Pursuit
Cutting-edge research and insightful commentary by world-leading experts
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Melbourne’s real-world impact on climate change
A new initiative bringing together multi-disciplinary climate change experts is focused on finding effective global solutions in Australia and beyond
Humanities
Creativity and Crisis: Teaching Indonesian in Australian schools
Without Indonesian language skills and intercultural capability, Australians will struggle to navigate their relationship with one of Asia’s key players
Animals, Food & You
Hope for endangered frogs
New research shows some endangered species of frog are able to recover from a disease that has devastated amphibian species worldwide
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.
Consent apps are a bad idea – here’s why
Sexual consent apps only risk protecting perpetrators and reduce sex to a transaction. What is needed is social change, say University of Melbourne experts.
Creativity and Crisis: Teaching Indonesian in Australian schools
Without Indonesian language and cultural capability, Australia's relationship with one of Asia’s key players will struggle says a University of Melbourne expert
Hope for endangered frogs
Some endangered frog species are recovering from a disease that has devastated amphibian species worldwide, shows a new University of Melbourne-led study
Eavesdrop on Ideas
Finding friendship in art and algorithms
COVID-19 has reinforced the vital nature of friendship and community – not just with other humans but also our connections to nature, algorithms, animals and art
PodcastInside Business
Time to reform Australia’s unfair family support system
Family benefit payments aren’t fit for purpose with complex rules that make it hard for mothers to return to work and that penalise dual-earner families
Science Matters
Food for thought
University students going hungry in Australia was a persistent problem before COVID-19, now it’s time we use the crisis to come up with sustainable solutions for our campuses
Health & Wellbeing
Transforming mental health care through lived experience
By co-designing mental health care with people who have lived experience, researchers aim to rebuild Australia’s system
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COVID-19
Health & 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
Health & Wellbeing
Young people are making their way through COVID
2020 looked bleak, but Australia’s young people are working hard at getting work – volunteering and connecting to their communities. With the right support, their outlook is bright
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?
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
PodcastHealth & Wellbeing
How to maintain a healthy biome in a COVID-19 world
COVID-19 has changed our lives, and although it may also be changing our microbiomes, there are many actions that we can take to support the microbes within and around us
Education
Learning & Teaching
Getting racism out of the classroom
Schools are part of a system of colonial rule that is not easily overwritten; the education system and teachers must work to understand and challenge structural racism
Engineering & Technology
The importance of teaching boys about brilliant women
By normalising brilliant women to our daughters and our sons, we make room for those women. If we don’t, it becomes a real problem for successful women when those boys become men
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
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
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
Sciences & Technology
Science Matters
One size doesn’t fit all for conserving our iconic kangaroos
New research works out where and when to apply planned fire for the benefit of kangaroos and other Australian animals in a time of rapid environmental change
Science Matters
The ‘Russian dolls’ of coral reefs
The discovery of bacteria inside the algae that live inside corals sheds new light on reef-building corals and could be important for understanding coral bleaching
Science Matters
Fossil forests under Antarctic ice
Recently described fossils are the most diverse yet of forests that grew in Antarctica around 56 million years ago, providing valuable information about Earth’s past and future climate
Engineering & Technology
Six safety tips for hotel quarantine
Even during a pandemic people need to travel the world, so researchers have devised a list of things travellers can do as individuals, to quarantine more safely
Science Matters
How plants tell time
Unlike us, plants can’t head to the fridge for a midnight snack, but a new study shows they sense time at dusk to conserve energy produced from sunlight during the day
Environment
Design
Building collective knowledge for action
Community-led research brings together cultural, economic and environmental considerations for a unique design collaboration on Olkola Country
Animals, Food & You
Safeguarding Australia’s dairy herd
New research aims to find a solution for one of dairy’s major problems – developing a vaccine for Mycoplasma bovis mastitis using CRISPR technology
Design
How our cities should respond to the biodiversity extinction crisis
Globally, thousands of governments have declared a climate emergency, but cities have a key role to play in conserving and restoring biodiversity
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
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.
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
Politics & Society
Eavesdrop on Experts
What does our constitution say about freedom of speech?
Professor Adrienne Stone discusses the differences between the Australian and US constitutions on freedom of speech and why asserting a right to free speech doesn’t make it true
PodcastHumanities
Is this the end of the “American Century”?
Is the United States’ time in the sun as the world’s superpower coming to an end? While American exceptionalism reigns supreme, the Capitol Hill riots revealed a truth
Health & Wellbeing
Allegations of sexual harassment and abuse an urgent test for government
The latest sexual assault allegations to consume Australia’s parliament is a reminder that a roadmap for legislative reform has been ‘left on the shelf’
Humanities
Australia needs to embrace ‘Asianness’ as part of ‘Australianness’
COVID-19 has seen a surge of anti-Asian racism in Australia, but Australians need to update their national identity in line with the changing reality
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
Health & Medicine
Health & Medicine
Finding an ‘early warning’ for preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is one of the most serious complications a mother-to-be can face – new research aims to develop an early-warning blood test for pregnant women at risk
Health & 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
Health & Wellbeing
Who needs a colonoscopy most?
Researchers have developed an online triage calculator to identify patients who need their colonoscopy most urgently, providing access to faster bowel cancer diagnosis and treatment
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?
Arts & Culture
Humanities
If our animals could speak
Dr Laura Jean McKay, winner of the 2021 Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for literature, discusses her astonishing first novel – The Animals in That Country
PodcastMusic, Arts & Screen
Human after all
Daft Punk’s robot alter-egos are testament to the freedom artists can exploit when free of themselves in the tradition of Alice Cooper, Ziggy Stardust and even Bob Dylan
Humanities
Speaking truth from below
A new exhibition highlights the stories and experiences of whistleblowers who have spoken out and suffered for doing so
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
Business & Economics
Business & Economics
How businesses can head off social media storms
An analysis of almost half a million online complaints suggests businesses need to respond fast with empathy and/or explanations, but few do
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