It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it

It’s not every day that you find out you’ve been sharing your desk with an ancient life form which may be half as old as Earth itself.

How to have better arguments

Taking steps to fine-tune our argument style can help clarify our thoughts, increase positive debate, reduce anger and emotion, and help us reach a common understanding of the truth more often.

Native life returns to NSW’s ‘wild deserts’

Three native mammal species – bilbies, crest-tailed mulgaras and Shark Bay bandicoots – are booming since their recent reintroduction to Sturt National Park in the far-west NSW outback.

Platypus to return to Australia’s oldest national park

UNSW Sydney scientists are leading a project to bring the iconic mammal back to the Royal National Park in Sydney’s south 50 years after a chemical spill wiped out the local population.

Why uncertainty makes us change our behaviour

Uncertainty affects people’s behaviour in unpredictable ways. Stocking up on toilet paper – bizarre as it appeared, for example – helped many people regain a sense of control at the start of the pandemic.

50 billion birds – and 7.7 billion humans

Wildlife numbers of all types have plummeted in recent years due to deforestation and environmental damage but a new big data study suggests there are still around 50 billion birds in the world – just 7 for every human.

Stampedes, sharks and cyclones

Swimming away from sharks, defending a tent during mini-cyclone and being threatened with a pet dingo are all in a day’s work for coastal researcher Professor Rob Brander.

Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey

It’s not rocket science – or is it? A UNSW Sydney astronomer explains how the right sci-fi watchlist can make physics easier to understand.

Taking child therapy online

A real-world trial has tested the effectiveness – and revealed the challenges – of adapting behavioural therapy to the online world.

Tough times teach us about resilience

Resilience is an adaptive process usually developed over a lifetime – but we’re taking a crash-course in it now.

The bushfire threat to drinking water

Regional and metropolitan areas around NSW are facing water quality concerns in the face of the bushfire crisis.

It’s not what you do, but how often you do it

It’s the new year, and many people’s resolution is to get fitter. New research shows that what you do to get stronger isn’t as important as how often you do it.