• Neuroscience

    You can teach old dogs new tricks


    Stephen Badham |  May 3, 2024


    Employers – and the general public – often assume young people are smarter, or at least quicker to learn, than older people, but new research suggests that cognitive differences between the old and young have been tapering off over time.


  • Science and Technology

    Who’s afraid of quantum computing?


    Chris Ferrie |  May 3, 2024


    Embracing quantum technology might be less about overcoming fear and more about fostering understanding, encouraging patience, and maintaining an open mind to the unlimited possibilities this technology promises to bring.


  • Environment

    A spring clean for Everest


    Alton Byers |  May 3, 2024


    Mount Everest was once the ultimate challenge in high-altitude mountaineering, but the commodification of expeditions over the last 30 years has turned it into a motorway strewn with trash which urgently requires a spring clean.


Latest Story

  • Boosting belonging for school mental health

    Kelly-Ann Allen     |      May 2, 2024

    Initiatives to enhance a sense of school belonging can have positive and far-reaching effects on the mental health of young people.

  • Disaster resilience – learning from abroad

    Latika Bourke     |      May 2, 2024

    Australia’s disaster resilience must be transformed and insights from Japan, Fiji, and Tonga illustrate that we can derive important lessons from our friends and neighbours.

  • Natural chemistry

    Timothy Schmidt     |      May 2, 2024

    “Chemicals” have a bad reputation, as every mention of them in the news seems to be negative, but chemistry is the central science of the modern world.

  • The first thousand days

    Ana Gamarra Rondinel     |      May 1, 2024

    The first 1,000 days of a child’s life do much to shape their future, but the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on young families.

  • Generation angst

    Hugh Breakey     |      May 1, 2024

    Far from bringing people together, Jonathan Haidt’s new book “The Anxious Generation” argues that ubiquitous smartphones are divorcing young people from their friends and family, while attention grabbing apps are eroding their ability to think for themselves.

  • From Sydney to the stars

    Ching Wei Sooi     |      May 1, 2024

    According to a recent survey, the Australian public lacks awareness of global space activities and domestic space endeavours, so, what is Australia is up to in space?

  • Can AI speak up for science?

    Jon Whittle     |      April 30, 2024

    AI tools are already being widely used in science. But can they, and the science they help produce, be trusted?

  • Airfares are staying sky-high

    David Beirman     |      April 30, 2024

    The post-pandemic surge in airfares is easing, but a return to the halcyon days of relatively cheap flight tickets abroad might be over for good.

  • Down the plughole

    John Coyne     |      April 30, 2024

    Wastewater analysis shows that Australia’s consumption of a range of illicit drugs continues to climb, despite the best efforts of law enforcement and harm minimisation schemes.

  • Failure to launch

    Laura Woodbridge     |      April 29, 2024

    The lack of women in the national legislature suggests our political system is misfiring, and this inequality of gender representation also undermines the democratic notion of government being for the people, by the people.

  • Boardroom blitz

    Open Forum     |      April 29, 2024

    A new report has revealed the extent to which Australian universities’ governing bodies have become stacked with unelected big business appointees.

  • Plastic planet

    Open Forum     |      April 29, 2024

    An international team of researchers has found that more than half of branded plastic pollution in the environment is linked to just 56 companies.