A history of innovation

A new book by Andrew Leigh maps the drivers of history’s big breakthroughs and why they still matter in an age when AI threatens to rewrite the rule book of human progress, and perhaps replace it altogether.

The washingbot diaries

In a world built for humans, the idea of human-like androids and human-shaped robots now appeals to tech firms as well as science fiction writer, but the reality still lags far behind the hype.

How peer review lost the plot

Peer review used to be the cornerstone of scientific integrity but unpaid academic reviewers have been overwhelmed by a tsunami of AI slop and urgent reforms are required to restore the workability and integrity of the system.

Leadership in science

Science leaders must balance vision with empathy, ambition with fairness, and standards with restraint, while navigating uneven abilities, diverse roles, and the realities of personal lives.

The language of bees

Experiments to assess the mathematical abilities of bees could help inform the development of universal languages which might help us communicate with intelligent aliens in the future.

Tech savvy people are most concerned about tech

Research suggests the more we know about technology, the more we seem to be concerned by its potential harms, which means those who appear to be the most vulnerable to digital harms also seem to be the least concerned.

The war on science

Science is mankind’s greatest achievement but finds itself under threat from the anti-intellectual right, the post-modern left, politically correct dogma and a tsunami of nonsense on the internet.

How valid is the hype?

New technologies like AI come with big claims and so borrowing the scientific concept of validity can help cut through the hype to assess their true potential.

In search of string theory

Though it still lacks any practical validation, the attempt by ‘string theory’ to unite the very different scales of general relativity and quantum mechanics may still succeed in generating a “theory of everything”.

Building trust into technology

Sovereignty in the digital age is not defined by where a company is registered; it’s defined by who controls operations, who accesses data, and which laws apply when pressure is applied.

Investing in the future of science

If we want to lead in fields such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing and health technology, we must invest in our national research infrastructure.

Blast from the past

Curtin researchers have helped uncover evidence of a mysterious giant asteroid impact, hidden not in a crater but in tiny pieces of glass of a type found only in Australia.