Sciences & Technology

What happens when AI runs out of pictures?

AI is data-hungry and needs thousands of images to learn how to detect tumours or product defects, but often very few are available. A new method aims to change that

Research

Australia's elusive rakali is hiding and thriving in Melbourne's waterways

The rakali is an Australian marvel of urban adaptation. Our new Map of the Month shows where to find them around Melbourne and where they’re mysteriously missing

Analysis

How rocket launches could threaten Australia’s coastal wildlife

Blast waves, acoustic trauma and sonic booms pose serious, underexamined risks to the threatened species living near proposed launch sites like South Australia's Whalers Way

Research

AI must be built with Indigenous Knowledges, not against them

The same AI that can help revive endangered languages can also deepen historical injustice. The difference, research shows, comes down to whether Indigenous Knowledges are built in from the start

Analysis

Bird flu has reached Australia. Here’s how you can help

The H5 bird flu virus has been detected in Australia for the first time, raising fears for wildlife, livestock and the nation's biosecurity. Here's what the experts say, and what you can do to help

Research

What universities are getting wrong about teaching in the age of AI

Skills training alone won't prepare graduates for a world where AI is doing the technical work. The real fix lies in how universities teach, not what

Research

A vital native bee highway can start in your own backyard

Bees are critical to our biodiversity, but they’re in trouble. Our new Map of the Month tells us where some of our most charismatic native bees live in the City of Melbourne and the plants that support them

Analysis

Changing who owns houses, won’t fix how fast we can build them

Australia keeps reaching for tax reform to fix the housing crisis, but the 2026 Federal Budget still didn't tackle one of our biggest problems. What it missed was speed.

Research

Greyhound racing says it’s transparent, so we used AI to check - dog by dog

When an industry publishes its own welfare data, how can anyone check it? We built AI agents to go through the public records on fatalities in greyhound racing and found a rising death rate

Research

Exploding stars are trying to talk to us through gravitational waves

The cataclysmic explosions of dying stars can help us unlock grand mysteries of the universe. So we’re priming our detection tools to make the most of the next one we get