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The Latest Breaking News from the Australian Research Council

Long-awaited environment laws might get Australia sued. Here’s why

Australia is rewriting its national environment laws, and Environment Minister Murray Watt has vowed the legislation will pass the parliament this week, despite not yet reaching agreement with either the Coalition or the Greens. But the current draft bill leaves the country exposed to significant legal, environmental and political risk.

The Conversation

Australia is about to ban under-16s from social media. Here’s what kids can do right now to prepare

If you’re a young person in Australia, you probably know new social media rules are coming in December. If you and your friends are under 16, you might be locked out of the social media spaces you use every day.

The Conversation

Here’s what Black Friday sales shopping does to your brain

Every November, Black Friday arrives with big claims of massive savings and “one-day-only” deals. We are bombarded with offers that seem too good to pass up. But beneath all this lies something far more strategic.

The Conversation

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Nature, carbon, nutrition: 3 ways farming can shift from climate culprit to solution

Producing and distributing food is responsible for roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But food systems are highly vulnerable to the droughts, floods, fires and heatwaves made more intense by climate change. Agriculture is both culprit and victim.

The Conversation

Are animals and AI conscious? We’ve devised new theories for how to test this

You might think a honey bee foraging in your garden and a browser window running ChatGPT have nothing in common. But recent scientific research has been seriously considering the possibility that either, or both, might be conscious.

The Conversation

How do ‘AI detection’ tools actually work? And are they effective?

As nearly half of all Australians say they have recently used artificial intelligence (AI) tools, knowing when and how they’re being used is becoming more important.

The Conversation

We planted two woody meadows a decade ago to see what would thrive. Now the concept is popular across Australia.

It sounds like a gardener’s holy grail: beautiful and practical plantings that can turn cities into green spaces with benefits for people and biodiversity.

The Conversation

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Indigenous political candidates face less voter bias than parties might think: new research

When political parties consider potential Indigenous candidates, they often worry about voter backlash.

The Conversation

As Australia welcomes its millionth refugee, its hardline border policies endure. We can lead by example again

Any day now, Australia will welcome its millionth refugee since the second world war.

The Conversation

The next great performance booster for athletes? Sleep

When we think of elite athletes, we generally think of people who are at the top of their game physically.

The Conversation

Universal Music went from suing an AI company to partnering with it. What will it mean for artists?

Last week, artificial intelligence (AI) music company Udio announced an out-of-court settlement with Universal Music Group (UMG) over a lawsuit that accused Udio (as well as another AI music company called Suno) of copyright infringement.

The Conversation

Even in a simple game, our brains keep score – and those scores shape every choice we make

There’s an optimal strategy for winning multiple rounds of rock, paper, scissors: be as random and unpredictable as possible. Don’t pay attention to what happened in the last round.

The Conversation

Porn not ‘inherently harmful’, says first inquiry of its kind in Australia

The New South Wales parliament recently released a report exploring the impacts of pornography on people’s mental, emotional and physical health. It’s the first state-based inquiry of its kind, and rejects knee-jerk simplifications in favour of nuanced findings.

The Conversation

Australia is facing an ‘AI divide’, new national survey shows

In the short time since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, generative artificial intelligence (AI) products have become increasingly ubiquitous and advanced.

The Conversation

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Cuts to key research facilities threaten Australia’s ability to be a global scientific leader

There has been much excitement since Australia signed a landmark agreement with the United States last month to expand cooperation on critical minerals and rare earth elements.

The Conversation

Engineering crops to photosynthesise better just got one step closer to reality

As Earth’s population grows, we will need more food. According to one estimate, we may need to nearly double our crop yields in the next century to keep up.

The Conversation

Grandparenting tells us much about our history. It’s important to preserve these stories

Grandparents can play a fundamental role in families, yet they have often been overlooked in Australian history.

The Conversation

Climate change is a crisis of intergenerational justice. It’s not too late to make it right

Climate change is the biggest issue of our time. 2024 marked both the hottest year on record and the highest levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the past two million years.

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The Conversation

Most Australian government agencies aren’t transparent about how they use AI

A year ago, the Commonwealth government established a policy requiring most federal agencies to publish “AI transparency statements” on their websites by February 2025. These statements were meant to explain how agencies use artificial intelligence (AI), in what domains and with what safeguards.

The Conversation

Queensland’s forests are still being bulldozed — and new parks alone won’t save them

The Queensland government celebrated the creation of new national parks this year, with Premier David Crisafulli saying it is time to “get serious” and be “ambitious” in protecting nature.

The Conversation

Ancient ‘salt mountains’ in southern Australia once created refuges for early life

Salt is an essential nutrient for the human body. But hundreds of millions of years before the first humans, salt minerals once shaped entire landscapes. They even determined where early life on Earth could thrive.

The Conversation

Misinformation was rife during the 2025 election. New research shows many people were unable to identify it

Misinformation has become a routine part of daily life, shaping public discourse and distorting perceptions. A new report reveals that in the two weeks prior to the 2025 federal election, almost two-thirds (60%) of adults reported coming across election misinformation. Only 19% didn’t come across it and 21% were unsure.

The Conversation

Most Australians agree there’s a housing crisis. But they differ on what’s causing it – and how to fix it

Housing was a key issue during the 2025 federal election. In a campaign fought on the cost of living, rising housing costs – rents, mortgage repayments and house prices – were issues that all parties had to address.

The Conversation

Our brains evaluate food within milliseconds, long before we’ve decided to eat it

Imagine you’re at the grocery store, standing before a selection of snacks. Seemingly without thinking, you skip over the rice crackers to pick out a bag of chips.

The Conversation

Some major Australian towns still have poor phone reception. It’s threatening public safety

Australians rely on their phones and the internet for education, business, socialising and in emergencies. And as Optus’ recent Triple Zero outage highlights, the consequences of a network outage can be fatal.

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