• A green light for AI

    Open Forum     |      February 7, 2025

    New Zealand and Flinders University experts have deployed artificial intelligence and 3D laser scanning to accurately map planted pine forests for most of New Zealand’s North Island.

  • Stepping up on antisemitism

    Open Forum     |      February 5, 2025

    The federal government needs to lead a national debate on tackling the alarming rise of antisemitism in Australia and the spate of attacks on cars, buildings and schools in Sydney and Melbourne.

  • Don’t worry Felix

    Open Forum     |      February 4, 2025

    A new children’s book written by a counsellor and an occupational therapist aims to give educators, parents and caregivers with practical tools children can use to reduce symptoms of anxiety.

  • Maintain your brain

    Open Forum     |      February 2, 2025

    A clinical trial has shown an internet-delivered lifestyle intervention can improve cognition score tests in older adults.

  • Song and dance man

    Open Forum     |      January 24, 2025

    Bob Dylan once described himself as ‘just a song and dance man’ but he remains the greatest songwriter of our times and a new biopic – A Complete Unknown – does justice to his massive influence on music and youth culture.

  • Analysing social media ‘clusters’

    Open Forum     |      January 23, 2025

    Analysing social trends, disaster responses or customer insights using large language models to organise short text clusters just got easier thanks to a new project at Sydney University.

  • Quantifying ‘life satisfaction’

    Open Forum     |      January 23, 2025

    Data on almost 57,000 people from 65 countries suggests that a widely used research tool – the Satisfaction With Life Scale – holds up well when applied across diverse groups of people, underscoring its potential value in research and policymaking.

  • The drinks don’t work

    Open Forum     |      January 14, 2025

    Retirees show more signs of depression than older people still in work, according to a major US study, but while binge drinkers are more likely to be depressed, those who drink in moderation have fewer depression symptoms than people who don’t drink at all.

  • Anatomy of a fall

    Open Forum     |      January 13, 2025

    Fall-related injuries in Australia’s residential aged care could be costing the health system $325 million annually according to a new study by the University of Queensland study.

  • Water world

    Open Forum     |      January 7, 2025

    2024 was another year of record-breaking temperatures, driving the global water cycle to new climate extremes and contributing to ferocious floods and crippling droughts, according to a new report led by The Australian National University.

  • Protecting the Parma Wallaby

    Open Forum     |      December 30, 2024

    The creation of more fox-free safe havens and greater collaboration between government and landowners is needed to ensure the survival of the threatened Parma Wallaby.

  • Ten of the best

    Open Forum     |      December 28, 2024

    From Samantha Harvey’s spellbinding Booker winner Orbital to Percival Everett’s ambitious retelling of Huckleberry Finn, James, these are the books that made the most lasting impression on the Conversation’s expert reviewers.