This Month
Trump dump a stiff examination of investment strategies
The complacent who have clipped the ticket during the good times will be exposed during the bad times at great cost to their customers and members.
Butler expects tariff pain on medicines and healthcare giants
The Health Minister says briefings from US officials suggest foreign pharmaceuticals could soon be targeted by a separate US trade investigation.
Labor’s hospital funding push to cost health funds $1b a year
The health minister said there had been a “shift up in profitability and management expenses of insurers” as he urged them to negotiate with care providers.
Defending private hospitals is essential to ‘saving Medicare’
At Monday’s Financial Review Healthcare Summit, Mark Butler and Anne Ruston should rule in urgent reform that better balances needs of hospital operators and insurers.
Trump crackdown forces academics to cancel US trips
University researchers are rewriting their travel plans over arrests and rejections at the US border.
March
What happens when men prefer porn?
The heterosexual man can now have what many see as a rich sex life without ever needing to deal with an actual woman.
Gen Z’s babytalk slang isn’t just childish, it’s dangerous
Childish internet slang is undermining the increasing political and social upheaval of our time.
Doctors told him he was going to die. Then AI saved his life
In labs around the world, scientists are using AI to search among existing medicines for treatments that work for rare diseases.
Labor’s education report card is one step forward, two steps back
Efforts to put strict conditions on additional school funding to the states to improve outcomes have already been undercut by creating an alibi for failure.
Trump could target our healthcare system next. We don’t need to panic
If there are retaliatory tariffs because of standing up for our PBS jewel, so be it. That would be unfortunate and unfair, but Australia can weather it.
Do viruses trigger Alzheimer’s?
A growing group of scientists think so, and are asking whether antivirals could treat the disease
I’m an NDIS participant. Here’s what I’ve uncovered about this chaotic system
Missteps, miscalculations, lies and missed opportunities on the NDIS should alarm anyone who values sound economic governance.
Read the questionnaire Trump has sent to Australian unis
A questionnaire sent to Australian universities by the Trump administration has sparked alarm among academics. You can read it here.
How to undo the damage Victoria’s COVID response did to public trust
Federal and state governments should adopt a uniform code for pandemic management mandating medical advice be signed and published for any restrictive measures.
Health insurance fees to rise more than Labor says
Health Minister Mark Butler has been called out for understating the size of the increase in health insurance premiums this year.
Do we age steadily or in bursts?
New technologies are giving scientists a better understanding of how the process of ageing actually works.
February
Research funding body suspends grant to pro-Palestinian academic
Controversial academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, who has said Zionists “have no claim or right to cultural safety”, has had her $870,000 research grant suspended.
People are not stupid or bogans ... it’s us, Shorten tells unis
Bill Shorten and Catherine Livingstone have come to similar conclusions as to why universities are out of favour with the community.
Australia should punt on bold, unproven ideas: Shergold
The Australian Research Council chairman says this country needs to get behind young researchers whose work takes greater risks but offers larger rewards.
My patient Shirley would benefit from more bulk billing. Here’s why she won’t
Labor is shining an 8.5 billion-watt spotlight on general practices to divert attention from the elephant in the room that everyone in Australia has seen.
Shorten blames federal policies for his uni’s financial woes, job cuts
The University of Canberra’s new vice chancellor says 191 jobs will be cut this year after student numbers fell.
$50m donation aims to foil ‘sneak thief of sight’
The University of Sydney has received its second major donation in just two weeks – this time to change the trajectory of 80 million glaucoma sufferers.
Single this Valentine’s Day? You’re not alone
The central demographic story of modern times is rising rates of singledom; the data suggests there’s a global relationship recession among young adults.
Do we really need ‘teenage wellness’?
Is the profusion of adolescent spa packages and mindfulness apps simply contributing to the pressures that young people face?