• Society

    7.8 billion is the loneliest number


    Alan Stevenson |  January 28, 2020


    There are more people on Earth than ever before, most of us living in teeming cities. Yet, despite the devices which theoretically connect us to everyone else, loneliness is a growing problem. The answer lies with us.


  • Defence

    Caught between the sword and shield


    Sam Fairall-Lee |  January 28, 2020


    For the last 50 years, Australian defence policy has wavered between the sword and shield, but as the strategic environment changes, we may have to choose between them once and for all.


  • Health

    First, do no harm


    Open Forum |  January 28, 2020


    Australians are increasingly being diagnosed with cancers that will do them no harm if left undetected or untreated, exposing them to unnecessary surgeries and chemotherapy.


Latest Story

  • How to help your kids with homework – without doing it for them

    Melissa Barnes     |      January 27, 2020

    While it’s important to show support and model learning behaviour, there is a limit to how much help you can give without robbing your child of the opportunity to learn for themselves.

  • Paper-thin touch screens are on their way

    Open Forum     |      January 27, 2020

    Researchers have developed an ultra-thin and ultra-flexible electronic material that could be printed and rolled out like newspaper, for the touchscreens of the future.

  • Volunteers and good science must partner for bushland recovery

    Open Forum     |      January 27, 2020

    University of South Australia ecologist Joan Gibbs describes the day that fires devastated her 70 acre property at Cudlee Creek. One month on, it is already showing signs of recovery.

  • Where there’s smoke…

    Max Thomas     |      January 26, 2020

    Melbourne, Sydney and vast swathes of the Eastern States have suffered the effects of the worst bushfire season for years, and the effects of smoke on the population must be taken into account in future planning.

  • We wander lonely in the cloud

    Roger Patulny     |      January 26, 2020

    Humans are more connected to each other than ever, thanks to smartphones, the web and social media. At the same time, loneliness is a huge and growing social problem, so can we use technology to make things better, rather than worse?

  • Can we stop the space arms race?

    Su-Yin Lew     |      January 26, 2020

    Laws and regulations covering outer space are mired in geopolitical gridlock and are failing to keep pace with burgeoning commercial and military developments.

  • A very brief history of time

    Gary Tippet     |      January 25, 2020

    From watching the heavens to discovering waves of light, relativity and entropy, understanding the nature of time has been a major human endeavour.

  • Building better after the bushfires

    Diane Nazaroff     |      January 25, 2020

    Rebuilding the homes lost to bushfires offers an opportunity to use more resilient designs, but some areas may be better abandoned, given Australia’s fast changing climate conditions.

  • Back to school means back to bedtimes

    Open Forum     |      January 25, 2020

    Amid the back-to-school dash for backpacks, books and last-minute haircuts, children’s sleep routines must also be high on the agenda if parents want to start the year on the right foot.

  • Going viral

    Ian Mackay     |      January 24, 2020

    China has barred people from leaving the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of a new viral outbreak ,and global concern is rising, so what do we know so far?

  • We can’t say we weren’t warned

    Will Steffen     |      January 24, 2020

    Scientists have, clearly and respectfully, warned about the risks to Australia of a rapidly heating climate – including more extreme heat, coastal flooding and more dangerous bushfire conditions. Perhaps now the politicians will listen.

  • Solving the genomic jigsaw puzzle of health

    Open Forum     |      January 24, 2020

    A DNA database of thousands of healthy older Australians is set to change how we determine which genes may underpin a range of chronic and acute diseases.