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Meet the 20-year-old making meals for our frontline health workers

Since late March, Alex Dekker has provided more than 10,000 meals to frontline workers in Victoria and New South Wales.




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How Australian Muslims are spending Ramadan in lockdown

It's the holy month of Ramadan, which usually means Muslims don't eat or drink during the day and gather at night at food markets and mosques to break the fast.



  • Community and Society
  • Religion and Beliefs
  • Health
  • Epidemics and Pandemics

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Exit strategy: how to lift lockdown

The national cabinet is looking at a range of strategies to get us out of lockdown, ahead of a crunch meeting tomorrow.



  • Infectious Diseases (Other)
  • Government and Politics

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Survey on impacts of COVID-19 paints a picture of distress, hardship and resilience

The ANU study has found that two-thirds of Australians feel anxious or worried about their own and others' safety, and a substantial number believe they'll contract the virus in the next six months.




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Morrison Government flags changes to environmental laws to cut green tape

With the focus now firmly on rebooting Australia's economy, the Morrison Government intends to cut green tape and speed up nation building projects such as major roads, dams and mines.




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The worst of Australian politics exposed by the Eden Monaro by-election

The National Party is again embroiled in bitter infighting after Andrew Constance abandoned his bid for Liberal pre-selection for the seat.




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Falls Festival to return with Aussie-only acts

With Australia's music festivals cancelled one after another as the coronavirus crisis unfolded, there was finally some good news yesterday for local music lovers.



  • Music
  • Carnivals and Festivals
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)

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Experts warn suicide rates could surge by up to 50 per cent this year

While Australia continues to flatten the curve in this COVID-19 pandemic, there are serious concerns for the mental wellbeing of Australians.




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Collaboration between art and science turns sounds of space into music

Certain sounds called spherics and whistlers, which are electromagnetic waves, recorded in Antarctica by scientists, have been used in a new music piece called 'Aurora Musicalis'.




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Growing concerns for Australian Academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert, held in Iranian prison

Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who continues to be held in an Iranian prison throughout this pandemic, despite more than 85,000 prisoners being temporarily released in Iran.



  • Prisons and Punishment
  • Health

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Some tenants slow to receive rent relief during pandemic

Not every state and territory has put into law the code of conduct, which aims to provide rental waivers and deferrals for commercial tenants.



  • Housing
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)
  • Government and Politics

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Managing the return to work as restrictions slowly lifted

National Cabinet has already set a two-month timetable for the return to the workplace of the estimated one million Australians currently working from home.



  • Government and Politics
  • Infectious Diseases (Other)

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Unredacted sections of child abuse royal commission report conclude Pell failed to act on abuse

Cardinal Pell said in a statement yesterday that he was "surprised" by some of the views of the royal commission about his actions, and that "these views are not supported by evidence".




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Barnaby Joyce weighs in to Eden Monaro stoush

Voters in Eden Monaro are still waiting to find out who the Liberal candidate will be for the by-election in the marginal seat.




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Former MP for Eden Monaro Gary Nairn on Coalition's in-fighting over the seat

Gary Nairn was the Federal Liberal MP for Eden Monaro from 1996 to 2007.



  • Government and Politics

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How Australia's third-biggest employer Wesfarmers has weathered the coronavirus storm

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants "to get Australia back to work", and says he's now focused on flattening the unemployment curve and creating a "COVID-safe economy".




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Backlash building against China over initial handling of coronavirus

France has accused Beijing of concealing facts, while Germany has suggested it could demand compensation.




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Friday Poem: Anthony Lawrence

For this new segment, we've been asking Australian artists to read something for us: a passage, a poem or some lines that has inspired them during the time of coronavirus.




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Couch Choir bringing choralists together in lockdown

The Couch Choir is a digital initiative that's grown out of the Brisbane-based Pub Choir, which has cancelled all it's events because of the COVID-19 restrictions.




