By Amy Loughman, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, The University of Melbourne
“Butterflies in the stomach” is that fluttery, nervous feeling you might have before a job interview, giving a speech or at the start of a romance.
It’s a cute description for one part of the fight-or-flight response that can kick in if you’re excited or afraid.
But what exactly are these butterflies? Why can we feel them in our stomach? And is there anything we can do about them?
Threat alert
These “butterflies” – along with a raised heart rate, sweating and feeling “jumpy” – are part of your survival mode. That’s when the part of your…
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By Richard Baka, Honorary Professor, School of Kinesiology, Western University, London, Canada; Adjunct Fellow, Olympic Scholar and Co-Director of the Olympic and Paralympic Research Centre, Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University
The 2026 winter games are vastly different to when Italy hosted them in 1956, especially when it comes to costs, events and climate challenges.
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By Theresa Larkin, Associate Professor of Medical Sciences, University of Wollongong
Men’s sperm numbers and fertility also decline with age. If you’re planning to have kids in the future, here’s what you need to know.
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By Dorina Pojani, Associate Professor in Urban Planning, The University of Queensland
Richard J. Buning, Research Lead, UQ Micromobility Research Cluster, The University of Queensland
From serious injuries to thrill-seeking rideouts, teens on overpowered e-bikes have provoked a media frenzy. But the risks of these vehicles is very real.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image The United Nations General Assembly at UN Headquarters in New York City, January 15, 2026. © 2026 Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa via AP Photo United Nations member countries will select a new UN secretary-general this year to succeed António Guterres in January 2027. The change in leadership comes at a time when human rights and democracy, as well as the international organizations created to uphold those principles and provide lifesaving assistance, are under unprecedented attack.So far member countries have formally nominated only two candidates: former…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Anna Kwok, a Hong Kong activist exiled in the US, in Washington, DC, July 10, 2023. ( © 2024 Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters (New York) – A Hong Kong court’s conviction of the father of a prominent US‑based democracy activist on February 11, 2026, reflects the Chinese government’s escalation of its campaign of transnational repression, Human Rights Watch said today.The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court convicted Kwok Yin-sang, 68, of a national security offense. He is the father of Anna Kwok, 28, the former executive director of the Washington DC-based Hong Kong Democracy…
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By John E. Jones III, President, Dickinson College
Grand juries, historically rubber stamps for prosecutors’ attempts to indict, are rejecting the Trump administration’s moves to indict the president’s perceived enemies. That’s unprecedented.
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By Jo Osborn, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Texas A&M University
Emily Milton, Peter Buck Postdoctoral Fellow, Smithsonian Institution
Jacob L. Bongers, Tom Austen Brown Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Sydney
In new research, biochemical analyses align with imagery and historical sources to show how the pre-Inca Chincha society turned guano into a source of power.
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By Philip McKibbin, PhD Candidate, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney
Māori, for instance, do not place the present at the centre; as some researchers put it, ‘there is no centre’.
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By Iain White, Professor of Environmental Planning, University of Waikato
Bill Fry, Honorary Research Professor, Department of Geology, University of Otago
Julia Becker, Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University
Liam Wotherspoon, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Melanie Mark-Shadbolt, Environmental Sociologist, Indigenous Knowledge
After a series of extreme weather events over the past month, NZ has been reminded that disasters aren’t just acts of nature.
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