Farewell to the jumbo-jet

With flights grounded and Australia’s borders shut, Qantas has retired its final Boeing 747 several months earlier than initially planned.  The jumbo jet was pivotal in reducing Australia’s tyranny of distance.

The brave new world of agriculture

Advanced automation and genetic technologies need to be adopted globally in each region to deliver local food production capability that can provide secure sources of food in future pandemics.

Women in STEM still fall short of workplace equality

In 2016, women represented just 29% of workers with university qualifications in science, technology, engineering or maths. And that was before the pandemic disruption.

$12m in government seed funding for SMEs

The Morrison Government is calling on the nation’s small and medium sized businesses to help develop innovative solutions to solve national environmental challenges.

Smart solutions need the human touch

A lot of supposedly ‘smart’ software doesn’t take human needs into account, or is designed to fit commercial imperatives rather than empower consumer choices.

Meet your new robot health coach

New research shows “social robots” can help people lose weight by delivering multiple sessions of advice and support without the need for human intervention.

Science needs to look inward to move forward

Robust science depends on encouraging and incentivising more open and transparent practices in research – now, metascientists are looking at what works and what doesn’t.

The future of virtual reality in tourism

Tourism has been brought to a standstill around the world, but new doors are opening for virtual and augmented reality to reshape the industry as it edges towards recovery.

Watch the skies!

The release of footage from US Navy jets tracking fast moving, unidentified craft has rekindled interest in the possibility of alien visitors from distant worlds.

Beware the digital butler

Digital personal assistants from Apple, Google, Amazon and other tech giants may offer a degree of convenience, but users should be wary of them taking an ever greater interest in our personal affairs.

Facing up to facial recognition

Facial recognition technology is one tool in the fight against COVID-19, but once the pandemic ends, is surveillance tech going to entrench itself in our society?

Bring “bio-hackers” into the fold

Biohackers and other ‘connoisseurs of science’ have important social and scientific contributions to make and should be accepted into the established scientific community.