Eyes on the prize

Solving sustainability problems, protecting healthcare providers from COVID-19, and using technology to train next-gen pilots are among the achievements of award-winning STEM innovators recognised at the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

Size matters – in science

Newspapers, university students and senior executives tend to focus on the headlines and ignore sample sizes when making judgements about new research findings, so researchers and scientists should be careful about misleading others when publicising their findings.

Action at a distance

The fascinating story of the ways philosophy have turned into physics and reality has been reframed as information.

The art of engineering

Could the interface between art and science be more than just a source of inspiration and instead be used to unlock new scientific approaches?

The morals of mind-reading

Mind reading is no longer the preserve of psychologists and charlatans, but the ability of machines to tap into our thoughts will open a new slew of legal issues.

Welcome to the world’s next supercontinent

Just in case you were running out of things to worry about, researchers are now predicting the Pacific Ocean is going to disappear – but not for another 230 million years or so.

The human element

Policy conversations about critical technology usually downplay the human elements of knowledge and ingenuity which make the machines come alive.

Why science works

People love to find patterns in nature and science remains the best way of deciding which ones are true, and which are self-deception.

Rebooting research…again

Labor’s Education Minister Jason Clare has kicked off what could be a major reset of university research funding in Australia.

Into the dark

A kilometre under the ground in Stawell, in the Northern Grampians in Victoria, a team of Aussie scientists have put the final touches on an underground lab that will help us understand the nature of our universe.

Citizen science

We can all channel our inner amateur researcher and make a valuable contribution to science with our eyes – and smart phones.

Smart textiles and soft robots

Smart textiles with artificial muscle fibres which allow them to move and take different forms have been produced by a team from UNSW’s Medical Robotics Lab.