The Conversation: In-depth analysis, research, news and ideas from leading academics and researchers.

A bowl of chips, with more being filled up

How unhealthy ultra-processed foods are designed and marketed to make us crave them

Kelly Garton, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau and Boyd Swinburn, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

Will weakening Treaty provisions in NZ law create more problems than it solves?

Carwyn Jones, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Māori sovereignty flags flying at a protest march

An affordable vision: how a modest investment in NZ’s eye health would make a big difference

Lucy Goodman, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Jacqueline Ramke, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau, and Pushkar Silwal, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

What alternatives do Gulf states have to the Strait of Hormuz?

David B Roberts, King's College London

‘Mum and dad investors’ are pulling back. What will that mean for NZ’s housing market?

Michael Rehm, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

The Devil Wears Prada 2: lots of frothy fun, not so much devilry

Laura O'Flanagan, Dublin City University

Two women dressed in black wearing sunglasses.

Dolls beat screens for building children’s social skills, study finds

Sarah Gerson, Cardiff University; Ross E Vanderwert, Cardiff University, and Salim Hashmi, King's College London

20,000 stranded seafarers in the Strait of Hormuz face missile fears, exhaustion and isolation

Claudio Bozzi, Deakin University

In this photo released by Tasnim News Agency, a Revolutionary Guard Navy (IRGC) speedboat approaches the cargo ship Epaminondas during what state media described as the seizure of one of two vessels accused of violations in the Strait of Hormuz

Elon Musk vs Sam Altman: how the legal battle of the tech billionaires could shape the future of AI

Rob Nicholls, University of Sydney

Composite image of Elon Musk and Sam Altman

News in context

What the coming El Niño climate pattern means for NZ in a warming world

Jim Salinger, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Cities are getting hotter – and bigger. New research reveals the scale of the challenge

Hamish Lewis, University of Waikato and Luke Harrington, University of Waikato

Dignity and resolve: Francesca Albanese’s When the World Sleeps humanises Palestinian lives

Martin Kear, University of Sydney

The cradle of Earth’s rich ocean life was a massive coral reef system 20 million years ago

Alexandre Siqueira, Edith Cowan University

A large school of stripey fish with yellow faces on a coral reef.

How King Charles charmed the US while taking digs at Trump

Philip Murphy, School of Advanced Study, University of London

King Charles speaking in the House chamber, with vice president JD Vance and speaker Mike Johnson behind him

Why omega-3s may be vital to getting the most out of your daily workouts

Fernando Naclerio, University of Greenwich and Justin Roberts, Anglia Ruskin University

A woman holds an omega-3 supplement between her thumb and forefinger.

New research

Were enormous octopuses apex predators in ancient oceans?

Thomas Clements, University of Reading

Nest-building chimpanzees seem to anticipate future weather

Hassan Al Razi, The University of Western Australia

A chimpanzee sitting on a branch in a leafy tree

Could warming seas bring great white sharks back to the North Sea? A 5-million-year-old shark tooth may provide clues

John Stewart, Bournemouth University and Olivier Lambert, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

Painting of a shark biting into an upside down whale carcass

Prostate cancer overdiagnosis risk sharply rises after age 70 – new research

Adam Brentnall, Queen Mary University of London; Peter Sasieni, Queen Mary University of London, and Rhian Gabe, Queen Mary University of London

A person wearing white surgical gloves holds a vial of blood, which is labelled "Prostate Specific Antigen."

Read NZ's best experts in science, health, business and more

Get our free NZ Weekly newsletter

Film still: four young people with shovels in a field.

New NZ film The Weed Eaters asks: why bury a body when you can just eat it, maybe with some tomato sauce?

Erin Harrington, University of Canterbury

A landmark US court ruling on birthright citizenship is coming. What does NZ law say?

Guy C. Charlton, University of New England and Timothy Fadgen, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

New Zealand passport lying on top of a New Zealand flag

Why your brain turns against you during arguments – and what to do about it

Trudy Meehan, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences

A man arguing with a woman. She is not engaging and faces away from him.

From floppy discs to Claude Mythos, how ransomware grew into a multibillion-dollar industry

Anja Shortland, King's College London

Graphic illustration of cyber crime and internet privacy hacking.

UAE’s departure from Opec tells a story about the limited future of oil production

Adi Imsirovic, University of Oxford

More Analysis and Comment

Are you an academic or researcher? Want to write for The Conversation?

Pitch an article

Share knowledge. Inform Decisions.

The Conversation is a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that is the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis. The Conversation has a monthly audience of 18 million users and a reach of 42 million through Creative Commons republication.

About us

Jobs Board

Events

Bledisloe Medallist Address

Lincoln University, New Zealand

Juncture Dialogue - Rebalancing Markets: Competition, power, and a fair economy

University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau

More Events