Victoria’s new feral horse plan could actually protect the high country. NSW's method remains cruel and ineffective
ShutterstockFeral horses are a catastrophic problem for the environment, particularly in the high country that crosses the New South Wales and Victoria border. To deal with this growing issue, the Victorian government...
Nearly 60 million Americans don't drink their tap water, research suggests – here's why that's a public health problem
Thirsty? deepblue4you/E+ via Getty ImagesImagine seeing a news report about lead contamination in drinking water in a community that looks like yours. It might make you think twice about whether to drink your tap water...
Dinosaurs: from giant reptiles to warm-blooded, feathered creatures, how our understanding of what they looked like has changed – podcast
Kulindadromeus: more evidence is emerging of feathered dinosaurs. Nobu Tamura via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SAIn this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we look at how new discoveries are changing our...
Brittany Higgins' memoir will join a powerful Australian collection reclaiming women's stories of trauma. Here are four
Brittany Higgins has signed a book deal with Penguin Random House Australia. Not just any book — a memoir. Higgins says her book will be a chance to tell “a firsthand account of what it was like surviving a media...
'Failure is not an option': after a lost decade on climate action, the 2020s offer one last chance
ShutterstockIn May 2011, almost precisely a decade ago, the government-appointed Climate Commission released its inaugural report. Titled The Critical Decade, the report’s final section warned that to keep global...
Sydney's disastrous flood wasn't unprecedented, and we can expect more major floods in just 10 years
Last month’s flood in the Hawkesbury-Nepean River region of western Sydney peaked at a staggering 12.9 metres, with water engulfing road signs and reaching the tops of many houses. There hasn’t been a major flood on...
'Smell like a woman, not a rose': Chanel No. 5 100 years on, an iconic fragrance born from an orphanage
Laura Chouette/UnsplashWhen Marilyn Monroe was asked, “What do you wear to bed?”, she famously replied, “Just a few drops of No. 5″. Monroe was perhaps the most famous fan of the French perfume celebrating its...
Largest ever flying creatures had longer necks than giraffes – we found out how these pterosaurs kept their heads up
The azhdarchid pterosaur, the largest flying animal ever known. Davide Bonadonna, Author providedA lot of animals alive today have long necks. Giraffes, of course, are the best known example. But in the past, animals...
Male fertility: how everyday chemicals are destroying sperm counts in humans and animals
The sperm count of western men is falling at an alarming rate. Komsan Loonprom/ShutterstockWithin just a few generations, human sperm counts may decline to levels below those considered adequate for fertility. That’s...
Plants thrive in a complex world by communicating, sharing resources and transforming their environments
Longleaf pines support one another through mycorrhizae – mutually beneficial relationships between certain fungi and the trees' roots. Justin Meissen/Flickr, CC BY-SAAs a species, humans are wired to collaborate....
The discovery of the lost city of 'the Dazzling Aten' will offer vital clues about domestic and urban life in Ancient Egypt
Khaled Elfiqi/EPAAn almost 3,400-year-old industrial, royal metropolis, “the Dazzling Aten”, has been found on the west bank of the Nile near the modern day city of Luxor. Announced last week by the famed...
'Your government makes us go': the hidden history of Chinese Australian women at a time of anti-Asian immigration laws
Mrs Chan Harr, Marjorie Wong Yee, Annie Kwok, Norma Wong Yee, Ida Kwok, and Patty Wong Yee on their arrival in Sydney from Hong Kong on the SS Changte, 8 March 1938. ACP Magazines Ltd Photographic Archive, Mitchell...
Like the ocean’s ‘gut flora’: we sailed from Antarctica to the equator to learn how bacteria affect ocean health
ShutterstockAboard an Australian research vessel, the RV Investigator, we sailed for 63 days from Antarctica’s ice edge to the warm equator in the South Pacific and collected 387 water samples. Our goal? To...
Forensics and ship logs solve a 200-year mystery about where the first kiwi specimen was collected
Author provided, CC BY-NDThe flightless kiwi is an iconic bird for New Zealanders, but all five species are threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators. Recent genomic analysis focused on one species, the...
The EU wants a carbon tax on imports – but would it be the climate solution officials expect?
How big a deal is carbon leakage, anyway? AP Photo/Virginia MayoThe European Union is considering a new tax on imports as it tries to fight climate change, and the U.S. is raising concerns about it. At issue is what’s...
