• Neuroscience

    The dress and the rabbit


    Alan Stevenson |  April 25, 2024


    Optical illusions and ambiguous pictures are more than parlour puzzles but can open our eyes to the scientific study of human perception and the role our brains play in shaping what we think we see.


  • Environment

    Robots on the reef


    Open Forum |  April 25, 2024


    QUT researchers have developed a robot to capture images of baby tank-grown corals destined for the Great Barrier Reef. The system will help keep the growing corals happy and healthy before they are deployed and save researchers thousands of hours of coral counting time.


  • Culture

    Not in my name


    Roger Chao |  April 25, 2024


    The appalling events in Bondi Junction have given us all pause for thought in recent days, in a world where such horrors are all too common.


Latest Story

  • “Why technology favors tyranny”: only part of the story?

    Malcolm Crompton     |      May 16, 2019

    Australia’s leading expert on privacy and data ownership, Malcolm Crompton, responds to a recent article by Yuval Noah Harari, the bestselling author of Sapiens.

  • Rip up our conservation laws and start again

    Don Driscoll     |      May 16, 2019

    The simplest and most powerful action you can take to reverse the extinction crisis is to vote for a party with policies best aligned with credible scientific advice on how we can get out of this mess.

  • Housing is a health issue for Australians with disability

    Zoe Aitken     |      May 16, 2019

    Housing affordability and security for all Australians is a fundamental issue missing from the federal election campaign – particularly for those with disabilities.

  • The high cost of climate inaction

    Kate Dooley     |      May 15, 2019

    Limiting warming to below 2°C and aiming for 1.5°C as required by the Paris Agreement will require rapid cuts in fossil fuels and environmental restoration. How do the big parties’ policies compare?

  • Will Labor’s ‘drover’s dog’ have his day?

    Paul Strangio     |      May 15, 2019

    If the polls are right, Bill Shorten will become the next prime minister, so what kind of national leader would he be?

  • The telling silences of this election campaign

    Graeme Dobell     |      May 15, 2019

    Political parties try to choose the ground on which they fight, but amid the hustle and bustle of the election campaign there are some tricky issues which neither party wants to face.

  • How farming can fight climate change

    Open Forum     |      May 14, 2019

    Australia’s National Soil Advocate, former Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery, has called on the major political parties to cut through the climate change debate and recognise that farmers have much of the answer to sequestering carbon.

  • Realising Australia’s potential as a rocket-launch hub

    Geoff Slocombe     |      May 14, 2019

    There’s a lot of scope for Australia and New Zealand to offer small-satellite launch services at very attractive prices to Asian countries as well as to our home markets.

  • Who is Scott Morrison?

    Michelle Grattan     |      May 14, 2019

    People tend to see Prime Minister Scott Morrison as tough and pragmatic, but defining what he actually believes in remains open to question.

  • How do the parties shape up on health?

    Stephen Duckett     |      May 13, 2019

    The major parties’ manifestos for the 2019 federal election present voters with starkly contrasting health policies. These policies are shaped and constrained by the overall themes presented by the party leaders, but have some unique elements.

  • The “Me Too movement” will receive the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize

    Open Forum     |      May 13, 2019

    Me Too founder Tarana Burke and Australian author and broadcaster Tracey Spicer will accept the 2019 Sydney Peace Prize on behalf of the movement on Thursday 14 November at the Sydney Town Hall.

  • Don’t write off One Nation

    Stanley Feldman     |      May 13, 2019

    One Nation’s scandals and extremism count against it, but if it can clean up its act it could tap into greater electoral support as many Australians still express concern about immigration issues.