Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
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More about usHealth & Medicine
Learning as we go during vaccine rollout
As Australia begins its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, there’s still a lot we don’t know. But the real-world data from other rollouts have clues that can help us modify as we go
Humanities
Speaking truth from below
A new exhibition highlights the stories and experiences of whistleblowers who have spoken out and suffered for doing so
Health & Wellbeing
Listening to the voices of survivors of violence and abuse
Whether it’s addressing sexual violence, coercive control or interventions for perpetrators – the voices of women survivors are central to making a difference
The maths and ethics of minimising COVID-19 deaths
A University of Melbourne experts says the government must factor in the maths and ethics of either flattening the curve or an eradication endgame for COVID-19.
Modelling the spread of COVID-19
Forecasting the spread of COVID-19 including undetected cases is difficult but important; a University of Melbourne scientist has an app to track the outlook.
Why do some people believe the Earth is flat?
Although science says the Earth is round, there are some people around who still think it's flat; two University of Melbourne experts look at why.
Speaking truth from below
A new exhibition that includes University of Melbourne research highlights the stories of whistleblowers who have spoken out and suffered for doing so.
Learning as we go during vaccine rollout
As Australia starts its vaccine rollout, University of Melbourne experts say real-world data from other vaccines have clues that can help us modify as we go.
Six safety tips for hotel quarantine
University of Melbourne engineers have devised a list of things travellers can do as individuals, to get through hotel quarantine more safely
Science Matters
Australia’s oldest known Aboriginal rock paintings
New dating techniques reveal Australia’s oldest known, intact, Aboriginal rock paintings – dating back 600 generations
Legal Affairs
Protecting staff at parliament house
We should expect Australia’s Parliament to comply with their own workplace health, safety and anti-discrimination laws when it comes to protecting the people who work there
Animals, Food & You
Helping crops survive heatwaves
Global warming threatens both the yield and survival of crucial crops. By understanding how extreme heat impacts plant genetics, researchers aim to breed in more resilience.
Legal Affairs
Australia vs Facebook: Regulating the market of attention
Facebook’s move to block Australian users and publishers from viewing or sharing news may look like it’s about content – but it all comes back to advertising revenue
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COVID-19
COVID-19
Part 2: Things we know at the end of 2020
From lockdowns and travels bans to isolation and testing queues, we’ve all experienced a very different year. So what do we know at the end of 2020 that we had absolutely no clue about before?
COVID-19
Part 4: Things we know at the end of 2020
After almost a year of working-from-home, home learning and lockdowns, what do we know at the end of this year that we had absolutely no clue about before 2020?
COVID-19
Part 3: Things we know at the end of 2020
COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it. So what do we know at the end of this year that we had absolutely no clue about before?
COVID-19
Part 1: Things we know at the end of 2020
No one could have predicted some of the hard lessons we’d learn in 2020. So what do we know at the end of this year that we had absolutely no clue about before?
Health & Wellbeing
Watch Episode 2: Conversations on COVID-19: A Global View
In a world where data drives most decision-making, how can we work together to use analytics to help prevent the next pandemic?
Business & Economics
Legal Affairs
Crown, Collingwood and the corporate conscience
The different failures at Crown and Collingwood shows that the law needs to go beyond individuals when holding corporations to account
Inside Business
Children with same-sex parents outperform others in school
A new study finds that same-sex-parented children actually outperform their peers in many areas of academic achievement
Inside Business
Is it time to stamp out stamp duty?
Even though stamp duty is highly inefficient, replacing it with an alternative tax will always be controversial – but what are the options?
Inside Business
Behind the bitcoin bubble
Bitcoin, one of the world’s most well-known cryptocurrencies, quadrupled its value in early 2021 – but is it really “21st century gold”?
Inside Business
Home ownership stays a pipe dream for many
Despite rising numbers of new home loans amid the COVID-19 economic recovery, the outlook for housing affordability remains bleak and more of us will be renting long term
Inside Business
Parents with children at home reach breaking point
Parents are reporting high levels of mental stress amid the COVID-19 economic downturn, highlighting that we need new policies to address work-family conflict
Arts & Culture
Eavesdrop on Experts
The music of politics and protest
Musicologist Dr Nick Tochka discusses his research into music in Europe and the Americas – particularly the politics of music-making since 1945
PodcastHumanities
Why we’re not doing better at racism in sport
Collingwood isn’t the only club where racism is part of the culture, but the AFL club’s report highlights the ongoing problems of dismantling racism in Australian sport
Humanities
The stuff of death and the death of stuff
Cultural anthropologist Dr Hannah Gould researches death and discarding – looking at spirituality and how COVID-19 is changing the way we deal with the dead
PodcastMusic, Arts & Screen
Queer I: Seeing queerly
The thrust of queer activism has always been to ask what safety, comfort and delight looks like – not only for the so-called ‘normal’, but for everyone
Humanities
Scientist and killer: A split life
How does an urbane chemist become a Nazi, then go back to being a respected researcher? And what does it say about the extent of the humanity in all of us?
