Today
- Exclusive
- Public service
Aussie innovators pushed to focus on five ‘missions’
New priorities, outlined by Science Minister Ed Husic, include the net zero transition, supporting healthy communities and “elevating” Indigenous knowledge systems.
- Updated
- Tom Burton
This Month
Bees’ royal jelly may ease autism’s sting
Researchers have found that a component of royal jelly, the secretion from honeybees, can counter one form of autism.
- Jill Margo
June
Why people with cancer don’t get the full benefit of clinical trials
Australian researchers say regulators should mandate the requirement to share data.
- Jill Margo
- Exclusive
- International students
‘Very wealthy’ unis ‘disingenuous’ about foreign student fees
Universities are richer than they claim and spend less of their overseas student revenue on research than they say.
- Julie Hare
ChatGPT can make human-like judgments, pick good stocks, researchers say
Earnings season looms – and expect to see more fund managers and brokers using AI to analyse information. ChatGPT could be a game-changer, according to some academics researching how it can analyse results.
- Anthony Macdonald
Aussie experts can stop your smart-device cameras spying on you
When photos snapped by a robot vacuum cleaner of a woman on the toilet went viral, the smart home sector knew it had a problem; Aussie academics claim to have solved it.
- Alana Piper
May
R&D tax incentive to blow out by $2.6b
Tax breaks for companies and superannuation payments for veterans and public servants have overshot expectations, adding billions in costs to the budget.
- Joanna Mather
Like a chicken or a baboon – just how smart was T. rex?
If the long-extinct giant wasn’t scary enough, imagine if it was as clever as a primate – but not every zoologist is on board with the idea.
- Will Dunham
April
Why this leading brain expert doesn’t do the same thing every day
Neuroscientist Raymond Dolan says people who continue to have an exploratory goal-directed life appear to be less susceptible to disorders like dementia.
- Jill Margo
![“[Australia is] on the cusp of turning back the incidence of [breast] cancer, that has been going up and up,” Professor Kelly-Anne Phillips says.](https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_1.1779%2C$multiply_1%2C$ratio_1.777778%2C$width_1059%2C$x_0%2C$y_95/t_crop_custom/c_scale%2Cw_140%2Cq_88%2Cf_auto/8c09976f872186db14f4ea818d436316d6afce79)
How countries like Australia could prevent one in four breast cancers
While a global report has found up to a quarter of breast cancers in high-income countries can be prevented, Australia’s program is already under way.
- Jill Margo
Melbourne Law School improves ranking despite students’ year from hell
A new league table of universities by subject area has bumped Melbourne Law School up a place to 10th, calling into question the validity of many rankings.
- Julie Hare
March
Multivitamins can help survival from bowel cancer
A study examining the dose-related influence of multivitamins on non-metastatic colorectal cancer is believed to be the first of its kind.
- Jill Margo
Meet Australia’s version of James Bond’s Q
After a stellar career as an academic researcher, Professor Tanya Monro now heads Canberra’s top-secret Defence Science and Technology Group.
- Julie Hare
CSIRO backs its long-term VC bet despite nil returns
The CSIRO’s VC fund has not returned a dollar to public coffers despite receiving $175m from taxpayers over seven years, but insists it is on track.
- Nick Bonyhady
No proof hearing aids reduce the risk of dementia, experts say
While hearing aids are enthusiastically promoted for reducing dementia risk, experts say the evidence for this has not been objectively appraised.
- Jill Margo
How this virus may increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s
Serious research is under way on whether treating this virus with antiviral medication could reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.
- Jill Margo
Research we’re watching: pancreatic cancer, dementia, Arctic ice
We look at recent research in: pancreatic cancer; three-dimensional processors; an ice-free Arctic; a dementia breakthrough; and a new cash crop for Australia.
- Alana Piper
February
- Opinion
- University
How to fix Australia’s dire state of economic complexity
An additional $133 billion a year is on the table. Is the federal government willing to seize the opportunity?
- Katherine Woodthorpe
Nine ways Musk’s brain implant idea could change the world
Brain-computer interfaces such as Neuralink could alter the lives of millions of patients.
- Matthew Field
January
The company using MDMA to treat post-traumatic stress, legally
WA drug development company Emyria is eyeing a major expansion of its MDMA-assisted PTSD therapy after getting the green light from regulators.
- Tom Rabe
