Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
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Cutting through the hype on platelet-rich plasma
A new clinical trial casts fresh doubt on this regenerative ‘wonder cure’ for reducing knee arthritis pain and repairing damaged cartilage
Animals, Food & You
Using genetics to conserve wildlife
Conserving wildlife with breeding programs doesn’t help threatened species to adapt, but synthetic biology may be able to bring protection by adapting genetics
Science Matters
Human-driven evolution threatens fish stocks
Warming oceans and overfishing is causing species to evolve in ways that threaten the sustainability of commercial fisheries
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.
Melbourne’s pollen riddle
Melbournians know well how grass pollen triggers hay fever and asthma, but University of Melbourne scientists find ‘other’ pollen can be more abundant in air
How data can help prevent overdiagnosis
Tech advances in medical screening may lead to more overdiagnosis but a new focus on patient data could reduce the risks say University of Melbourne researchers
Human-driven evolution threatens fish stocks
Warming oceans and overfishing is causing some species of fish to evolve in ways that threaten their sustainability, says a University of Melbourne expert.
Health & Wellbeing
How data can help prevent overdiagnosis
The increasing use of digital technologies in medical screening may lead to a rise in overdiagnosis that could be prevented by a new focus on patient data
Humanities
We need to rethink how we manage deathcare
Australia’s deathcare system is already showing cracks, but the pressures will only worsen, especially as the baby boomer generation takes us into ‘peak death’
Public Affairs
What we know about politics after 2021
The second year of the COVID-19 pandemic had a tangible impact on global democracy – but what is 2022 likely to have in store for us?
Learning & Teaching
What we know about our children after 2021
As 2021 drew to a close, the focus for children, parents, carers and educators alike was getting schooling back on track and re-establishing familiar routines while maintaining wellbeing
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COVID-19
Design
From ‘nice to have’ to ‘must-have’ in the post-COVID workplace
The collective experiences of workers pre and post-pandemic offer five lessons for organisations to reimagine workplaces and practices
Health & Medicine
Q&A: What we do (and don’t) know about Omicron
The latest COVID-19 variant, Omicron, has sparked international travel bans, stricter quarantine and a lot of “hype” worldwide – but we still have a lot to learn about the mutation
Learning & Teaching
Rebuilding trust in a less trusting environment
COVID-19 and lockdowns have challenged our trust in institutions and in each other, but simple every day actions can help us to rebuild
Health & Wellbeing
Indian and Australian health workers reach out on COVID-19
New palliative care training for Sister Doctors in India is supporting patients and families during the pandemic and broadening understanding of care across the Indian Ocean
Humanities
Our sensory experience of the pandemic
COVID-19 transformed our sensory environment during a time of immense flux, but is it transitory or will there be a re-sensitisation?
Arts & Culture
Design
Conserving Melbourne’s creative heritage
With Melbourne’s historic Nicholas Building on the market, we need to rethink the city’s urban heritage to conserve places that have played an exceptional role in our local history
Humanities
What we know about sport after 2021
From broadcasting to betting, players to fans – COVID-19 has permanently changed our sporting landscape here in Australia and around the world
Public Affairs
Understanding modern attacks on Gandhi
Statues of Indian independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, have been vandalised or removed around the world – but why does his likeness face attacks today?
Music, Arts & Screen
The arts and Australia’s mental wellbeing
As we all recover from long COVID-19 lockdowns, the creative arts can support our mental health – but we need ongoing and joined up research to better understand its impact
Music, Arts & Screen
Making sense of war through art
Two former official war artists are using art to research how we respond to and cope with, conflict
Humanities
Measuring diversity in Australian publishing
Diversity in publishing workplaces is good for our books, but exactly how diverse is our publishing industry?
Health & Medicine
Health & Medicine
What we know about our resilience after 2021
In Australia, 2021 was characterised by family, social and financial dislocation. But strengths built during adversity will help us cope individually and collectively in an uncertain 2022
Health & Wellbeing
Q&A: How immune cells could help diabetes and stroke
For the first time, researchers show that immune cells help control blood flow, and may hold the key to treating conditions like diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and stroke
Health & Wellbeing
Training our doctors for the future
We must teach our future doctors how to intelligently access and thoughtfully use the knowledge available to them – including learnings from COVID-19
Health & Wellbeing
Exercise really is medicine
Research untangles how mitochondria – our cellular powerhouses – respond to exercise, opening the pathway for personalising fitness to maximise health benefits
Health & Medicine
When kids get stressed out by the stress of others
Empathy is vital for social functioning. However, new research demonstrates that children who are particularly empathic are also more anxious
Environment
Public Affairs
What we now know about climate change after 2021
Along with COVID-19, much of the focus in 2021 was on climate change and how the world, including Australia, is going to reach those crucial targets
Legal Affairs
Labor’s climate policy puts Australia in the race
The Labor Opposition’s climate policy is more ambitious and in line with COP26, but will need accelerated action
Design
Local climate action blocked by foreign relations laws
Federal foreign relations laws are hindering efforts Australian state and local governments are making toward meeting global climate targets
Science Matters
Opportunities for Traditional Owners in the carbon economy
Empowering Indigenous land management through emissions reductions and the carbon economy will have the best outcomes for people and the environment
Science Matters
To limit future flooding in Sydney, COP26 pledges need action
Weather events that led to Sydney’s 2021 floods will likely increase by 80 per cent by the end of the 21st Century under both high and moderate emissions scenarios.