Education
Learning & Teaching
Playing for participation
eSports has been touted as the future of sport in a post-COVID-19 world, but schools are uniquely placed to foster learning, collaboration and skills in gaming clubs
Humanities
Australia’s future as a destination for international students
At the end of a challenging year, it’s time to take stock of the impacts COVID-19 will continue to have on Australia’s reputation as a destination for higher education
Learning & Teaching
Emerging from COVID-19 and taking the chance to change
Across Australia, restrictions are loosening and now is a good time to take stock of how COVID-19 has changed our lives – and where we go from here
Learning & Teaching
5 tips for Year 12 students preparing for exams
As Year 12 students prepare for their final exams during COVID-19, there are steps parents, carers and students can take to get through this final secondary school hurdle
Learning & Teaching
Australian literature’s great silence
The Black Lives Matter movement has highlighted the systemic racism in Australian society; a new study suggests that we must question the very white stories told in our classrooms
Learning & Teaching
Being a teacher during COVID-19
A survey of teachers in Australia finds they were working harder and longer during remote learning. But there are also important lessons for the future of education
Environment
Science Matters
Five green ways to help keep your cool this summer
People living in urban areas are especially vulnerable to increased temperatures, but here’s how greener cities can help us beat the heat
Design
The importance of Australia’s Big Things
What’s the point of dotting Australia with Big Things – like the Big Banana or the Big Prawn? Well, they’re kitsch fun but they also connect us to one another
Design
Rethinking urbanity
A continuity of understanding place is necessary. And with crises of breath severing time, a rethinking of urbanity is required in the present
Legal Affairs
The investor-led push on climate change
Investor-led pressure on Australian companies is forcing boards to adopt sustainable business practices to meet climate change goals
Music, Arts & Screen
Reimagining waste
Could artists, designers, scientists and engineers working collaboratively to tackle over-consumption save humanity from itself?
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
When the Earth’s magnetic field flipped
Research finds the first Australian-based record of a major global event where the Earth’s magnetic field ‘switched’ – and north became south
Animals, Food & You
Life after the pandemic for your (new) pet
As some of us take the first steps to returning to life after lockdown, there are steps that can help your pet adapt to the new normal – especially if social distancing is the only life they’ve known
Engineering & Technology
Predicting risk of spinal fracture using bioengineering
Researchers have developed a first-of-its-kind predictive tool for spinal fracture in people who have osteoporosis, including activities and spinal joints that carry higher risk
Science Matters
Delving into the DNA of our iconic platypus and echidna
The genomes of the platypus and echidna have now been published, providing a valuable resource for research, as well as for their conservation and health
Science Matters
Tasmanian tigers start to look like dogs in the pouch
The Tasmanian tiger and wolf evolved similar genetic blueprints and lifestyle strategies, generating similar skull shapes even at the puppy stage, finds a new study
Eavesdrop on Experts
What COVID has taught us about the wildlife trade
Wildlife trade is the third largest illegal market in the world behind drugs and munitions – so the fact that COVID-19 may have emerged from this trade tells us more regulation is vital
Podcast
Health & Medicine
Health & Wellbeing
What it takes to make a heartbeat
By studying the zebrafish, researchers have discovered how a gene involved in cardiac rhythm works – helping to explain how a heartbeat develops
Health & Wellbeing
Can thousands of oranges worth of vitamin C cure sepsis?
Sepsis, when our immune response to infection attacks tissues and organs, is a major killer, but recent research suggests a megadose of vitamin C can reverse the damage
Health & Wellbeing
Privacy and health: The lessons of COVID-19
Despite public support, the COVIDSafe app failed to reach its download target. So, what are the implications for future policies that need citizens to share information?
Health & Wellbeing
Testing, testing, testing: Can blood tests help detect cancers early?
With the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of testing, and our capacity to undertake it at large scale, can we use these testing strategies for earlier diagnosis of cancer?
Animals, Food & You
What chickens can tell us about living with COVID-19
The poultry industry has been living with an avian coronavirus since the 1930s, and what we know about that virus can tell us a lot about how to tackle SARS-CoV-2 and future human coronaviruses
Politics & Society
Business & Economics
More Australians becoming wary of COVID-19 vaccines
New survey data suggests that in the last four months more Australians have become reluctant to have a COVID-19 vaccine, potentially jeopardising efforts to reach herd immunity
Health & Medicine
Collingwood’s challenge is everyone’s challenge
Make no mistake, Collingwood Football Club’s challenge to undo systemic racism is everyone’s challenge – together
Legal Affairs
Mapping wage theft with data science
Wage theft is almost ‘normal’ in some industries, but hard to detect. Predictive algorithms can help regulators and give workers an edge
Humanities
Asian Australians’ experience of COVID-19 communications
Trust in government is high in Australia over the handling of COVID-19, and clear public health communication has helped foster that trust in Asian Australian communities
Engineering & Technology
Trump, nipples and the hypocrisy of the social media giants
It took a mob to attack the US Capitol before then President Trump’s incitement was banned by the social media companies, but these same companies routinely censor the marginalised
Humanities
The politics of hacking
Associate Professor Dunbar-Hester discusses the cultures and the communities of the digital era, with a focus on media and tech activists
Podcast