Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
Welcome to Pursuit
More about usLegal Affairs
Six things you should know about the Indonesian elections
The upcoming Indonesian elections will be the single largest election day in the world as up to 193 million Indonesians vote for a president, vice president and legislatures across the country
Health & Medicine
Our ‘killer’ cells’ role in life-long flu vaccine
Killer immune cells that can fight all strains of influenza virus provide the potential for a universal, one-shot flu vaccine
Eavesdrop on Experts
Workplace bullying in the #MeToo era
Workplace bullying creates a toxic environment, but the #MeToo movement is highlighting the drivers of abuse that women experience at work
PodcastWhat we can learn from festivals like Rainbow Serpent
A University of Melbourne expert says transformative festivals like Australia’s Rainbow Serpent are a global phenomena providing insights into human behaviour.
Saving lives when the power goes out
Developed by University of Melbourne experts, the FREO₂ LPOS (Low Pressure Oxygen Store) is delivering oxygen without power and saving children’s lives.
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.
What plant proteins can tell us about Alzheimer’s
University of Melbourne-led research finds that a protein helping plants to grow under salt stress shares features with Tau, the protein linked to Alzheimer's.
Six things you should know about the Indonesian elections
April's Indonesian elections will be the world's single largest election day as up to 193 million voters go to the polls says a University of Melbourne expert.
Workplace bullying in the #MeToo era
In this episode of the University of Melbourne's Eavesdrop on Experts podcast, Dr Victor Sojo discusses the impact of #MeToo on workplace bullying.
Under the Microscope
Re-thinking our definition of adolescence
Adolescence has changed significantly in the last century. Professor Susan Sawyer is working to improve our understanding of the contemporary complexities of this age group
Health & Wellbeing
More maternal and child health nurse visits help mothers and babies thrive
Increasing the number of maternal and child health nurse visits to new mothers facing adversity can significantly improve parenting and maternal wellbeing
Go Figure
Would cockroaches really survive a nuclear apocalypse?
Cockroaches have a reputation for resilience, even when it comes to surviving a nuclear bomb and radiation - but would they really outlive us all?
Legal Affairs
What we can learn from festivals like Rainbow Serpent
Transformative festivals like Australia’s Rainbow Serpent are a global phenomena, and research on these grand social experiments is yielding insights into human organisation and cooperation
Subscribe to Pursuit
Receive your weekly email digest from Pursuit
Health & Medicine
Under the Microscope
The importance of your child’s middle years
Far from being a quiet time, a child’s middle years - between ages eight and 12 – can be transformative. But according to Dr Lisa Mundy we need to better understand those changes
Health & Wellbeing
Prostate cancer: Starving out the enemy
By blocking a cancer cell’s access to the ‘fuel’ it needs to grow, researchers hope to develop a new therapy for prostate cancer
Health & Wellbeing
Is life getting better for people with disabilities?
New study suggests we’ve made only mixed progress in improving the lives of people with disabilities, underscoring the need for better data and monitoring
Health & Wellbeing
Black Saturday: Understanding disaster recovery and resilience
The Black Saturday bushfires taught us that disasters are a unique form of trauma - learning how to respond can help people and their communities recover
Health & Wellbeing
Saving lives when the power goes out
In many remote communities around the world, electricity can be intermittent at best and non-existent at worst, but FREO₂ LPOS is delivering oxygen without power and saving children’s lives
Business & Economics
Inside Business
Is it time to rethink our banks being too big to fail?
There is an important but poorly understood relationship between New Zealand’s banks and the Australian taxpayer that highlights the need for more stringent regulation around the Big 4’s ‘too big to fail’ guarantee
Inside Business
Australia’s Banking Royal Commission: Quo vadis?
Reforming Australia’s banking sector can only strengthen a Financial Services Industry that’s already suffering from a deficit of trust
Inside Business
Taking a clear look at inequality
Income inequality in Australia is relatively stable but there are pockets of disadvantage that need serious attention
Inside Business
Recruit Smarter: A better way to do business
Overcoming unconscious biases during recruitment can help organisations truly find the right person for the job, become more diverse, and perform better
Inside Business
When a Tweet met with a roar
Twitter faced a massive backlash in India, highlighting how big business must be culturally aware in global markets. And in India, this means understanding the banned caste system
Inside Business
Why do people really become homeless?
While the majority of the general public thinks drug addiction is the main reason for homelessness, the reality is quite different
Arts & Culture
Humanities
Helping us to see when we don’t want to look
Australia’s under appreciated colonial art is a window to the past that can help us understand the fraught and violent history of settlement
Learning & Teaching
How does learning happen in museums?
