COVID has increased trust in government and science

New Curtin University research has found a dramatic increase in people’s trust in government in Australia and New Zealand as a result of the COVID pandemic.

4 mysteries of quantum philosophy

The next time you encounter an impossible Sudoku, rest assured you’re in good company. The entire quantum physics community, and perhaps even Zeus himself, knows exactly how you feel.

Top 10 science stories of 2020

It’s been a big, and often worrying year, of scientific research, but amid the gloom around health and the environment, there were some bright spots as this summary compiled by the Australian Science Media Centre records.

Robo-pets!

If having a pet just isn’t practical for your accommodation or lifestyle, could a robotic companion be the next best thing?

Slavery and society

Society should define tasks best left to humans, as well as what can safely be left to autonomous machines, as once a machine takes over a task it will not be an easy to reclaim it.

Robots and the law

Autonomous machines able to think and act for themselves were once the stuff of science fiction, but now they are becoming reality, we need to delve back into a classic novel series for rules to protect ourselves.

Weird science

2020 was certainly a weird year, so perhaps it’s not surprising that it produced a bumper crop of weird and wonderful science yarns. The Australian Science Media Centre has picked ten of the best.

Avoiding the technology trap

At a recent Australian e-commerce summit, Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised technology adoption – rather than domestic innovation – as a means of driving economic returns.

STEM superstars call for more gender and cultural diversity

Australia’s official Superstars of STEM have backed the campaign to increase the number of women and ethnic minorities in science and technology.

Blockchain and mangos

A new blockchain platform has proven to be a game-changer for one of Australia’s largest mango producers, providing real-time, secure information from the tree to the supermarket.

Negotiating the morality of human-robot relations

Designers who use ethics to shape better companion robots will end up making better humans too.

How Australia can reap the benefits and dodge the dangers of the Internet of Things

The IoT presents great opportunities, but it brings many risks too. Problems include excessive surveillance, loss of privacy, transparency and control, and reliance on unsafe or unsuitable services or devices.