What are we doing to our dogs?

Designer dogs, selective breeding, clones and intensive breeding are having unintended effects on the health and well-being of man’s best friend – so is our love of pups actually bad for them in the long run?

Helping care leavers connect with their past

Find & Connect is a living history project that provides an opportunity for people who lived in care to tell their side of the story.

How are Australians faring?

Every year, the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey, or HILDA, gives us a snapshot of the economic and social wellbeing of Australians. How are we doing this year?

Australia takes a quantum leap in computer simulation

Physicists have successfully run the largest quantum computing simulation to date, a key step in becoming ‘quantum-ready’.

The hard science behind surviving a zombie attack

What would you do in a zombie apocalypse? Build a defensive ring or run as fast as you can? Disaster modelling could help you survive a killer zombie outbreak in Australia and also helps planning for more realistic scenarios.

Remembering the protests that began Mardi Gras 40 years ago

Forty years ago, on 24 June 1978, the first Sydney Mardi Gras took the form of a night time street protest-come party along Sydney’s iconic Oxford Street. Instead of the cheers, balloons and sequins which greet the march today, protesters were harried by the police.

Why do medical specialist consultation fees vary so much?

A new report highlights the wide variation in fees and earnings among medical specialists, pointing to the need for more transparency in healthcare charges

Speeding natural selection in the name of conservation

A breeding experiment to genetically adapt quolls to resist toxic cane toads could lead to a new tool to help endangered creatures from corals to Tasmanian Devils

Would graphic warnings on unhealthy food make you think again?

A new study shows that health warnings on packaged foods can help us make healthier choices and argues that negative messaging can effectively drive the point home.

Joining the ‘big data’ dots on indigenous health

Big data analysis can expose the facts about boosting health outcomes for Indigenous Australians, whether it’s mental distress, rates of chronic disease or just getting a birth certificate.

The big budget takeaways

Some economists worry that a flatter tax system will heighten inequality in the wake of the 2018 Federal Budget and the challenge of affording an older Australia still remains to be addressed.

Australia’s flesh eating bug requires urgent research

A localised epidemic in temperate Australia of a rare tropical ulcer has exposed a major gap in scientific knowledge that needs urgent attention.