August 2013

By Philip Dwyer, Director of the Centre for the History of Violence, University of NewcastleThere is a growing consensus among scholars that rates of violence in Western countries are steadily declining, and have been doing so for centuries.

By Judy-Anne Osborn, University of NewcastleCould a dire new infection sweep the world in a matter of weeks? Might the disease be so strange that it alters the behaviour of people beyond recognition, making them predatory and fearless? Could a great city like Philadelphia be overrun in a matter of hours?

By Emma Beckett and Zoe Yates, University of NewcastleSuperfoods is a buzzword now part of mainstream food and health language, often touted as miracle foods that cure all ills, stave off ageing and disease, or aid weight loss.

By Surinder Baines, University of NewcastleThe "new" weight-loss strategy known as the 5:2 diet has been receiving much attention in the media since the book The Fast Diet: The Secret of Intermittent Fasting – Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, Live Longer was launched late last year.

By Roger Smith, Director of the Mothers and Babies Research Centre, University of Newcastle and Kirsty Pringle, University of NewcastleThe recent death of the lead singer of Yothu Yindi, is a high-profile example of an event all too common in Aboriginal Australia.

By John Germov and Julie McIntyre, University of NewcastleThink of alcohol in Australian life and you probably think of beer: a "hard-earned thirst" and all that.

By Surinder Baines, University of NewcastleEthical and environmental considerations are often the prompt for adopting a meat-free diet. But better health may also push some towards vegetarianism, with a new study showing vegetarians have a lower risk of premature death than their meat-eating counterparts.

The University of Newcastle's Amphibian Research Group released the last of approximately 5000 tadpoles into a newly constructed research habitat on Ash Island.

A Newcastle researcher has developed a global approach to predicting the best terrains for copper and gold exploration, which could have significant implications for the Australian mining industry.