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Just before dawn on the third Saturday in March, the first shots will be fired, and the 2013 Victorian duck hunting session will commence. But 2013 will be unlike previous years. You are probably unaware…
American decline has become basic to the debate about international relations. It is and will become a ubiquitous claim as the federal government moves toward the “fiscal cliff” soon after the 113th Congress…
For the last couple of months I have been working part-time. This was fine initially, but now everyone knows I am back so the meetings and requests are stacking up. My life is becoming increasingly difficult…
Evelyn Krull, a research scientist at the CSIRO, asked in these pages whether biochar could save the planet. Eighteen months have passed and although research efforts continue, still no meaningful quantities…
The CO2-emission intensity for electrical power production fueled by natural gas is about half that of coal. Consequently, natural gas is mooted as a potential transitional or bridging fuel to a cleaner…
Market-distorting fossil fuel subsidies rose 30% from 2010 to 2011, stymying efforts to boost the renewables sector and reduce greenhouse emissions worldwide, a new global report has found. The 2012 World…
Exposure to stress in infancy can create changes in the brain that may predispose teenage girls to depression and anxiety, a US study has found. Previous studies have linked infant stress, which is measured…
The most effective way to prevent tooth decay is delivered to most Australian homes every day through their water pipes. It is, of course, fluoride distributed via the water supply. Dental decay occurs…
Some of my best friends are dairy farmers. Okay, one is. Then there was that dodgy romp with a milker at her wedding. Country air brings out the worst in me. Anyhow. My friend, the dairy farmer, rang me…
Diamond is well known for its appeal as a gemstone. Perhaps less well known are some of its extreme material properties. As well as being the hardest material in nature, diamond is very good at conducting…
Amid Australia’s ongoing doctor shortage, the health system risks losing dozens of Australian-trained, foreign-born doctors because of a shortage of intern places. The Australian Medical Students Association…
Some interesting recent research using neuroimaging gives us evidence that different brain systems activate in different reasoning situations. But before we get to that, try the following puzzles: Puzzle…
I’ve never been a fan of the phrase “jumped the shark”. Not because I think it’s overused - although I definitely think it is - but I find the premise a bit stupid. In brief, it comes from the 1977 Happy…
Barack Obama has now won, apparently losing only conservative Indiana and North Carolina from his 2008 list of states (Virginia and Florida not called yet, but Obama is up and it’s his friendly precincts…
Barack Obama has won a second term as President of the United States. For months we were told this would be a close election. The received wisdom was a spluttering economy would play badly for the incumbent…
More than a year has passed since Animals Australia and the RSPCA, in conjunction with ABC’s Four Corners revealed that Australian cattle were being routinely slaughtered in Indonesian abattoirs while…
It is really upon us. Polls have closed in the first states, Indiana and Kentucky. Those are conservative states, Romney wins. Tiny liberal Vermont is already being projected for Obama. No surprises. The…
It is now election day in the United States. You can compare being on an American political campaign on this final frenetic day to spawning salmon giving their all to leap waterfalls before they die. Media…
The chairman of the Australian government’s Financial Sector Advisory Council, Paul Binsted, believes that bankers who have experienced financial crises are more cautious about taking risks. However, short…
I began this campaign tipping Rick Perry – so the following should be treated with a large pinch of salt. I just have an inkling, a very politically unscientific sense, that Romney is not out of this one…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne