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Analysis and Comment

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Some Australian refugees develop "protracted asylum seeker syndrome". Alex E. Proimos

Long waits for refugee status lead to new mental health syndrome

There’s a common misconception within the Australian community that asylum seekers arrive by boat. In fact, most asylum seekers arrive here by aeroplane with valid travel documents and reside in the community…

Working out the face value of Facebook

What do you get when you buy 900 million user experiences, mostly from smart devices? Facebook’s float has been dogged with controversy: on Monday, its shares plummeted 11% and dropped another 8.9% to…

Teaching kids to think critically about climate

Two recently published books suggest that the public – and school children in particular – are being fed lies about environmental issues such as climate change. The books – “How to Get Expelled from School…

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Editors’ Picks

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Rain's coming: does that mean there's no such thing as climate change? Georgie Sharp

environment

A land of (more extreme) droughts and flooding rains?

While most people now understand that the enhanced greenhouse effect means a much warmer planet, communicating regional shifts in weather remains a significant challenge. As with most complex science…
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SpaceX CEO Elon Musk stands in front of a Falcon 9 rocket at SpaceX's launch site in Florida. SpaceX

SCIENCE

SpaceX launch: the age of commercial spaceflight is here

Late tomorrow evening (AEST), all going well, a Falcon 9 rocket will lift-off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A few days after launch the craft will rendezvous in low-Earth orbit with the International Space…
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The 2003 Million Women Study did not prove a link between hormone therapy and cancer. ryanlintelman

HEALTH

Hormone replacement therapy and cancer? Let’s get the facts straight

The authors of the 2003 Million Women Study were wrong to conclude their investigation proved that hormone replacement therapy caused cancer, according to a series of articles published this week in the…
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Asia is on the rise, but what is Australia doing about it? Alexander Baumgartner

VIDEO

Australia in the Asian Century: Ken Henry talks to the experts

The Conversation’s series, Australia in the Asian Century, culminated this month in a roundtable hosted by Ken Henry, chair of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s taskforce on Asia. For an…
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Success would mean parents' evidence-based concerns can be taken forward. The Wu's Photo Land/Flickr

health

Residents revolt against planned McDonald’s near primary school

Radio National’s Background Briefing this Sunday is about the struggle of residents of a western suburb in Adelaide who are trying to stop a McDonalds restaurant being built within 200 metres of a primary…
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Semantic search is about recognising the meaning of words, not just the words themselves. Chris P Jobling

TECHNOLOGY

Google’s Knowledge Graph – has search just changed forever?

Late last week, Google representatives unveiled a significant enhancement to the company’s ubiquitous search engine. They’re calling it the “Knowledge Graph” and claiming it will support “more intelligent…