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What’s that in my nest? How the evolutionary arms race between cuckoos and hosts creates new species

How do new species arise? And why are there so many of them? One possible reason is the arms race between animals such as predators and parasites, and the victims they exploit.

The Conversation · May 30, 2024

38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual and half of them believe in karma. Why is spirituality so popular?

Spirituality is increasingly popular with young Australians: recent research shows 38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual.

The Conversation · May 28, 2024

Thieves, needlewomen, Aboriginal warriors and a ten-year-old boy: the free people transported as convicts to Van Diemen’s Land

Emma Cotton (or Cotterell) sailed into Sydney harbour on the Rubicon in 1833 as a free immigrant. A 32-year-old woman of independent means, she took on needlework in the colony. Emma’s genteel life unravelled four years later when she appeared before a Sydney court charged with stealing a bundle of…

The Conversation · May 27, 2024

A rare find in ancient Timorese mud may rewrite the history of human settlement in Australasia

Humans arrived in Australia at least 65,000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence. These pioneers were part of an early wave of people travelling eastwards from Africa, through Eurasia, and ultimately into Australia and New Guinea.

The Conversation · May 22, 2024

Diddy is just the latest in a long line of musical abusers. How should fans respond?

The perennial question of what to do with musicians and their work when they are found to have been abusive has arisen again this week, as distressing video footage of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs assaulting his then girlfriend Cassandra Ventura in a hotel in 2016 was released by CNN.

The Conversation · May 21, 2024

People with dementia aren’t currently eligible for voluntary assisted dying. Should they be?

Dementia is the second leading cause of death for Australians aged over 65. More than 421,000 Australians currently live with dementia and this figure is expected to almost double in the next 30 years.

The Conversation · May 20, 2024

Threatened species have declined 2% a year since 2000. Nature positive? Far from it.

Our government has great aspirations. It has committed to end extinctions and expand our protected areas to cover 30% of every Australian ecosystem by 2030. This is part of its Nature Positive Plan, aligned with the 2022 Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity pact. The goal is not just to conserve nature but…

The Conversation · May 17, 2024

The budget has earmarked $8.6 million for live music. Is it enough to save the flailing industry?

Leading music organisations have praised the federal budget for its investment in the live music sector.

The Conversation · May 17, 2024

There’s $110 million for Indigenous education in the budget. But where’s the evidence it will work?

The 2024 federal budget contains A$110 million for Indigenous education. This includes funding for various different organisations to represent and help Indigenous people as well as scholarships in a bid to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous learning and achievement.

The Conversation · May 17, 2024

Floating robots reveal just how much airborne dust fertilises the Southern Ocean – a key climate ‘shock absorber’

The Southern Ocean, a region critical to Earth’s climate, hosts vast blooms of microscopic ocean plants known as phytoplankton. They form the very basis of the Antarctic food web.

The Conversation · May 15, 2024