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Research

This Month

Robyn Denholm, chair of the review of Australia’s R&D system, says over the past 25 years Australia has “slid steeply backwards”.

Australia’s critical slide in R&D is now a national emergency

In a world reshaping through emerging technologies, the nation needs to put innovation at the centre of its competitive DNA to set up its fortunes for decades.

  • Robyn Denholm
Robyn Denholm says Australia has “been making excuses for 30 years” about the lack of R&D investment.

‘National emergency’ as Australia falls $25b short in R&D

Tesla chair Robyn Denholm and Industry Minister Ed Husic say Australia risks falling behind unless big business spends more on inventing new products and ideas.

  • Tess Bennett

January

AFR JAD Speckle Park cattle. Photo: Amy Dickens, JAD Speckle Park

How Australia became a test bed for the future of farming

Experimental fungi and “robotic bees” are among the agtech innovations being trialled in a country on the front line of climate change.

  • Nic Fildes
Could an infinite number of monkeys, each given an infinite amount of time to peck away at a typewriter, eventually produce, by pure chance, the complete works of William Shakespeare?

Monkeys, Shakespeare and AI: latest thinking on an old puzzle

Could monkeys really type all of Shakespeare? Not in this universe, suggests new research from UTS into one of science’s favourite puzzles.

  • Alexander Nazaryan
Crows don’t think humans all look alike. In fact, they never forget a face.

If you think you can hold a grudge, consider the crow

Sometimes the only way to avoid attacks from a murder of crows is to move a long way away. Bribing the birds can also work.

  • Thomas Fuller
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December 2024

The decision has attracted criticism from anti-gambling advocates.

Gambling sector stunned by axing of tax breaks

The wagering industry said Labor’s decision to axe the R&D tax incentive for gambling and tobacco companies risked exposing other sectors to political horse-trading.

  • Updated
  • Ronald Mizen
Outgoing Chief Scientist Cathy Foley.

Chief scientist Cathy Foley despairs for an impatient society

The federal government’s top scientific adviser, whose term finishes at Christmas, says Australia needs to rethink its approach to research and innovation.

  • Tom McIlroy

Public sector to blame for Australia’s poor productivity

Australia’s economic story has become dominated by public rather than private activity as politicians spend crazy amounts of money to buy votes.

  • Christopher Joye
Fiona Wood spearheaded the creation of Avita Medical’s spray-on skin in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Time to reverse the R&D slide

I encourage everyone with an interest in our long-term prosperity to engage with the review of the system so we get the best possible recommendations.

  • Ed Husic

November 2024

Here’s the overall winner in the AFR’s Best Universities Ranking

For the second year in a row, UQ has taken out pole position in The Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking.

  • Julie Hare

How we ranked Australia’s best universities

The Australian Financial Review Best Universities Ranking evaluates performance under four pillars: Teaching, Research, Career Impact and Equity, writes Tim Brown.

  • Tim Brown
University of Melbourne deputy vice chancellor (research) Mark Cassidy: “We are not going to solve all the issues we have unless we partner with others.”

Stellar records on research at risk from funding shortfall

Melbourne University, ranked No.1 in the Research category, has created an ecosystem with industry partners and policymakers.

  • Alexandra Cain
Aphantasia: What it’s like when your mind’s eye is blind
1:11

Aphantasia: What it’s like when your mind’s eye is blind

When a viral tweet made Yolanda Redrup realise she couldn't create a picture in her mind it changed her understanding of herself and the world around her.

  • Updated

October 2024

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says taxpayer money being used to develop poker machines is “problematic”.

Chalmers flags crackdown on tax refunds for pokie makers

ASX-listed poker machine giant Aristocrat had a research and development budget of $22.1 million in 2021-22, according to the ATO data released earlier this month.

  • Ronald Mizen
Swinburne University’s Professor Matthew Bailes has been named Scientist of the Year.

The Aussie who helped discover how to weigh the universe

World renowned astrophysicist Professor Matthew Bailes has won the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.

  • Julie Hare
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The new research found that women continue to live longer than men.

Don’t expect human life expectancy to grow much more, says new study

Some billionaires think they can extend their lives to 200 years at least, but researchers say we’ve probably already maxed out the human lifespan.

  • Mike Stobbe

September 2024

From left: Danielle Wood, Peter Varghese, Frank Lowy, Linda Jakobson, John Daley.

Australia’s ‘brain boxes’ are a growing source of covert power

These research and advocacy institutes are on the rise. But to get the funding, they need to be seen.

  • Emma Connors

August 2024

CSIRO chief Professor Doug Hilton, says the agency needs to be able to draw in skills from across the agency “with minimal friction”.

Plan to cut 500 jobs from CSIRO ‘threatens research’

A CSIRO plan to cut $100 million in costs threatens industry collaboration and the government’s Made in Australia ambitions, industry leaders say.

  • Tom Burton

This special paint could save lives from bushfires

New paint technology developed at UNSW to help fire-proof homes is a joint winner in the Higher Education Awards research commercialisation category.

  • Alexandra Cain

How medical research is failing women

For years, the process for developing and testing new drugs has focused disproportionately on male bodies — to the detriment of female patients.

  • Sarah Neville

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/research-jar