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…
Scientists' job is to brief us on how future climate might affect our lives, even when all the data isn't in.
Rae Allen
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…
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb's report, released today, presents some serious concerns for the future of Australian science.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb’s Health of Australian Science report, launched today at the National Press Club, starts on an optimistic note. Australian science is generally in good health: school students…
There are concerns about the take-up of science subjects by students.
Ahd Photography
The Office of the Chief Scientist today releases the Health of Australian Science report and it’s an intriguing read.
The report was compiled to help the office and the public understand the current state…
Opting out of porn may be the most progressive thing we can do.
Colin Brown
It is time we recognised pornography as part of popular culture. Millions of people watch the content the porn industry produces. And make no mistake, it produces a lot of content.
According to prominent…
Facebook's float on the Nasdaq has been controversial, but assessing the real value of shares is complicated.
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…
How can consumers get what they want on an NBN-enabled Australia without getting wires crossed?
NBNCO
Unless you’ve been boycotting all forms of media in the past five years, you’ll be aware that the National Broadband Network (NBN) is well and truly on its way.
For some of us the NBN is already here…
The days of 'sit down, shut up and do your science' are over. Today's students ask hard questions.
University of Iowa
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…
The field is varied and the stakes are high in Egypt's upcoming presidential election.
EPA/Khaled Elfiqi
In the face of the largest mobilisation Egypt has ever witnessed, President Hosni Mubarak stepped down on February 12, 2011. Facing an unlikely coalition of disaffected youth, labour workers, Islamists…
Millions of babies have been born after the use of assisted reproductive technologies, and nothing has gone wrong with the vast majority.
Chiceaux Lynch
By Jane Halliday, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Some people may be wondering whether it’s wise to undergo assisted reproduction after recent media headlines about these technologies increasing the risk of birth defects. In fact, millions of babies have…
Rates of stillbirth have fallen in rich countries but are now reaching a plateau.
flickr/Trevor Blair
Stillbirth is a major but under-researched public health problem affecting three million families each year. Following the 2011 Lancet Stillbirth Series, it has been receiving more attention, and a recent…
The G8's communique embracing employment following the weekend's meeting alters a 30 year focus on inflation..
AAP/White House
The G8 leaders' cautious embrace of “growth and jobs” on the weekend has momentarily buoyed international markets, but significantly, altered a 30-year focus on inflation.
For more than three decades…
Qantas will split its international and domestic operations.
AAP
Qantas has announced it is splitting its loss-making international business from domestic operations, as part of a five year turn-around plan announced last August.
The two companies will have separate…
Google could face fines if it doesn't address alleged anti-competitive practices.
mark knol
The European Commission (EC) has given Google “a matter of weeks” to address concerns the American search giant has “abused a dominant market position”.
The announcement overnight (AEST) follows an 18…
Abdelbaset Al-Megrahi is laid to rest in Libya earlier this week.
EPA/Sabri Elmhedwi
At least one Lockerbie conspiracy theory has been laid to rest this week: that the only man convicted of the 1988 aircraft bombing was faking a terminal illness.
But the death of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi…
Cheating on a partner is always a choice, not a biologically determined effect.
flickr/dhammza
Biologists and psychologists like to tussle with human characteristics: what’s inherent? What’s learnt? What’s genetically coded? What’s malleable? Every so often an “expert” will reignite the nature vs…
Could a Canadian-style class action dent the credibility of homeopathy in Australia?
Flickr/kh1234567890
One hundred years of rigorous scientific research hasn’t dented the faith of adherents of homeopathy. The complementary therapy is still centred on the notion that water has a therapeutic “memory” and…
Rain's coming: does that mean there's no such thing as climate change?
Georgie Sharp
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…
We've had a glimpse into the world of Craig Thomson, but he's trying to justify a view that no one outside the political game can understand.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The ALP and the union movement have never liked scabs. But yesterday we witnessed a labour scab of a different sort as The Wound Formally Known As Craig Thomson continued to be bleed rather than heal…
Austerity's political cheer squad: but is the game over? G8 countries have committed to growth by setting sights on employment.
The lingering commitment to austerity of leading Western politicians in the face of impending economic tragedy is beyond belief. The dismal science is a sobriquet often wrongly applied to economics, but…
Protesters carry portraits of Osama bin Laden on his first death anniversary, during an anti-US rally in Quetta, Pakistan, 02 May 2012.
Musa Farman/AAP
We’ve been reminded this month of the United States' success in finally finding Osama bin Laden. But one thing missing in the media coverage was the allegation that the CIA established a fake hepatitis…
Why has Paul Watson suddenly been picked up in Germany on a Costa Rican charge?
Kay Nietfeld/EPA
Captain Paul Watson, founder of the marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, was arrested last week in Frankfurt, Germany, on an international arrest warrant issued by the Costa Rican government…
An LED light-trail shows a self-guiding bullet correcting its trajectory mid-flight.
Sandia National Laboratories
At the beginning of this year Sandia Labs in the United States announced it had patented a design for a self-guided bullet that could help soldiers at war. The technology is expected to prevent the need…
Asia is on the rise, but what is Australia doing about it?
Alexander Baumgartner
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…
Thomson became emotional as he described the toll media scrutiny had taken on his family.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Craig Thomson’s address to parliament today promised to either clear the air or dig a deeper hole for the embattled MP.
It would be an understatement to say that the Craig Thomson affair has been an unwelcome…
