Putting babies under general anaesthetic won't affect their development, new research shows
A new study found no detectable impact on brain development.From shutterstock.comMaking the decision to operate on a baby or toddler can be complex and confronting for parents. It involves weighing th...
Michael Vagg, Clinical associate professor, Deakin University School of Medicine and Pain Specialist, Deakin University
Virginia politics: The uneasy marriage of new liberalism and historic racism
Virginia is home to America’s original contradiction – the peculiar juxtaposition of slavery and freedom.The recent “blue-ing” of Virginia has obscured a sobering political rea...
Julian Maxwell Hayter, Associate Professor of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond
Must the president be a moral leader?
President Donald Trump, former President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton, during the funeral for former President George H.W. Bush.AP Photo/Alex Brandon, PoolThe best presidents –...
Michael Blake, Professor of Philosophy, Public Policy, and Governance, University of Washington
A brief history of presidential lethargy
A television set turned on in the West Wing of the White House.AP Photo/Susan WalshNo one doubts the job of president of the United States is stressful and demanding. The chief executive deserves down...
Stacy A. Cordery, Professor of History, Iowa State University
There's little reason for optimism about Closing the Gap, despite changes to education targets
Again this year, the Closing the Gap report delivered disappointment.www.shutterstock.comThis week saw the release of the annual Closing the Gap report. Much like the previous decade of reports, we le...
Melitta Hogarth, Lecturer, University of Southern Queensland
Pages and prejudice: how queer texts could fight homophobia in Australian schools
Books are a good starting place to make schools more inviting places for queer students.www.shutterstock.comRecently, the Australian Association for the Teaching of English (AATE) — the peak pro...
Annamarie Jagose, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Sydney
The glowing ghost mushroom looks like it comes from a fungal netherworld
The ghost fungus emits an eerie green glow.Author providedSign up to Beating Around the Bush, a series that profiles native plants: part gardening column, part dispatches from country, entirely Austra...
Alison Pouliot, Australian National University
VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on reopening Christmas Island and One Nation's shenanigans
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini and Michelle Grattan talk about the week in politics. They discuss including the government’s historic defeat in the House of Representatives on...
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The Catholic Church is headed for another sex abuse scandal as #NunsToo speak up
All eyes will turn to Rome between 21-24 February, when senior church clerics across the world meet to discuss how to handle the widening sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. Until recently, th...
Kathleen McPhillips, Senior Lecturer, School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Newcastle
Australia: well placed to join the Moon mining race ... or is it?
The Moon could be mined for water.NASA/JPLIt’s 50 years since man first stepped on the Moon. Now the focus is on going back to our nearest orbiting neighbour – not to leave footprints, but...
Andrew Dempster, Director, Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research; Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications, UNSW
Business Continuity And IT: A Double-Edged Sword
In the business world, there is an essential truth that every entrepreneur learns: If you’re not relevant, you can’t survive. However, keeping your business relevant goes beyond the realm of market ...
News Company
SMEs Don’t Realise This Is Why Their Expansion Never Works
Business owners and entrepreneurs aren’t the same because they come in all different shapes and sizes. However, one thing they can agree on is that they want and need to expand. Business expansion i...
News Company
Senate vote could end US complicity in the Saudi-led genocide in Yemen that spans Obama, Trump administrations
Severe malnutrition, like this Yemeni boy experienced, is one of the results of the Yemen conflict. AP/Hani MohammedThe U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation to deny f...
Jeff Bachman, Professorial Lecturer in Human Rights; Director, Ethics, Peace, and Human Rights MA Program, American University School of International Service
Senate vote could end US complicity in the Saudi-led genocide in Yemen
Severe malnutrition, like this Yemeni boy experienced, is one of the results of the Yemen conflict. AP/Hani MohammedThe U.S. House of Representatives has voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation to de...
Jeff Bachman, Professorial Lecturer in Human Rights; Director, Ethics, Peace, and Human Rights MA Program, American University School of International Service
Can Congress or the courts reverse Trump's national emergency?
Trump declared a national emergency in order to build a wall.AP Photo/ Evan VucciPresident Donald Trump declared a national emergency to pay for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border…
Why Maduro is blocking Venezuela-bound humanitarian aid when so many people in his country need it
Venezuelan soldiers stand guard on the bridge linking their country and Colombia, under orders to obstruct U.S. humanitarian aid.AP Photo/Fernando LlanoRelations between the United States and Venezuel…
What Green New Deal advocates can learn from the 2009 economic stimulus act
Assembling capacitors for electric automobiles at SBE, Inc. in Barre, Vermont, July 16, 2010. SBE received a $9 million stimulus grant to build electric drive components.AP Photo/Toby TalbotCongressi…
Striking teachers in Denver shut down performance bonuses – here's how that will impact education
Denver public school teachers went on strike on Feb. 11 and successfully eliminated a controversial bonus-based pay system.David Zalubowski/APEditor’s note: Denver teachers reached a tentative d…
Protecting human heritage on the moon: Don't let 'one small step' become one giant mistake
Neil Armstrong took this photograph of Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity on the moon.NASAWhy did the hominin cross the plain? We may never know. But anthropologists are pretty s…
How white became the color of suffrage
Female members of Congress wore white in a nod to suffragists during the State of the Union.AP Photo/Carolyn KasterDuring President Donald Trump’s Feb. 5 State of the Union address, scores of De…
An editor and his newspaper helped build white supremacy in Georgia
Henry W. Grady coined the phrase the ‘New South.’C.W. Mates/Library of CongressThe press is an essential guardrail of democracy. As The Washington Post tells its readers, “Democracy …
How far should organizations be able to go to defend against cyberattacks?
