Will we ultimately see 2012 as triumphant, or as just one step in an emerging global tragedy? Jenny Varley

Opening the fabled Northwest Passage: triumph or tragedy?

A combination of 33-year satellite records, measurements made over the past century, and long-term proxy analysis suggests Arctic sea ice may be at its lowest level for more than 1,000 years. According…
Barack Obama is running for his second and final term as US President - but what do Australian experts make of his presidency so far and the election to come? EPA/Jason Reed

US presidential elections: the view from Australia

Ahead of the US presidential election in November, five prominent Australian thinkers give us their view on what they would like to come out of the contest. Joshua Gans, Professor of Strategic Management…
Climate change has led to modified bird migration patterns. Vinoth Chandar

Peter Doherty: why our fine‑feathered friends deserve better

Maybe it’s just a normal part of growing older and “taking the time to smell the roses”, but I’ve been finding over the past few years that I’m much more interested in birds. That hasn’t yet turned me…
All vaccines rely on generating an immune response that persists but our understanding of immune memory has some way to go. James Gathany/CDC

Search for the elusive universal flu vaccine

Influenza is never off the news agenda for long. If it’s not the flu season (and it always is in one hemisphere) and the attendant calls for vaccinations, it’s news about vaccines causing problems or new…
Current vaccines are quite good but they offer no protection against novel pandemic strains of the flu. Jason Rogers

Global efforts against flu evolving in the face of continuing threat

Influenza is never off the news agenda for long. If it’s not the flu season (and it always is in one hemisphere) and the attendant calls for vaccinations, it’s news about vaccines causing problems or new…
In the future, will we be juggling with the same or different issues? The Invizible

2050: an optimist’s science fiction

What will Australia look like in 2050? Will the debates raging now about a carbon tax, about health reform, about immigration, still have relevance, or will new problems, bigger problems, have taken their…
Why is science so hard to communicate? Andrew Huff/Flickr

A better formula for science communication

Foundation Essay – Getting certain points across can be difficult. And yet democracies don’t function properly in the absence of broad, public discussion based on well-sourced information. Especially when…

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