By Daniel Melser, Senior Research Fellow, Monash University
Antonia Settle, Lecturer, Monash University
Francesca Perugia, Senior Lecturer, School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University
Australia has a comprehensive national database on property-level flood risk. But it is currently proprietary, meaning the public can’t access this valuable information.
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By Dragan Rangelov, Senior Lecturer in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Swinburne University of Technology
Our brains know we’ll change our minds before we do. Understanding how might help us learn to make better decisions.
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By Julia Chapman, Clinical Trials Lead and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Conjoint Lecturer, Macquarie University
Camilla Hoyos, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Macquarie University
Craig Phillips, Associate Professor, Macquarie Medical School, Macquarie University
The brain has its own waste disposal system – known as the glymphatic system – that’s thought to be more active when we sleep.
But disrupted sleep might hinder this waste disposal system and slow the clearance of waste products or toxins from the brain. And researchers are proposing a build-up of these toxins due to lost sleep could increase someone’s risk of dementia.
There is still some debate about how this glymphatic system works…
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By Bronwyn Reid O'Connor, Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Sydney
Ben Zunica, Lecturer in Mathematics Education, University of Sydney
Mathematics has been the broccoli of school subjects for generations of Australian teenagers.
Often pushed aside, dreaded, or even feared, nearly one third of students opt out of any senior maths courses.
This has serious implications for Australia’s future. As an Australian Academy of Science report…
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By Kali Middleby, Postdoctoral research fellow, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
Lucas Cernusak, Professor, Plant Physiology, James Cook University
In full sun, tropical leaves can become much hotter than the surrounding air. Their ability to cope can be a matter of life or death.
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By Laura
“Resilience and creativity are deeply rooted in Sahelian societies. Today, every artistic project, every cultural initiative, is a direct response to the daily challenges and an act of social transformation.”
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By Will de Freitas, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation
Summer 2025 was the UK’s hottest on record, the Met Office announced this week. The news somehow felt both inevitable and surprising. There may have been four separate heatwaves, but for many this summer felt pretty normal.
This is because of “shifting baseline syndrome” and the way humans notice – or fail to notice – temperature change.
This roundup of The Conversation’s climate coverage comes from our award-winning weekly…
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By Eric Troncy, Douleur animale, bien-être animal, Université de Montréal
Because there is a lack of rigorous long-term studies on declawing cats, the consequences of this practice have been long underestimated. Yet research we conducted in Québec shows that declawing causes irreversible nerve damage and chronic suffering. This mutilation must be banned, everywhere and forever.
I became interested in animal pain very early in my career. During my training in anesthesia and pain management, I was struck by how much the suffering of declawed cats was trivialized. I carried my indignation over this issue into my research career, and it’s now shaped my work for…
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By Gemma Ware, Host, The Conversation Weekly Podcast, The Conversation
Historian Meredith Oyen explains how disagreements over the history of the second world war and who fought the Japanese are central to tensions between China and Taiwan. Listen on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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By Sambit Bhattacharyya, Professor of Economics, University of Sussex Business School, University of Sussex
Donald Trump’s tariff policy seems to have morphed into as much of a tool of foreign policy as an economic strategy. But the administration’s decision to impose a 50% tariff on India, a key US ally as part of the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) along with the US, Australia and Japan, could have significant repercussions – not just for international trade, but for global geopolitics.
The US rationale for the tariff hike is primarily political. The White House…
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