We have some idea of what the future may look like under climate change, and now, thanks to new research, we have a better idea of when. The research, published today in Nature, shows that the world’s…
Humans have already felled or razed about half of the world’s forests, and much that remains has been fragmented into small pieces. Research my colleagues and I published in Science today shows that when…
Australia’s problem is that we have stopped producing major intellectual figures. Where is today’s Friedrich Hegel? Even more telling, where are the physicians like Edward Jenner, biologists like Alexander…
It doesn’t matter whether or not you think it’s fair: if you’re an academic, your publishing record will have a crucial impact on your career. It can profoundly affect your prospects for employment, for…
It would be wrong to think that gender equality in the workplace is still elusive. Even if the Abbott government’s Cabinet, with its sole female member in foreign minister Julie Bishop would seem to show…
Health care is a tough nut for governments because it’s the largest source of growth in government spending. Salary costs are the major part of this cost so workforce policy decisions have profound implications…
On Monday, the Coalition announced its plan for the Great Barrier Reef, including a A$40m trust-fund to target threats to the Reef such as Crown of Thorns starfish and runoff from agriculture. The promises…
Young children living in remote Indigenous communities have long been known to suffer from iron deficiency and anaemia at many times the rates found among other Australian children. Now a new report shows…
“Nothing would do more to rapidly decrease the risk of climate change than a major plan to protect global rainforests” – Opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt, media release, 30 August. Launching…
As MasterChef fans count down to tomorrow night’s season five finale, advertisers will be crossing their fingers that ratings will match last year’s top-ranking-program status. With a season six on the…
Last year the current government unveiled plans for the world’s largest network of marine parks around Australia’s coast. Now the Coalition has pledged to put a pause on the plan should it form government…
Australia’s two major parties have promised to reduce the country’s emissions by 5% by 2020, with two different approaches. Labor has used carbon farming as part of its approach; the Coalition is making…
You may not have heard of the Gulbaru Gecko but you’d love it if you met it. Ancient and spectacular, this endangered gecko has one of the smallest distributions of any Australian animal. Australia is…
Note: since publishing the Leatherback Turtle has been removed from the critically endangered list. It is now considered to be vulnerable. Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) are the largest, oldest…
**Northern futures, northern voices: It seems everyone has ideas about how Australia’s north could be better, but most of those ideas come from the south. In this six-part weekly series, developed by the…
One in nine Australians over the age of 25 (that’s 1.7 million people) has chronic kidney disease. That’s more than the number living with chronic lung disease, stroke, heart failure, and all types of…
Northern futures, northern voices: It seems everyone has ideas about how Australia’s north could be better, but most of those ideas come from the south. In this six-part weekly series, developed by the…
The Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is one of the seven species of marine turtles and one of six in the family Cheloniidae. It is easily distinguished from other turtle species by its beak-like…
“You cannot send children aged under seven to Manus Island because of the issues of inoculation - you can’t do it.” - Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison, press conference, 21 July. Scott Morrison…
Occasionally I give guest lectures to undergraduates about Maralinga. In most cases, the students have never heard of the place. A small number may have heard the word, but don’t know what it means. This…