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Arts, Culture and Society 10 min read

‘No home to go to, and no means of living’: how colonial vagrancy laws punished the poor

by Catharine Coleborne

Vagrancy – being found in the street without any visible means of support – was a crime in many parts of Australia right up to the final decades of the 20th century. In some jurisdictions, vagrancy laws were only repealed in the early 2000s.

Health and Wellbeing 5 min read

Can chewing help manage stress, pain and appetite? Here’s what the science says

by Clare Collins

Ever feel a bit stressed or need a concentration boost? Research suggests one remedy may be right under your nose. Chewing has benefits for brain function, stress, anxiety, exam performance, pain perception, as well as hunger and food intake.

Health and Wellbeing 4 min read

Nope, coffee won’t give you extra energy. It’ll just borrow a bit that you’ll pay for later

by Emma Beckett

Many of us want (or should I say need?) our morning coffee to give us our “get up and go”. Altogether, the people of the world drink more than two billion cups of coffee each day.

Arts, Culture and Society 4 min read

NGARRAMA – Newcastle’s largest reconciliation event

by Shahni Wellington

How one conversation became a community movement

Health and Wellbeing 4 min read

Want your child to eat more veggies? Talk to them about ‘eating the rainbow'

by Emma Beckett

Parents of young children today were raised during some of the most damaging periods of diet culture. From diet and “lite” foods and drinks, to expensive “superfoods”, one constant across these changing trends has been the moralisation of food as “good” or “bad”.

Environment 5 min read

Photos from the field: our voyage investigating Australia’s submarine landslides and deep-marine canyons

by Hannah Power, Kendall Mollison, Michael Kinsela, Tom Hubble

Environmental scientists see flora, fauna and phenomena the rest of us rarely do. In this series, we’ve invited them to share their unique photos from the field.

Health and Wellbeing 4 min read

I’ve indulged over the holidays. If I’m healthy the rest of the time, does it matter?

by Emma Beckett

The holidays are often called the “silly season” – a time when we eat, drink and be merry. But these holiday indulgences can lead to feelings of guilt and fear that we’ve undone all the healthy habits from the rest of the year. But how much do you really need to worry about the impacts of holiday overeating?

Health and Wellbeing 5 min read

Stop hating on pasta – it actually has a healthy ratio of carbs, protein and fat

by Emma Beckett

New year, new you, new diet. It’s a familiar refrain. One popular dieting technique is to create a food blacklist. Quitting “carbs” or packaged foods is common, which can mean avoiding supermarket staples like pasta.

Arts, Culture and Society 13 min read

Creative ageing – it’s all in your mind

by Carmen Swadling

Ageing presents many challenges. But perhaps getting creative is key to boosting well-being and good brain health?

Our Communities 5 min read

Traditional knowledge key to solving the world’s plastics pollution disaster

by Gemma Dawkins & Shahni Wellington

A return to Indigenous-led solutions may be our only hope to address the global waste issue, according to researchers.

Business, Law and Politics 5 min read

A class action against Optus could easily be Australia's biggest - here's what is involved

by Mirella Atherton and Eliezer Sanchez-Lasaballett

With the Optus data breach exposing almost 10 million current and former customers to identity theft, law firms are circling for what could end up being the biggest – and most valuable – class action case in Australian legal history.

Health and Wellbeing 4 min read

The internal shower

by Clare Collins

Does TikTok's chia-lemon 'internal shower' really beat constipation? Here's what science says.

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