• Eyes on the prize

    Open Forum     |      October 31, 2022

    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

    Victoria Tichá     |      October 25, 2022

    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

    Open Forum     |      October 9, 2022

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

  • The art of engineering

    Open Forum     |      October 7, 2022

    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

    Jared Genser     |      October 2, 2022

    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

    Open Forum     |      October 1, 2022

    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

    Huon Curtis     |      September 30, 2022

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

  • Why science works

    John Wright     |      September 19, 2022

    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

    Sue Bennett     |      September 4, 2022

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

  • Into the dark

    Open Forum     |      August 19, 2022

    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

    Ben Knight     |      August 18, 2022

    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

    Neil Martin     |      August 12, 2022

    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.