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University of Sydney

Established in 1850, the University of Sydney was Australia’s first tertiary education institution. It is committed to maximising the potential of its students, teachers and researchers for the benefit of Australia and the wider world.

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Did US president Barack Obama and his Democratic Party emerge as victors from the now-concluded government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis? EPA/Martin H. Simon

Where to from here? The post-shutdown state of US politics

Luke Freedman, University of Sydney

The confrontation - and the ultimate resolution - over the debt ceiling and the government shutdown has, to date, been the defining moment of US president Barack Obama’s second term. It offers an important…
There’s a reason we have a price on carbon. Repealing it may save taxpayers a little money, but it will cause long-term problems. Roxy Chen

Repealing the carbon tax: hidden costs and unanswered questions

Rosemary Lyster, University of Sydney

There are reasons Australia has a price on carbon. Let’s recap. The IPCC has released its Fifth Assessment Report stating that the increase in atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide…
In Brazil, environmentally sound practices mean ethanol production significantly reduces the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. Flickr: Sweeter Alternative

Mixed fuels, mixed messages: the motivations for ethanol expansion

Susan Pond, University of Sydney and Daniel Klein-Marcuschamer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

In the lead up to the federal election, Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer called for an increase in the number of vehicles using ethanol-based fuels, as a way of reducing Australia’s greenhouse emissions…
President Jacob Zuma’s party remains the dominant force in South Africa despite a number of political and social changes. EPA/Kim Ludbrook

South Africa: what does the future hold for the ‘rainbow nation’?

Geoff Gallop, University of Sydney

As part of my work for the University of Sydney and the Australian government, I’ve visited South Africa seven times since retiring from politics in 2006. Each time something new has happened, and what…
It all comes down to matters of interpretation, and the interpretation that counts is that of the High Court. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: can the Commonwealth override the ACT on marriage equality?

Anne Twomey, University of Sydney

The ACT’s Marriage Equality Bill, which is expected to pass parliament later this month, has revived the controversy about who can legislate for same-sex marriage, with the Commonwealth proposing to challenge…
Workers attend to the seedlings in a confined Golden Rice field trial. IRRI Images

Want a better world? You can’t look at GMOs in isolation

Jean Bogais, University of Sydney

The Philippines (also known as the rice-bowl of Southeast Asia) has become a test bed for genetically modified (GM) crops. Proponents argue GM grains and vegetables can improve the life of farmers and…
While the US government remains shut down, the long game for Republicans like Speaker John Boehner remains the debt ceiling crisis. EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

Raise the roof: the politics of the US debt ceiling crisis

Nicole Hemmer, University of Sydney

The US government shutdown is in its second week, but attention in the country has shifted elsewhere: to the looming debt ceiling crisis. On October 17, the US runs out of money to pay its bills. Both…
Music sales have been falling for some time, but this should not attributed to piracy alone. Tracey Nearmy/AAP Image

Music sales are waning but don’t blame the pirates

Jordi McKenzie, University of Sydney

Fact: worldwide sales of recorded music have declined significantly over the last decade. Fact: there has also been an increase in the use of P2P file-sharing technologies over the last decade. While there…
After mating, all male Antechinus die … but why? badoo_tealeaf

Doing it to death: suicidal sex in ‘marsupial mice’

Diana Fisher, The University of Queensland; Chris Dickman, University of Sydney; Menna Elizabeth Jones, University of Tasmania, and Simon Blomberg, The University of Queensland

Imagine if you only had one shot at passing on your genes before you died. It happens more often in the natural world than you might expect: suicidal reproduction - where one or both sexes of a species…
Ethics committees are the very bodies that ensure the safety of clinical trials. Image from shutterstock.com

Abandoning clinical trial safeguards won’t boost local industry

Paul Komesaroff, Monash University; Colin Thomson, University of Wollongong, and Ian Kerridge, University of Sydney

CLINICAL TRIALS – Human clinical trials are an important last hurdle in the development of new drugs and therapies. Today, The Conversation takes a closer look at this vital scientific endeavour with three…
The Lesser Stick-nest Rat is poorly known, and definitely didn’t climb around in trees. Wikimedia Commons

Australian endangered species: Lesser Stick-nest Rat

Mathew Crowther, University of Sydney

Australia has the world’s worst mammalian extinction records. Since 1788, 21 species have gone extinct in Australia and its territories. This includes 10 rodents, mostly from the arid interior. As with…
US president Barack Obama has been quick to blame the Republican Party for the state of government shutdown. EPA/Jim Lo Scalzo

US government shutdown: worse may yet be to come

David Smith, University of Sydney

At midnight, the United States government was shut down after Congress could not agree to a deal on changes to president Barack Obama’s signature health-care legislation, Obamacare. Around 800,000 non-essential…
Obamacare will give more than 32 million Americans access to health insurance. EPA/Michael Reynolds

Explainer: what is Obamacare?

Lesley Russell, University of Sydney

Once again the United States Congress is scrambling to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) - legislation to keep the federal government functioning. But Republicans in the House of Representatives, with…
Nationalistic politicking on both sides has set the scene for prime minister Tony Abbott’s first foreign trip abroad - to Indonesia. EPA/Adi Weda

The politics of brinksmanship: Abbott heads to Indonesia

Adrian Vickers, University of Sydney

Running foreign policy on domestic agendas is always risky business. In the lead-up to the Australian federal election, the two main political parties locked themselves into a competition over who had…
President Barack Obama’s health care bill is behind a looming US government shutdown by Republicans. AAP

Explainer: why the US government is facing (another) shutdown

Nicole Hemmer, University of Sydney

The dysfunctions of America’s federal government, primarily caused by Republican intransigence, have created a menagerie of strange new political beasts: fiscal cliffs, sequestrations, nuclear options…
Mammals are disappearing across northern Australia; the Capentarian Rock-rat is one of them. Damien Stanioch

Australian endangered species: Carpentarian Rock-rat

Mathew Crowther, University of Sydney

Mammals are disappearing in Australia’s Top End, and we’re not really sure why. This is particularly concerning as northern Australia has a human population density of one person per ten square kilometres…
Australian Aboriginals are at most risk of bad physical and mental health and they have the worst health services in the country. publik16/Flickr

Improving Aboriginal health and well-being: a view from the north

Lesley Barclay, University of Sydney and Tricia Nagel, Menzies School of Health Research

Aboriginal people living in remote communities have much worse health status and longevity than other Australians. And this imbalance will not be remedied until governments work with Aboriginal leaders…
fyssas.

A Murder in Europe

John Keane, University of Sydney

It’s difficult from afar to grasp the depressing scale and depth of European disintegration, so let me try from close range to convey something of what’s going on by using a simple method: extracting snippets…

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