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How political parties legally harvest your data and use it to bombard you with election spam
Robin Worrall/Unsplash, CC BY-SA
On Monday October 26, five days ahead of Queensland’s election, many voters received an unsolicited text message from Clive Palmer’s min
Originally published in The Conversation.
Research shows whipping horses doesn't make them run faster, straighter or safer — let’s cut it out
The Melbourne Cup is upon us. This year will be different due to COVID-19 — but one thing we don’t expect to change is concern about horses’ welfare, which seems to resurface each year.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Colourful opal fossils point to a diverse group of giant dinosaurs that shared Australia's terrain
North-central New South Wales today is known for its arid, drought-prone climate. During the Cretaceous period, however, it was a lush coastal floodplain with a high diversity of vertebrates including dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles and soaring pterosaurs.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Genome and satellite technology reveal recovery rates and impacts of climate change on southern right whales
University of Auckland tohorā research team, Department of Conservation permit DJI
After close to a decade of globe-spanning effort, the genome of the southern right whale has been The Conversation.
Australians have low trust in artificial intelligence and want it to be better regulated
Shutterstock
Every day we are likely to interact with some form of artificial intelligence (AI). It works behind the scenes in everything from social media and traffic navigation apps to product recommendations and virtual assistants.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Will I or won't I? Scientists still haven't figured out free will, but they're having fun trying
Social media algorithms, artificial intelligence, and our own genetics are among the factors influencing us beyond our awareness.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Facebook is tilting the political playing field more than ever, and it's no accident
As the US presidential election polling day draws close, it’s worth recapping what we know about how Facebook has been used to influence election results.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Cool discovery: new studies confirm Moon has icy poles
Water is more abundant on the Moon than we might have suspected, according to two papers published today in Nature Astronomy that confirm th
Originally published in The Conversation.
Reimagining the laser: new ideas from quantum theory could herald a revolution
Original artwork by Ludmila Odintsova, Author provided
Lasers were created 60 years ago this year, when three different laser devices were unveiled by independent laboratories in the United States.
Originally published in The Conversation.
How do we know statistics can be trusted? We talked to the humans behind the numbers to find out
In April, as the coronavirus pandemic was gathering force around the world, reporters asked Brendan Murphy, then Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, about international case numbers. In his answer, he made an interesting comment:
The only numbers I have total faith in are the Australian numbers.
Originally published in The Conversation.
