FORGOTTEN HISTORY: 24 | History Defined

Trailblazing lawyer Mary Gaudron, a woman of many firsts, leaves a huge and lasting legacy

Mary Genevieve Gaudron, the first woman judge on the High Court of Australia, has died aged 83.

The Conversation · Sep 14

Rinse: Amrita Hepi’s show about beginnings is a mid-career masterpiece

In the beginning, there is a stage: glowing lilac with fluorescent floor lights downstage and upstage, four blue blocks and one silver wedge. A figure appears: an Auslan interpreter, who signs the recorded Acknowledgement of Country. We are on Gadigal land.

The Conversation · Sep 14

Big AI wants to slow down AI research. Is it a safety pause or a strategic retreat?

Over the weekend, Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for artificial intelligence (AI) companies, including his own, to slow down their work. Sam Altman and Elon Musk, heads of rivals OpenAI and xAI respectively, agreed.

The Conversation · Sep 14

Democrats’ chances of gaining control of Congress at US midterms depend on Iran war

In Nate Silver’s forecast model, Democrats are more likely than not to gain control of the US federal Senate at November 3 midterm elections, and strongly favoured to gain control of the House of Representatives. Donald Trump’s net approval is close to -20.

The Conversation · Sep 14

Imported phosphate for fertiliser is expensive – could this homegrown alternative be a solution?

Since the end of the second world war, adding phosphorus to soils in the form of mineral fertiliser has played a crucial role in increasing and maintaining global food production in response to population growth.

The Conversation · Sep 13

Data from more than 600 people shows resting heart rates have their own secret rhythm

You’re likely familiar with the idea of a circadian rhythm – your body’s 24-hour cycle that governs sleep and wakefulness.

The Conversation · Sep 13

Your say: week beginning September 14

Every day, we publish a selection of your emails in our newsletter. We’d love to hear from you, you can email us at [email protected].

The Conversation · Sep 13

Alice Duncan-Kemp was an empathetic observer of Mithaka culture, but her legacy is complicated

Alice’s dreaming is centrally about the childhood, memories and writings of Alice Duncan-Kemp (1901-1988), who grew up on a pastoral property named Mooraberrie in the first decades of the 20th century.

The Conversation · Sep 13

A brief history of collage from 12th century Japan to Sydney today – and your own kitchen table

Collage is ancient, with roots going back to the invention of paper in East Asia.

The Conversation · Sep 13

What are statins? And can healthy people use them to prevent heart disease and dementia?

Every month, around 2.7 million Australians have a statin dispensed to lower their risk of heart attack and stroke.

The Conversation · Sep 13