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Albany youth anxious and frustrated over climate inaction

Young people of Western Australia see a climate crisis developing and inappropriate action from decision makers.




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Oceans offer huge potential in fighting climate change - Jane Lubchenco

If given the chance, which means protecting the waters and ecosystems, oceans can help in our challenge of turning around climate change.




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Upheaval - How Nations Cope with Crisis and Change

In his first two international bestsellers Guns, Germs and Steel and Collapse, Jared Diamond explored what makes civilizations rise and fall. Now in the third book in his trilogy, he reveals how successful nations recover from crisis.




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Jane Goodall’s hope

How can Jane Goodall have hope for the future, especially for the animals she loves, when the news about extinctions is so bleak? As The Hope, a 2-hour film about Jane and her life, is launched this week by National Geographic Jane joins Robyn on The Science Show to discuss the film, her work and her hope.




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How widespread is consciousness?

Are dogs and cats conscious? In his book The Feeling of Life Itself – Why Consciousness is Widespread But Can’t be Computed Christof Koch offers a straightforward definition of consciousness as any subjective experience, from the most mundane to the most exalted - the feeling of being alive!



  • Brain and Nervous System

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The return of language after brain trauma

Erin Godecke says when speech is lost following brain injury, the language is still present in the brain, it is the pathways which have been damaged and need repair. She says treatment can be any activity that requires the brain to accesses words such as talking or word games.




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A tale of hands

Some people use their hands for emphasis as they talk. Rob Morrison will hear nothing of it. He laments at what he sees as lack of discipline in some television presenters who move their hands as they speak.




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Climate Clever app helps you measure and reduce your carbon footprint

The Climate Clever app helps you measure, monitor, compare and reduce your consumption of energy and your production on waste.




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Predicting the future of science and society

Simon DeDeo looks at the evolution of culture and institutions and uses his findings to predict our species’ future. He describes his work to Pauline Newman.




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A tribute to Australian doctor Catherine Hamlin who dedicated her life to helping young African women damaged by traumatic births

Catherine Hamlin was born in Sydney. She worked in Ethiopia pioneering medical treatment for young women damaged by unsuccessful childbirth. In 2000, Pauline Newman visited Catherine Hamlin and her famous hospital in Addis Ababa. Catherine Hamlin died in March 2020 at the age of 93. By way of tribute today we revisit Pauline’s program from nearly 20 years ago.




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Vale Sir John Houghton

John Houghton, a Welsh atmospheric physicist who bridged the science, policy and religious communities and served as lead editor of ground-breaking studies for the United Nations’ climate science advisory group when it won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, died April 15 in Wales. He was 88.




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Climate grief 1 - Marine scientist Ove Hoegh-Guldberg

Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg from the University of Queensland, a world-renowned marine scientist and contributor to IPCC assessments, talks about the likely loss of the Great Barrier Reef. How does a determined, optimistic researcher keep going amid the upsets? 




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The elusive edge of Innovation

Are entrepreneurs the great innovators we’re told they are? What if the ideal of the lone genius is simply a myth? Innovation is a buzz term that’s become so over-used as to be almost meaningless. It’s time to be more innovative in our understanding of innovation.



  • Business
  • Economics and Finance
  • Science and Technology
  • Computers and Technology

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Emotions, relationships & technology

Our emotions are being manipulated, hacked and shared like never before. So what does this mean for their future, our relationships and the technology that's reading them?




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How to ensure free speech; and the EU’s new copyright directive

Many Western governments continue to struggle with free speech. It’s not that they’re necessarily against it, it’s just that they don’t know how to effectively regulate out the offensive stuff.




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Prescient Predictions: 1984; Brave New World; and Network

The dystopian best-seller 1984 was published exactly seventy years ago. Its influence has been profound. But does it really speak to today’s politico-cultural environment?




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Outsourcing, automation and the messiness of global labour

Automation and outsourcing are dirty words for many people in Western countries worried about their future employment prospects. Developing countries are seen to be the major beneficiaries of off-shore labour, with multinationals hoovering up increased profits. But the reality is a lot more complex and even messy. Now, even developing countries are starting to feel the pain.



