News The Conversation
These articles have been published on The Conversation by experts from The University of Newcastle.
The Conversation • 7 May 2026
I’ve investigated a hantavirus outbreak. Here’s what I can tell you about the cruise ship cluster
Is hantavirus being transmitted from person to person? Here’s what investigators need to consider before making that call.
The Conversation • 24 Apr 2026
Friday essay: Aboriginal Anzacs fought for Australia, but returned home to racism. It fuelled their activism
More than 1,000 Aboriginal Australians served in WWI – but unlike white soldiers, they weren’t feted as heroes. They responded with collective activism.
The Conversation • 23 Apr 2026
Long before the Anzacs, April 25 was the day women in Australia got the right to vote
Apart from voting, April 25 1896 was also the day women got the right to govern – in a world first.
The Conversation • 31 Mar 2026
‘Mum and Dad both finished school in Year 10’ – how to help first-in-family students graduate from uni
For students in our study, university was not simply about finding a job, but about changing their life trajectories.
The Conversation • 23 Mar 2026
Money isn’t free. Here’s what to know before downloading a cashback app
A multi-billion dollar industry is putting cash back in consumers’ pockets. But there’s a catch.
The Conversation • 23 Mar 2026
Morgan le Fay was King Arthur’s sister – but also a healer, mathematician and murderer
Morgan’s powers fall under two key branches of natural philosophy: the science of medicine, and the science of necromancy according to physics.
The Conversation • 23 Mar 2026
TVs keep getting more pixels – but we are approaching the limits of what our eyes can actually see
Televisions have come a long way from cathode ray tubes to 8K OLED screens. Do they need to go any further?
The Conversation • 20 Mar 2026
Friday essay: my mother survived polio – stories like hers show why vaccination matters
As a child, Catharine Coleborne’s mother spent a year in bed with polio. Stories like hers reveal why we can’t afford to go backwards on vaccination.
The Conversation • 6 Mar 2026
Is honey good for you? Can it speed recovery if you’re sick or injured?
Here’s how the claims about honey for specific injuries and diseases stack up to science.
The Conversation • 5 Mar 2026
What this year’s Tropfest winning film tells us about mothers in the screen industry
Lianne Mackessy’s Crescendo won top prize – a significant personal and industry milestone.
The Conversation • 2 Feb 2026
Does coffee raise your blood pressure? Here’s how much it’s OK to drink
You’ve probably noticed your heart rate increases after you start drinking your morning coffee. But the impact on blood pressure is more complicated.
The Conversation • 13 Jan 2026
The Pout-Pout Fish visually exemplifies contemporary animation – but something is lost in translation
The much beloved and best-selling picture book series The Pout-Pout Fish comes to the big screen, with mixed results.
The Conversation • 31 Dec 2025
How baseball helped shape Japanese migrants’ experiences during the White Australia policy
The century-old story of Sydney’s Nippon Baseball Club offers insights into the lives of Asian migrants during the White Australia policy.
The Conversation • 17 Dec 2025
Is democracy the worst form of government – apart from all the others? We asked 5 experts
Recent studies have shown declining levels of trust in democratic systems. We asked experts to consider democracy’s strengths and weaknesses.
The Conversation • 2 Dec 2025
Giving men a common antidepressant could help tackle domestic violence: world-first study
A commonly prescribed antidepressant has sparked a reduction in domestic violence reoffending among highly impulsive, violent men.
The Conversation • 27 Nov 2025
How England’s Premier League is trying to stop football’s financial arms race – without a salary cap
The Premier League’s new financial rules shift focus from backward-looking accounting to real-time cost control.
The Conversation • 11 Nov 2025
Is your child’s school using generative AI? Here are 8 questions to ask
While parents may be hearing about AI in their work or in the news, they may not realise it is also being introduced into their child’s classrooms.
The Conversation • 7 Nov 2025
Will the US Supreme Court consider a request to overturn same-sex marriage?
Given the more conservative configuration of the Supreme Court today, the court decision that legalised same-sex marriage cannot be taken for granted.
The Conversation • 3 Nov 2025
‘Wog’ humour, tense US politics and real-world monsters: what to watch in November
Standouts this month include the latest season of The Diplomat, addictive British reality TV and a political thriller starring Rebecca Ferguson.
The Conversation • 13 Oct 2025
What is gingivitis? How do I know if I have it?
Here are some tell-tale signs of gingivitis, and what to do about this common type of gum disease.
The Conversation
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