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Why more contagious variants are emerging now, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic
Shutterstock/Lightspring
New variants of SARS-CoV-2 have now evaded New Zealand’s border protections twice to spread into the
Originally published in The Conversation.
A tiny crystal device could boost gravitational wave detectors to reveal the birth cries of black holes
NSF / LIGO / Sonoma State University / A Simonnet, Author provided
In 2017, astronomers witnessed the birth of a black hole for the first time.
Originally published in The Conversation.
The Fukushima quake may be an echo of the 2011 disaster — and a warning for the future
A 7.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in northeastern Japan on Saturday night, injuring around 100 people, closing roads and trains, and leaving almost a million people without electricity overnight.
Originally published in The Conversation.
We found the first Australian evidence of a major shift in Earth's magnetic poles. It may help us predict the next
NASA
About 41,000 years ago, something remarkable happened: Earth’s magnetic field flipped and, for a temporary period, magnetic north was south and magnetic south was north.
Originally published in The Conversation.
Close contact test results will be crucial to whether Auckland’s level 3 lockdown is extended beyond three days
Fiona Goodall/Getty Images
New Zealand’s latest community cases, the first to be infected with the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19, have a plausible link to the border through one person’s The Conversation.
The Moon plays an important role in Indigenous culture and helped win a battle over sea rights
Shutterstock/Balakleypb
The New Moon this month marks the start of the Lunar New Year and reminds us of how important our orbiting neighbour is to us.
Originally published in The Conversation.
AI can now learn to manipulate human behaviour
Shutterstock
Artificial intelligence (AI) is learning more about how to work with (and on) humans.
Originally published in The Conversation.
White continent, white blokes: why Antarctic research needs to shed its exclusionary past
Herbert Ponting/Royal Collection Trust/Wikimedia Commons
The icy continent has historically been a place for men.
Originally published in The Conversation.
As new probes reach Mars, here's what we know so far from trips to the red planet
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell University/Arizona State University
Three new spacecraft are due to arrive at Mars this month, ending their sev
Originally published in The Conversation.