Legal Affairs
What was achieved at COP26?
As the dust settles on the international climate negotiations at COP26, 1.5°C may still be alive but it’s on life support and the road from Glasgow remains an uphill climb
Education
Learning & Teaching
Indonesian matters in our schools
Australia needs leadership and investment in Indonesian language education, so the next generation of young Australians might know our largest neighbour better
Design
Despairing about climate change?
Education is playing a key role in inspiring cities and communities to create better, more resilient places for our climate future
Humanities
Understanding China through education
Australia’s changing and challenging relationship with China needs far more – not less – China literacy in our schools
Under the Microscope
The language of learning
Stanley Wang is one of this year’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential Asian-Australians for his work on bilingualism in school to help foster cultural identity in Australia
Health & Wellbeing
Giving students time for recovery and learning
Over the next years, our focus shouldn’t be to rapidly return schools to the old ‘normal’, but to provide students with adequate time and support to enjoy learning and retain knowledge and skills
Business & Economics
Inside Business
COVID-19’s ongoing supply chain chaos
As we head into the holidays, COVID-19’s disruption to our supply chains has created shortages, backlogs and global delays – but are we over the worst of it?
Inside Business
How we’ve changed in 20 years
The HILDA Survey is into its 20th year and shows a changing and generally well-functioning society but also reveals the pressure points
Inside Business
What’s the impact of self-control on our lives?
Greater self-control is associated with improved life outcomes including health and satisfaction
Inside Business
A third of Australians under chronic time stress
The HILDA survey suggests that not having enough time is a significant social problem with ramifications for health and wellbeing
Inside Business
Distress signals
Australians are increasingly reporting feelings of psychological distress, in a trend that has likely been exacerbated by the pandemic
Inside Business
Q&A: Australia’s COP26 report card
Globally, Australia lags when it comes to climate change policy, despite having policy and economic potential in the zero emissions economy
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
Live cell DNA architecture in real time
Seeing our invisible DNA architecture reveals that our genome is much more than a linear code, but rather an ever-changing blueprint
Science Matters
Looking inside a pigeon’s ear using quantum technology
Quantum microscopy is able to image tiny biological magnetic structures inside a pigeon’s ear and may help to explain how animals use magnetic fields to navigate
Engineering & Technology
Challenging decisions made by algorithm
If an algorithm makes a decision about you that you think is unfair, a lack of process can make it difficult to challenge, appeal or even contest that decision
Science Matters
Mini-beast renaturing: A time for local action
Insect numbers are dwindling around the world and that has an ecological knock-on effect, but we could help by renaturing mini-beasts in our own urban backyards
Science Matters
Tech can do a lot, but won’t get us to net zero on its own
The Morrison government’s emphasis on technology to drive down emissions will still need taxes and subsidies to achieve net zero
Politics & Society
Humanities
Biden’s bid to strengthen global democracy
Can the Biden administration’s Summit for Democracy re-energise an alliance of democracies or is it just setting up a new cold war?
Legal Affairs
Ensuring justice is done and seen to be done
To better promote public confidence, research suggests courts need to reassess the test they use for determining whether a judicial officer could be biased
Under the Microscope
Adjudicating international disputes
International law expert and Laureate Professor Hilary Charlesworth has been elected as a judge of the International Court of Justice – the first Australian woman in the United Nations body
Science Matters
New Caledonia referendum: A flashpoint for decolonisation
Due to longstanding ethnic and political divisions, New Caledonia is caught in a new round of geopolitics and its referendum outcome is unlikely to please everyone
Inside Business
How Australia’s internal migrants could benefit our regions
For regional Australia to benefit from the latest wave of ‘tree and sea changers’, we need to understand the motivations and skills they’re bringing with them
Humanities
Against erasure
Using witness accounts and smuggled information, researchers and technicians have created a 3D digital model of the infamous but dismantled Manus Island Detention Centre