  • Community and Society
  • Robots and Artificial Intelligence
  • Science and Technology

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Western spies face a difficult future

The CIA’s former counterintelligence chief warns Western spy agencies are being “overwhelmed” by their adversaries. And new surveillance technologies could spell the death of the traditional agent-in-the-field. The future of espionage looks problematic indeed.



  • Science and Technology
  • Community and Society

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Counterculture, consumerism and the far right

Countercultural movements, like Occupy Wall Street, are meant to be future-focussed — revolutionary even. So why do they often fade into commercialism? Are they simply a function of consumer capitalism? If so, what future do they have? And must they always be progressive?



  • Activism and Lobbying
  • Community and Society

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Ensuring a classical future

The world of classical music is changing. Some are predicting the demise of orchestral events. Others see opportunity in social media and a new sense of engagement between the audience and musicians.




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Netflix's decline and why stricter regulation could strengthen the tech giants

Netflix dominates online TV streaming, but for how long? Also, Cory Doctorow on how more government regulation could inadvertently make the tech giants even stronger.




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With nature against climate change

Nature Based Solutions is an environmental approach that seeks to counter the negative effects of climate change by working with nature.




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Future doom and the rose-coloured past

Why do we see the past through rose-coloured glasses, but not the future? Psychologists tell us that human beings have a tendency to be fearful and pessimistic about the future, while simultaneously romanticising the past. If the theory is true, it might help explain the difficulties we often have in making informed decisions and effectively planning for the future.



  • Psychology
  • Science and Technology
  • Community and Society

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Google’s future city; the space-wide web; and how the ancients strategized for the future

Get an update on Google’s controversial proposal to take over the construction and regulation of a section of Toronto; learn about how the ancient Athenians used Tragedy to guide their future decision-making and follow the rush to develop low-orbit satellites to secure the future of the Internet.  




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Strengthening public interest journalism while defending media freedom

A tale of two media environments: in the US, journalistic freedom is increasingly under threat from demonising rhetoric and the violent personal targeting of reporters; while in Ethiopia, the country’s new leader has opened the gate to press freedom. What can we learn from both experiences?




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The creeping militarisation of our police

Police officers in many  western countries now dress like paramilitaries. Special police units are being trained and organised along military lines and issued with military-grade weapons. Is this creeping “militarisation” justified and what are the future implications for the effectiveness of policing in democratic societies?




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3D printing and the “plateau of productivity”

When the hype around 3D printing was at its peak, it was confidently predicted that every household would soon have a personal printer. That’s not the way it turned out. But 3D printing is coming back and it’s slowly making its way toward the verdant “plateau of productivity”.




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The Psychology of Silicon Valley

To understand new technology we need to comprehend the social, cultural and economic influences of the developers. Also, making direct comparisons between the human mind and Artificial Intelligence is counterproductive.



  • Robots and Artificial Intelligence
  • Brain and Nervous System
  • Science and Technology

india news

Offshore architecture and marine urban sprawl

There’s a new emphasis on land reclamation and building floating structures for everything from accommodation to marine farming to energy generation. Re-defining the use of the ocean is part of the emerging “blue economy” – one that can be both economically beneficial and environmentally responsible. How well can these often contradictory goals be reconciled?




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Great Green Walls – holding back the deserts

Desertification and land degradation affect the lives of around three billion people, according to UN estimates. Two ambitious projects aim at halting desertification and returning soil to productivity: the Great Green Wall project in northern Africa; and the Green Great Wall initiative in China.




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Planning for a problematic future

We all know the value of planning, but in a complex, complicated and often confounding world it can be difficult knowing how to start. Scenario Planning is planning tool for uncertain situations - find out what it entails and how it might benefit organisations and businesses.



  • Business
  • Economics and Finance
  • Urban Development and Planning
  • Community and Society