The Latest Breaking News from Australian Research Council

In June, researchers led by palaeoanthropologist Lee Berger published sensational claims about an extinct human species called Homo naledi online and in the Netflix documentary Unknown: Cave of Bones. They argued the small-brained H. naledi buried their dead in Rising Star Cave in South Africa more than 240,000 years ago,…

In our new study, published on Tuesday, we surveyed 701 migrant and refugee women in Australia and found nearly half had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace over the past five years.

Voluntary assisted dying is legal in five Australian states with the sixth, New South Wales, following in November 2023. The territories are now permitted to legalise voluntary assisted dying, with the Australian Capital Territory intending to do so by the end of 2023.

The United Nations defines people smuggling as enabling foreigners into a country where they do not have the right to remain. But our research shows how Indonesian migrants in Malaysia also use smugglers to return home.

The Antarctic continent conjures visions of white ice and blue sky. But not far from Australia’s Casey Station, 3,880km due south of Perth, moss beds emerge verdant and green.

A referee’s whistle pierces the air. A player dribbles a ball across a court; goal! Cheers erupt.

Antarctica is an icy place today, but the ice extended even further during past ice ages. The question of how and where life survived on land in the icy continent, through the ages, has long puzzled biologists.

Multilevel societies are among the most complex societies known in nature. They are organised like Russian nesting dolls – individuals belong to family groups, which belong to clans, which belong to tribes.

Australian media have been widely criticised for not representing the diversity of the community they speak to and write for – nor, importantly, the people they report on. Our latest research shows that while the news industry is beginning to address its lack of diversity, there is still much work…

The Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability is moving into its final phase and will report its findings in September.

Western Sydney is being developed rapidly, increasing its already high vulnerability to climate change. One day in January 2020, Penrith was the hottest place on Earth. Residents who have endured searing heat, bushfires, heavy rain, floods and huge damage bills in recent years are now a political force.