DARK SECRETS: 7 | Rare Historical Photos

Everything Is Political: Board Games

Everyone's going to lose!

Reason · Apr 28, 2023

Victoria’s plans for engineered wetlands on the Murray are environmentally dubious. Here’s a better option

Governments love the idea of a win-win – even when it doesn’t exist. That’s why Victoria has been spending millions on planning “red gum irrigation ponds” – essentially, engineered wetlands along the River Murray. These wetlands are designed to save some red gum ecosystems, leave many others to decline, and…

The Conversation · Apr 20, 2023

We rely on expert predictions to guide conservation. But even experts have biases and blind spots

When faced with uncertainty, we often look for predictions by experts: from election result forecasts, to the likely outcomes of medical treatment. In nature conservation, we turn to expert opinion to assess extinction risk, or predict the long-term responses of plant species to fire management.

The Conversation · Apr 11, 2023

Australia is finally getting a last-chance view of a green comet not seen for 50,000 years

Over the past few weeks, social media has been abuzz with excited posts about the green comet that is currently “whizzing” or “flying through the sky”.

The Conversation · Feb 1, 2023

As heatwaves and floods hit cities worldwide, these places are pioneering solutions

Climate change is going just as badly for cities as we have been warned it would. Extreme weather is increasingly common and severe globally. Australian cities have endured a number of recent disastrous events.

The Conversation · Jan 17, 2023

Stopping the cancer cells that thrive on chemotherapy – research into how pancreatic tumors adapt to stress could lead to a new treatment approach

As with weeds in a garden, it is a challenge to fully get rid of cancer cells in the body once they arise. They have a relentless need to continuously expand, even when they are significantly cut back by therapy or surgery. Even a few cancer cells can give rise…

The Conversation · Jan 16, 2023

NASA's busiest year in decades – an astronomer sums up the dizzying array of missions in 2022

NASA had a banner year in 2022, with many successful missions in what was one of the organization’s most active years in decades.

The Conversation · Jan 12, 2023

How 1950s bombsites in the UK were turned into adventure playgrounds

In 1944, Marie Paneth, an Austrian-born art therapist, imagined a scheme whereby London’s bombsites would be used by local children for building huts and caves and for growing vegetables which they could then sell. Paneth saw the children as the future landlords of these damaged grounds, with minimal adult intervention.

The Conversation · Jan 3, 2023

'Vaccinating' frogs may or may not protect them against a pandemic – but it does provide another option for conservation

When the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged, many wildlife disease researchers like me were not too surprised. Some were intrigued it hadn’t happened sooner; after all, it is our job to observe, describe and study pandemic dynamics in animals.

The Conversation · Dec 16, 2022

5 senses? In fact, architects say there are 7 ways we perceive our environments

Have you ever wondered why you feel cozy in some places while you feel stunned in others? Think about the last international airport you landed in, or a local coffee shop in your neighbourhood.

The Conversation · Dec 8, 2022