Science + Technology – Views and Research – The Conversation

A woman with grey hair, wearing a blue dress and taking notes in front of a black board.

A woman with grey hair, wearing a blue dress and taking notes in front of a black board.

NASA’s new telescope will transform our view of the universe. This is the story of its namesake

The fight over AI data centres is becoming Australia’s next Indigenous policy challenge

A person in high vis standing among desert grass in Western Australia.

A person in high vis standing among desert grass in Western Australia.

Videos capture humpback whales stopping to snack as they migrate along Australia’s coast

A whale surfacing with it's mouth wide open.

A whale surfacing with it's mouth wide open.

A tiled mosaic showing three birds drinking from a water fountain.

A tiled mosaic showing three birds drinking from a water fountain.

‘Frequently fumigate the hen-houses’: how ancient Greeks and Romans tried to treat sick birds

A map showing lots of yellow dots and a few red dots circled around the pacific ocean.

A map showing lots of yellow dots and a few red dots circled around the pacific ocean.

Are earthquakes becoming more common? Here’s what the numbers say

Meta settles landmark US lawsuit for nearly $18bn and agrees to change Facebook and Instagram

Airport runway collisions and near-misses are happening more frequently, 22 years of data show

A grey plane on a runway at sunset.

A grey plane on a runway at sunset.

The universe is full of strange ‘little red dots’. A new study shines light on their real nature

An illustration of a bright red dot with a shining light in its centre against a black sky.

An illustration of a bright red dot with a shining light in its centre against a black sky.

The ‘robot Olympics’ were spectacular – but will this technology end up helping humans?

Robots compete at the free combat event of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.

Robots compete at the free combat event of the World Humanoid Robot Games in Beijing.

A student at a protest in a red graduation robe and cap holds up a poster with the words who wrote your speech, chat gpt?

A student at a protest in a red graduation robe and cap holds up a poster with the words who wrote your speech, chat gpt?

Can you teach yourself to detect AI writing? Maybe

Image of a room that's heavily pixellated but a few yellow data label boxes draw focus to pot plants and wall clock.

Image of a room that's heavily pixellated but a few yellow data label boxes draw focus to pot plants and wall clock.

An AI job boom? Here’s what the tedious, temporary work in data labelling is actually like

Climate change may halve omega-3 fatty acids in fish and the organisms they eat

Sardines lie in a net against a blue sea.

Sardines lie in a net against a blue sea.

Antarctic bacteria share ‘life-support’ genes to survive extreme conditions

A trowel containing some soil

A trowel containing some soil

More phones may soon let us prove photos are real – but will it solve the AI fake image crisis?

Want to muck around with a real quantum computer? Now you can

Two gloved hands touching a gold-plated cylindrical device.

Two gloved hands touching a gold-plated cylindrical device.

Latest science and technology articles

Expert life advice

Is the laundry still damp, or just cold? Why your skin can’t tell the difference

A man outdoors checking the laundry and looking mildly appalled

A man outdoors checking the laundry and looking mildly appalled

Why do humans use ‘baby voice’ when we speak to pets?

A black and white puppy excited to receive pats from a blonde woman.

A black and white puppy excited to receive pats from a blonde woman.

How do instant heat packs work? A chemist explains

Close-up of woman's hands holding a white heat pack.

Close-up of woman's hands holding a white heat pack.

How many packs of Pokémon cards do you have to buy to catch ’em all? Probably hundreds, and most will be quite boring

Pokemon cards

Pokemon cards

More life hacks

New research

New research shows how psychedelics reorganise the patterns in your brain

A psychedlic image of overlapping faces

A psychedlic image of overlapping faces

Why it might be time to rethink the human family tree

An ancient human-like skull

An ancient human-like skull

Crocodiles can’t fly. Birds can. Scientists have finally figured out why

An egret and a crocodile

An egret and a crocodile

Play-fighting or just fighting? New study suggests a rethink on how we play with cats

Grey tabby playfully biting a ribbon.

Grey tabby playfully biting a ribbon.

More new research

Artificial intelligence

A young businesswoman looks up while in an office lobby with business people all around her. A facial recognition scan reveal her personal data.

A young businesswoman looks up while in an office lobby with business people all around her. A facial recognition scan reveal her personal data.

AI bias isn’t just an error in the algorithm. It’s a chain of human decisions

Offloading work tasks to AI comes with a cost – to our brains

Illustration of an artificial intelligence business concept in retro collage style with business man in suit.

Illustration of an artificial intelligence business concept in retro collage style with business man in suit.

The decades-old ‘AI alignment problem’ has finally become a reality. Solving it won’t be easy

Abstract colorful lines

Abstract colorful lines

AI companies look to the ocean as a place to put more data centers

A large cylinder covered in marine debris is hosed off while sitting on a barge.

A large cylinder covered in marine debris is hosed off while sitting on a barge.

Local governments are using AI more and more. But are they doing it wisely?

Aerial view of a city and a digital illustration of it

Aerial view of a city and a digital illustration of it

More on artificial intelligence

Explore the universe

China is launching a Moon mission to find water ice. It’s unlike anything NASA has done

NASA’s new space telescope will tackle some of the universe’s biggest mysteries

Illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope against the background of Hubble's 25th anniversary image.

Illustration of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope against the background of Hubble's 25th anniversary image.

Galactic archaeologists find stars in the Milky Way came from another galaxy 12 billion years ago

Two galaxies in the night sky, merging into one.

Two galaxies in the night sky, merging into one.

There are already 16,000 satellites in Earth’s orbit. How will we manage the next 100,000?

A ‘direct wave’ from colliding black holes reveals signature of a whirlpool in spacetime

Artist's impression of a black hole

Artist's impression of a black hole

More on astronomy

Curious Kids

A light brown spider on water.

A light brown spider on water.

Curious Kids: can spiders swim?

Curious Kids: if our eyes see upside down, how does the brain flip the picture?

Daniel Joyce, University of Southern Queensland

A happy child hangs upside down on monkey bars.

A happy child hangs upside down on monkey bars.

Curious Kids: If you scoop a bucket of water out of the ocean, does it get lower?

Dylan Irvine, Charles Darwin University

A blue bucket and spade on a beach.

A blue bucket and spade on a beach.

Curious Kids: if heat rises, why does it get colder in the mountains?

James Renwick, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Silhuette of Ama Dablam - a mountain in the eastern Himalaya

Silhuette of Ama Dablam - a mountain in the eastern Himalaya

Curious Kids: what was the biggest dinosaur that ever lived?

Nic Rawlence, University of Otago

Dinosaurs with a volcano in the background

Dinosaurs with a volcano in the background

More Curious Kids articles

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