This Month
Big ideas trump commercialisation for new CSIRO boss
Doug Hilton has laid out plans for it to help answer the big questions facing society, while also making some money along the way.
- Updated
- Tess Bennett
September
- Opinion
- University
It’s time to reshape universities for national good
Our tertiary institutions are a national asset, but collaboration with industry is a missed opportunity and should be a focus of the review now under way.
- Innes Willox
- Opinion
- Opinion
These fridges cost $1m, but our future depends on them
Australia needs a new vision for a collaborative approach to lift our investment in R&D.
- Emma Johnston
The Aussie scientist whose mission is to feed the world
Columbia University Professor Glenn Denning has won the prestigious Global Australian of the Year award for his work on improving crop yields.
- Julie Hare
- Opinion
- University
Opening doors to China is good for everyone
Learning, education and knowledge can change our relationships and the world. We need to know this Asian giant more, not less.
- Vicki Thomson
August
- Analysis
- Government Observed
How to double the university sector
A university degree will be almost mandatory to obtain future work, fundamentally challenging a system that was last reformed nearly 40 years ago.
- Tom Burton
Conduits for change, unis prove their worth
This year’s winners of the AFR Higher Education Awards have three things in common: creativity, impact and social good.
- Julie Hare
- Exclusive
- University
‘No political plaything’: Labor to end research grant veto
Changes to the Australian Research Council will ensure government ministers cannot veto grants at whim.
- Julie Hare
This Australian discovery is set to change stem cell therapy
Researchers have found a way to solve problems with conventionally generated stem cells, changing the way that the cells are created.
- Jill Margo
Brilliant ideas rejected as scheme overwhelmed by demand
Dozens of researchers with ideas ready to be commercialised say they have been rejected from a fund designed to do exactly that.
- Julie Hare
‘Envy tax’, teaching-only unis under consideration: O’Kane
Mary O’Kane asked for spiky ideas when she started her review of higher education, but some are spikier – and dumber – than others.
- Julie Hare
Labor’s carbon policy spurred ‘lots of interest’ for this tech company
What do iron ore miners, cement makers, alumina refiners and lithium producers have in common? They’re all turning to Calix to solve their carbon footprint.
- Peter Ker
July
Aussie team leads ‘life-saving’ prostate cancer breakthrough
Using novel technology, a new test aims to sharpen predictions about the aggressiveness of individual prostate cancers.
- Jill Margo
Aussie start-up battles ChatGPT and Bard with $US50m from US backers
Secure Code Warrior get huge cash injection to work on an AI platform that could one day write highly secure code for customers.
- John Davidson
- Opinion
- Education
Australia must engage with China, our future depends on it
Cynics say universities are only interested in China for their students’ dollars. The relationship is far more important, and complex, than that.
- Michael Wesley
June
New clue could ‘revolutionise’ treatment of endometriosis
While no one knows what causes endometriosis, novel research from Japan suggests bacteria might play a key role and that antibiotics might help.
- Jill Margo
- Opinion
- Opinion
Has Labor written off its promise to supercharge R&D?
A review into the innovation system would be timely if we seek to achieve the productivity gains Treasury has built into its forecasts.
- Kim Carr
The ‘liquid biopsy’ that could test for 50 cancers
The tests have the potential to detect cancer in healthy people with no signs or symptoms of any disease.
- Jill Margo
May
Australian garlic kills COVID-19, says Doherty Institute
The variety demonstrates up to 99.9 per cent efficacy against the coronavirus and common flu, raising hopes of increased exports.
- Patrick Durkin
‘Next Cochlear’ stock surges after heart device breakthrough
Shares in ASX-listed EBR Systems are up 10 per cent following a successful trial of its tiny cardiovascular device, which could pave the way for US FDA approval.
- Tess Bennett
