When US President Obama announced the end of America’s involvement in Iraq, he deliberately did not claim victory. But he did say, when welcoming the last contingent of combat troops home in October last year, that the war in Iraq was over. For Americans, Australians and the media in both countries, that may be how […] … learn more→

The moment when the hunter-gatherers laid down their spears and began farming around 11,000 years ago is often interpreted as one of the most rapid and significant transitions in human history – the ‘Neolithic Revolution’. By producing and storing food, Homo sapiens both mastered the natural world and took the first significant steps towards thousands […] … learn more→

Despite peak global temperatures in 2005 and 2010 (unprecedented in the instrumental record), a recent sharp plunge in volume of the Arctic Sea ice and a spate of extreme weather events, coal mining, coal exports and carbon emissions continue to grow, overwhelming any mitigation attempted by schemes such as the Australian carbon price. And although […] … learn more→

Global demand for vegetable oils is a driver of deforestation … learn more→

“Morally bankrupt” is how a recently departing Goldman Sachs executive described the culture of the investment bank. As noted in Business Day, this view “is common among the bank’s critics, many of whom see the firm as a symbol of Wall street’s excesses and a culture of greed which has wreaked havoc on US business […] … learn more→

The first observation of a cosmic effect could give astronomers a new tool for understanding the forces behind the Universe\’s formation and growth, including the enigmatic phenomena of dark energy and dark matter. An international team led by Princeton University, and including Oxford University scientists, has detected the movement of distant galaxy clusters via the […] … learn more→

For Tim Gutowski, advanced manufacturing is an opportunity not just to boost employment, but also to improve the environment. Gutowski heads MIT’s Environmentally Benign Manufacturing research group, which looks at the environmental costs and impacts associated with manufacturing traditional materials such as concrete and steel, as well as advanced and emerging technologies such as semiconductors, […] … learn more→

Thought leader. You might have heard this phrase — and you’re not quite sure what it means. It’s difficult to find an exact definition that is universally accepted, but a thought leader is someone who is known for their innovative ideas, expertise, and is widely recognized as a source of guidance in their industry. Some […] … learn more→

As the once-in-a-decade transfer of political power in China looms, the consequences for the country’s foreign policy, economic development, political reform, and military affairs is hard to overstate. In Autumn, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will hold its 18th National People’s Congress, changing over all nine positions in the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s highest decision […] … learn more→

As a professor of astronomy and physics, Priyamvada Natarajan doesn’t balk at taking risks. She has modeled the upper limits of “monster” black holes and analyzed the consistency of dark matter. As a theorist, she notes, intellectual risk is par for the course. But as a woman in science, risk-taking has another meaning, she says. […] … learn more→