Who's really on the other side?Yakobchuk Viacheslav/Shutterstock.comThe deluge of cyberattacks sweeping across the world has governments and companies thinking about new ways to protect their digital …
Adolescents have a fundamental need to contribute
Harnessing adolescents’ readiness to help can be good for them and their communities.YAKOBCHUK VIACHESLAV/Shutterstock.comNo longer children but not yet adults, adolescents need opportunities to…
Businesses Damaging The Environment But Changes Can Be Made
Last week it was announced that this generation of people are the first generation to know that their actions are destroying the planet. That is a large fact to consider and one that should be forcing…
Friday essay: saints or monsters, pop culture's limited view of nurses
Nurse Ratched in the 1975 film One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. Netflix is now producing a TV series built around this character, to star Sarah Paulson.Fantasy FilmsWhen health care workers make news …
Electronic waste is recycled in appalling conditions in India
The vast majority of e-waste in India is processed by hand.Miles Parl, Author providedElectronic waste is recycled in appalling conditions in IndiaThe world produces 50 million tonnes of electronic an…
Explainer: who are the Uyghurs and why is the Chinese government detaining them?
Many Muslim minorities in China, particularly the Uyghurs, are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned.from shutterstock.comThe Uyghurs are Turkic-speaking Muslims from the Central Asian region. The large…
You need more than just testes to make a penis
Testosterone is primarily made in the testes, and creates many of the characteristics we see in adult men. from www.shutterstock.comIn prenatal ultrasounds or at delivery, many new parents look betwee…
For people at risk of mental illness, having access to treatment early can help
Treating somebody at risk of developing a mental health disorder may improve their outcomes later on.Jeremy Perkins/UnsplashHow can we best help Australians who are at risk of developing a mental heal…
Vital Signs: when watchdogs become pets – or the problem of 'regulatory capture'
Australia's two financial watchdogs have been criticised for their cuddly relationship with banks.ShutterstockMarkets require regulators. As Adam Smith, the champion of the invisible hand, notes in Th…
Grattan on Friday: What does “reopening” Christmas Island actually mean and why do it?
The Morrison government, politically-speaking, is trying to do a loaves-and-fishes exercise with the medevac legislation, over which the parliament defied the executive this week.It is attempting to i…
Here's what you need to know about melioidosis, the deadly infection that can spread after floods
People typically become sick between one and 21 days after being infected.Goran Jakus/ShutterstockThe devastating Townsville floods have receded but the clean up is being complicated by the appearance…
A refugee legal expert on a week of 'reckless' rhetoric and a new way to process asylum seeker claims
Today, we’re bringing you a special episode of our podcast Trust Me, I’m An Expert for anyone wondering: what the hell happened this week? A sitting government lost a vote on the floor of …
How Zip Pay works, and why the extra cost of 'buy now, pay later' is still enticing
Zip Co's 'buy now pay later' service is growing in popularity. But because its business model avoids the responsible lending requirements, consumer advocates are worried.WikimediaZip Co’s &ldquo…
Four lessons from 11 years of Closing the Gap reports
The same patterns have emerged over the last decade of reaching for the same targets.from shutterstock.comScott Morrison today became the fifth prime minister to deliver a Closing the Gap report to pa…
Love, Academically. Why scholarly hearts are beating for Love Studies
Romantic love is an increasingly popular topic of study within the academy, exploring issues ranging from how technology is changing relationships to masculinity as depicted in the Twilight books and …
Vital Signs: when watchdogs become pets – or the problem of 'regulatory capture'
Australia's two financial watchdogs have been criticised for their cuddly relationship with banks.ShutterstockMarkets require regulators. As Adam Smith, the champion of the invisible hand, notes in Th…
How slavery's lingering stain on the US Constitution spoils Elizabeth Warren's wealth tax proposal – for now
Slavery was a sticking point at the Constitutional Convention of 1787.Howard Chandler Christy/The Indian Reporter, CC BYKey Democrats are proposing ways to make the rich pay more taxes. I believe one …
Why the $22 trillion national debt doesn't matter – here's what you should worry about instead
Does a few more trillion make a difference?AP Photo/Manuel Balce CenetaThe U.S. federal government’s debt load hit another milestone this month: It’s now a record US$22 trillion in nominal…
Just what are 'zero tolerance' policies – and are they still common in America's schools?
Zero tolerance polices in school discipline are on the decline, new data show.wavebreakmedia/www.shutterstock.comWhen parents and educators discuss school discipline, one of the things that comes up m…
How energy efficiency delivers green dividends in red and blue states
Installing smart meters saves energy and creates jobs.AP Photo/Gerry BroomeThe Green New Deal, a bundle of proposed policies that would combat climate change, create green jobs and address economic in…
Why blackface?
1899 lithograph of white minstrel performer Carroll Johnson depicted in blackface, right.Library of CongressBlackface is part of American culture’s DNA.But America has forgotten that.For almost …