
US doctors have reported that, for the first time ever, a baby has been cured of HIV following drug treatment within hours of her birth. The findings, which centre on a child under the care of Dr Hannah…
Global bans on rhinoceros products have failed, and legalisation is required to save rhinos from extinction, argue scientists. In a paper published today in journal Science, University of Queensland researcher…
Scientists have linked common genetic markers with major psychiatric disorders including autism and schizophrenia, in the largest ever genetic study of psychiatric illness. The study findings, published…
Data analysis from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology has confirmed last summer was the hottest on record, with January the hottest month recorded since 1910, when records began. Average temperatures…
Scientists in the US have successfully used a new NASA telescope to help improve our understanding of how black holes and galaxies evolve. Using data taken by the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array…
A Coalition government would reduce the regulatory burden on universities and encourage the growth of online learning, opposition leader Tony Abbott will tell a higher education conference this morning…
New legal amendments passed by the Australian parliament today will make forced marriages a criminal offence and make it easier for victims in slavery, forced labour and forced marriage trials to be compensated…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Georgina Scambler, The Conversation
One of the world’s top medical journals has launched a campaign against overdiagnosis, where people are diagnosed with medical conditions they don’t have and prescribed medicine they don’t need. The British…
Universities Australia, a national peak body for universities, today elected James Cook University Vice-Chancellor Sandra Harding as their new chair. Professor Harding will replace University of Melbourne…
A new study that found the common plastic ingredient bisphenol A (BPA) may harm a baby’s brain development in-utero has been described as ‘misleading’ and ‘not relevant’ by Australian experts. BPA is a…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Charis Palmer, The Conversation
Increases in humidity caused as a result of climate change are reducing labour productivity and it’s only likely to get worse over time, argue researchers from America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric…
Sir John Kerr was the worst of Australia’s governors-general and his legacy was to delay the emergence of an Australian republic, former Labor minister Gareth Evans will tell a seminar today. Evans will…
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted Federal Court proceedings against a repeat offender over allegedly misleading claims on a homeopathy website. The regulator is targeting…
Treasurer Wayne Swan will today promise to release the 2012-13 budget outcome “well before the election”, as part of measures to increase budget transparency and put pressure on the opposition over costings…
ANU has become the first Australian member of Massive Open Online Course provider edX, with ANU professor and Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt to teach one of ANU’s first online courses. edX is owned jointly…
Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood has dismissed the threat from the impending Australian launch of UK media group The Guardian, telling shareholders it is not a strong competitive brand in Australia…
Bullies and their victims are at a higher risk of young adult psychiatric disorders, a new US study has found, with the worst effects seen in those who are both victims and perpetrators. In a study published…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Georgina Moore, The Conversation
Marius Kloppers, who today announced his intention to resign as CEO of mining firm BHP Billiton, leaves behind a formidable legacy in both mining and politics as head of a firm that campaigned for a scaled-down…
Australian researchers have developed a substance that looks and behaves like soil from the moon’s surface and can be mixed with polymers to create ‘lunar concrete’, a finding that may help advance plans…
The leader of the Australian Greens, Christine Milne, today delivered a stinging attack on the Australian Labor Party, accusing it of ending a deal the two parties struck that allowed Labor leader Julia…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Katie Moore, The Conversation
Demand for trained mathematicians is growing but enrolment is maths courses is in steep decline. Failing to tackle the problem puts the country at risk of producing the scientists and engineers needed…
Sunanda Creagh, The Conversation and Georgina Scambler, The Conversation
Infants should be exclusively breastfed until six months of age and solids should be introduced at “around six months”, according to official new infant feeding guidelines released today. The guidelines…
The nascent WikiLeaks Party will combine a small, centralised leadership with grass roots involvement and will attract many female voters, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said. Assange, who is living…
A fireball has flown over Russia, delivering a sonic boom with enough force to shatter windows, amateur footage shows. The astronomical event comes just one day before a large asteroid is expected to pass…