They are popular because they are popular, which is a circular argument that suits a pie chart. But there are some serious downsides to using the humble pie.
- Professor of Statistics, Queensland University of Technology
Many diagnostic tests are far from 100% accurate – and even in the era of big data and machine learning, they never will be.
The Medical Research Future Fund should prioritise areas where Australia has a comparative advantage.
The only way for science to fight the booming fake research industry is to fund smart, dedicated people to stay ahead of the fraudsters.
If hospitals are not thoroughly cleaned, patients may be at higher risk of infection. We tested a new approach to hospital cleaning, and found it could reduce infections and save money.
You could compare election opinion polls to penalty shoot-outs at a World Cup final: there’s huge pressure to get it right and we remember the big misses most of all.
Australia hampir tidak mempunyai peluang untuk menang. Tapi peluang mereka masih lebih baik daripada Italia, Belanda dan Amerika Serikat, mereka tidak ada yang berhasil ke turnamen sama sekali.
Australia has won the soccer World Cup three times, in simulation games only. So what are the challenges to predicting the winner?
We are often presented with surveys that claim to show how we all think on a certain subject. But how many people do you need to ask for that finding to have have any convincing meaning?
Things tend to revert back to their typical state over time, so we should be careful not to mistake that for some other trend.
Volkswagen’s cheating allowed its vehicles to pass rigorous emissions testing, giving customers maximum driving performance at the cost of the environment and our health.
Most people are acutely aware of the toll the heat can take on human life. So it may come as a surprise that more Australians die from the cold than the heat.
Why not let scientists vote for who they think should get grant funding for their research?
I’m quite nervous about writing this. I’m going to stray from my familiar academic world into a political one, and it’s on an issue that may very well have killed several people. My reputation has already…
One of the few real surprises in the budget was the creation of medical research future fund, to be partly funded by the introduction of a $7 GP co-payment. This injection of money provides an opportunity…
Pregnant women, families with young children, people over 65, and those with heart or lung conditions have been urged to leave Morwell South in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, to escape the smoke from the Hazelwood…
The winners and losers of the 2013 National Health and Medical Research (NHMRC) Project Grants were announced in October. A record low success rate of just 16.9% (down from last year’s 20.5%) meant the…
Universities drive a knowledge economy, generate new ideas and teach people how to think critically. Anything other than strong investment in them will likely harm Australia. But as Australian politicians…
The World Health Organization’s recent decision to categorise diesel fumes as carcinogenic is yet another reminder of the negative health effects of traffic pollution. Cancer can now be added to a list…
Every time smokers pull a cigarette pack out of their pocket, they’re reminded of the harms their habit is likely to cause. In much the same way, Australian petrol stations should display health warnings…
Chance is something researchers feel could be important when their applications for scientific research funding are assessed and discussed in peer review. Now this hunch has been supported by an analysis…
The body of evidence on the unhealthy effects of traffic pollution is now longer than a stretch limo. Our recent Queensland study found pregnant women exposed to greater levels of traffic pollution had…
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