Bluetooth technology has helped reveal how visitors explore museum exhibitions, and how much they learn in the process
Music, Arts & Screen
The power of the pun
Love them or hate them, puns have been around for centuries and still endure today. But what is it about the pun that has ensured their persistence? Because sometimes they’re not that funny
Humanities
Rome’s Augustus and the allure of the strongman
The Roman emperor Augustus is held up by some as a statesman who brought peace, and as a potential model for the future. But what was the cost of Augustus’ peace, and how real was it?
Humanities
Family movies, for the soul
The holidays are here, the family is around, so what feel-good movies should you watch together to reconnect with the meaningful? Relax, here are ten for you
Politics & Society
Health & Wellbeing
Vulnerable women trapped by changes to bail laws
Victoria’s legal changes make it tougher to access bail and parole, but it’s the most vulnerable women who are being imprisoned
Engineering & Technology
Is it really a myth that our data isn’t safe?
New legislation aims to expose the communications of serious criminals, but it might undermine our security too
Humanities
The world is run by those who show up
In this edited extract of the new book The Change Makers, Professor Marcia Langton tells author Shaun Carney that when you do the right thing at the right time, people will later call you a leader
Legal Affairs
The buck stops here: Holding banks responsible for dishonest conduct
With 76 recommendations, Commissioner Ken Hayne’s final report into the Australian financial services industry provides a roadmap to hold the sector to account, especially for the ‘fees for no service’ scandal
Legal Affairs
Reversing Indonesia’s child marriage laws
Late last year, Indonesia ruled that child marriage violates children’s rights – an important step for Indonesian women in their fight for gender equality
Legal Affairs
Why are the rates of restrictive practices in Victoria’s mental health services so high?
Victoria has some of the highest reported rates of restrictive practices in mental health in Australia, but the upcoming Victorian Royal Commission may not investigate them
Education
Education
Moving between different cultural worlds
Young Australians from migrant and refugee backgrounds are close to their families, but this can mean they have to negotiate a balance between different cultural expectations
Learning & Teaching
Why is school connectedness so important?
If students feel disconnected from school, their learning and even their health can suffer - new research shows how teachers can help
Education
Adapting yourself to take action on the environment
Disillusionment with politics is reason enough to want to take action yourself on climate change and the environment, but actually doing it is harder. Here is a model to help you plan and do.
Go Figure
Why are Australians linguistically lost?
In the 1960s, the structured teaching of English grammar was taken off the Australian curriculum, so many of us left school without knowledge of it. But it’s being phased back in, and that’s going to help a lot of students as the world gets smaller
Education
How can we help students connect?
Without intervention from lecturers, university students from all backgrounds are struggling to make friends on campus
Environment
Animals, Food & You
We can have urbanisation and enough to eat
Changing our diets and food choices can have a knock-on effect on global supply and demand – even balancing the impact of our rapid urbanisation on food security
Design
Black Saturday: Urban sprawl and climate change remain key dangers
Action has been taken to improve people’s safety in the event of bushfires, but two key risk factors – urban sprawl and climate change – aren’t being addressed
Design
Black Saturday: Bushfire planning as our population grows
Bushfire planning around our expanding urban environments is crucial for dealing with Australia’s increasing bushfire risk
Science Matters
It’s time the Nullarbor Caves had World Heritage status
Australia’s Nullarbor caves are a precious time machine to millions of years ago, and crucial to understanding our future climate. So, why aren’t they World Heritage listed?
Eavesdrop on Experts
Learning to live with fire
Fire. It’s a constant in the Australian landscape. But how we manage our bushfire risk isn’t just about the environment we live in, it’s also about changing our cultural attitudes to fire
PodcastEngineering & Technology
How did it come to this?
The death of up to a million fish on a stretch of the Darling River highlights the need for the full implementation of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
Black Saturday: Have we fixed a flawed system?
There have been more than 50 formal inquiries into bushfire management in south-eastern Australia since 1939, but what lessons have we learned?
Under the Microscope
Tackling human error to stop vehicle accidents
Transport engineer and researcher Peter Sweatman says improving safety is a big driver of vehicle innovation, and the focus is now on saving drivers from themselves
Go Figure
The I’m-trying-to-get-around-you dance explained
Two people walk towards each other, both try and get out of the way - before you know it, they’re doing the ‘sidewalk salsa’
Science Matters
‘Safe’ herbicide in Australian water affects male fertility
Scientists are calling for a herbicide banned in the European Union for the last 15 years to be withdrawn in Australia for its effect on male fertility
Engineering & Technology
Crowdsourcing the problem of low back pain
Crowdsourcing information and opinions from people who have experienced low back pain first-hand can provide sufferers with effective information and support