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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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Displaying 3961 - 3980 of 4708 articles

The last ten years have seen the rise of therapies for young people that focus on family and wider social systems. Choo Yut Shing

DSM’s approach overlooks effective therapies for children

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a classification system for mental disorders produced by the American Psychiatric Association for the past 60 years…
This rapacious little critter could actually help humans one day. Larah McElroy

Worker antics could lead us to search and rescue robots

When disaster strikes, search and rescue robots could save lives by finding and retrieving people buried under rubble. But designing robots that can descend rapidly through unstable and uneven rubble has…
Has the Gillard government fully thought through its referendum on recognition for local government? AAP/Lukas Coch

Referendum chaos - do ministers really know what they are proposing?

I am not Nostradamus, but I am prepared to make a confident prediction. If the proposed constitutional amendment to recognise local government, in the form announced by press release last week, were to…
These little worms are very powerful model organisms, revealing important lessons about human biology. Niharb

Animals in research: C. elegans (roundworm)

Our series, Animals in Research, profiles the top organisms used for science experimentation. Here, we look at Caenorhabditis elegans – a roundworm. When you think of a worm, what do you see? For some…
The harms from over-diagnosis and over-treatment mean that not everyone benefits from breast cancer screening. Ian Hunter

Breast cancer screening needs to make more than economic sense

A recent article in The Conversation’s Health Rationing series endorsed the government’s decision to extend the BreastScreen program to women aged 70 to 74 (from 50 to 69), based on the results of a 2009…
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The Greening of Democratic Politics

Readers interested in some of the big political ideas and trends of our time may like to listen to a recent talk on the greening of democratic politics. Hosted in Sydney by the newly-founded Institute…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott plans to move a motion of no confidence in the government - but he faces constitutional and conventional hurdles in his attempts to hold an early election. AAP/Lukas Coch

Would a no confidence vote in Julia Gillard create even more confusion in Canberra?

Opposition leader Tony Abbott has confirmed he plans to move a motion of no confidence against Julia Gillard’s government in the next two parliamentary sitting weeks. But in the event a no confidence motion…

A view on: high-speed rail in Australia

Welcome to the second in our new series of video collaborations with SBS. In this episode, Dr Rico Merkert, Senior Lecturer in Aviation Management at the University of Sydney, gives his view on the Australian…
What is the “optimal” level of public debt? Persistent deficits do not automatically lead to a situation where the government resembles a household under mortgage stress.

Debts and deficits: why a string of deficits does not necessarily spell the end of the world

The debate about long-term public finance and the role of government is one that is most definitely needed. However, there are two aspects to this debate that are often conflated. First, there is the issue…
Basal-cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer in Australia. http://www.flickr.com/photos/redvers

Human trial puts skin cancer drug within reach

A drug that may one day be used to treat skin cancer has been found to be safe for use on humans and may reduce the size of a tumour, according to the first ever human trials of the drug. The drug, called…
Mandatory helmets are seen as being good enough for motorcyclists, but what about pedal cyclists? Tom Gill

Bike helmets: an emergency doctor’s perspective

For those working on the frontline of trauma care, the findings of a report into the protective effects of helmets in cyclists and motorcyclists published in the Medical Journal of Australia last week…
Whether or not you are feeding a cold or starving it makes little difference to the biology of a common cold. Image from shutterstock.com

Monday’s medical myth: feed a cold, starve a fever

This winter, most of us will catch a cold. Our kids will probably catch at least two or three. We all know you are supposed to feed a cold and starve a fever. But does it really make any difference if…
Unauthorised boat arrivals from Sri Lanka continue. Recent reports into widespread human rights abuses in Sri Lanka suggest the arrivals might be genuine refugees. EPA/Stringer

The problems with recognising Sri Lankan boat arrivals as refugees

It is all pretty confusing. Are Sri Lankan boat arrivals – like the 66 who showed up in the port of Geraldton last month – actually refugees? Are they fleeing from a country where the police and the army…
Palestinians from Fatah (yellow flags) and Hamas (green flags) celebrated the reconciliation agreement between the factions in 2011, but little progress in the region has been made since. EPA/Mohammed Saber

Burning bridges: Hamas and reconciliation

Recently, Musheer al-Masri, a Hamas member and spokesperson, blamed his Palestinian political rivals Fatah yet again for hindering the implementation of the Palestinian Reconciliation Agreement. The agreement…
Misinformation reported by a media beast hungry for any news on the Boston bombing had the potential to compromise the subsequent manhunt. EPA/Matt Campbell

Boston bombings: news, truth and academics

Last week’s Boston Marathon bombings and the manhunt that followed showed all too starkly the challenges government agencies faced as they responded to the attack and sought to identify the perpetrators…
Pandemics produce an extraordinary outpouring of emotion which is out of proportion to the number of actual cases and deaths. EPA/Wu Hong

No evidence H7N9 spreads between humans – but fear does

It’s ten years since SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) upset our complacency about infectious diseases and now we are faced by another “new” disease. H7N9 bird flu is currently spreading through…
Close-up of a sculptural representation of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), the basic building block of nearly all organisms. ἀλέξ/Flickr

An insider’s account of the Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project (HGP) – to put it simply – has changed science. It has contributed to making biology the science of the 21st century, as physics was the science of the 20th century. It has driven…
The engineered E.coli produced a diesel-style fuel, the researchers said. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdepaz

Scientists grow fuel from E.coli tummy bug

A diesel-style fuel has been created from a modified version of the Escherichia coli bacteria, the tummy bug that causes Bali belly. A new study, published in the journal PNAS and conducted by researchers…
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell (right) said today he would back Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s school reforms package. AAP Image/Alan Porritt

NSW backs Gillard’s Gonski schools plan

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard today said NSW has become the first state to sign up to the National Education Reform Agreement, which aims to add $A14.5 billion to the public and private school…

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