By Michael Plank, Professor in Applied Mathematics, University of Canterbury
Helen Petousis-Harris, Associate Professor in Vaccinology, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
COVID-19 hasn’t disappeared, but it’s no longer the health threat it was. Here’s what the latest wave means and who should get boosted.
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Monday, March 16, 2026
The widening war in the Middle East and its growing impact on civilians came under scrutiny at the UN in Geneva on Monday, as independent experts briefing the Human Rights Council warned of escalating violence following the onset of Israeli and US strikes on Iran and counterstrikes by Tehran and allied groups.
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Monday, March 16, 2026
The UN chief on Monday urged countries to “work together” and eradicate a rising tide of anti-Muslim hate, calling for a rejection of “the narratives of fear and exclusion”.
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By William J. (Bill) Kovarik, Professor of Communication, Radford University
Paul R. Ehrlich will be remembered as a scientist whose books about population and threats to the environment shaped the idea of limited growth in the modern era.
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By Daniel J Schoen, W.C. Macdonald Professor of Botany, McGill University
Genetic signatures help uncover the echoes of the past events in the histories of jewelweed populations, and understand their genetic implications for conservation.
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By Mar Estarellas, Postdocotoral Researcher, Social and Transcultural Psychiatry, McGill University
The neuroscience is in: When we spend time in nature, it has a cascade of positive effects in our brains.
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By Luis Freijo, Research Associate in Film Studies, King's College London
The 2026 Academy Awards revealed a striking contradiction. Many of the winning films grapple with urgent contemporary issues, or difficult questions of historical memory. Yet their makers avoided following up on that political character in their acceptance speeches.
This paradox is revealing of the current political mood in Hollywood: filmmakers are willing to engage with politics in their work, but reluctant to raise their own voices.
It makes for a puzzling irony that contrasts with the attitude…
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By Armin Sorooshian, Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Arizona
The damage from military attacks on cities can fill the air with pollutants that harm the lungs and stress the heart.
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By Jason M. Lodge, Director of the Learning, Instruction & Technology Lab and Professor of Educational Psychology, School of Education, The University of Queensland
In Australia, artificial intelligence is becoming a near-universal feature of education.
As of 2025, nearly 80% of university students reported using AI in their studies. Overseas, reports are even higher. This year, a UK survey of undergraduates found 94% were using it to help with assessed…
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By Paul Allan Elton, Doctoral researcher, Australian National University
Hugh Possingham, Professor of Conservation Biology, The University of Queensland
Without fanfare, the Australian government has published the latest snapshot on its progress toward halting and reversing the loss of Australia’s biodiversity – our unique wildlife, plants and nature – by 2030. This report on Australia’s progress under the Global Biodiversity Framework is a self-assessment, and the Australian government has given itself a glowing report card.
We examined the claims in…
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