Our Stories
Study shines light on pointless Vitamin D tests
Blood tests for Vitamin D deficiency in Australian children have increased 30-fold over the past 15 years with no increase in detection.
Please explain: Do sleep apps help with insomnia?
Sleep and relaxation apps have become a popular way to deal with disturbed sleep, but do they really work? Sleep researcher Associate Professor Christopher Gordon says some do – but not all apps are created equal.
Referendum Q & A: Who, what, why and how?
As Australia continues to canvass issues surrounding the Voice proposal, Politics and International Relations scholar Associate Professor Ian Tregenza dissects the democratic lynchpin that is the referendum.
New optical fibre sets world speed record
Macquarie University researchers have been part of a global team who invented an optical fibre the thickness of a human hair which can carry the equivalent of more than 10 million fast home internet connections.
Gut bacteria changes could signal onset of rare genetic disease
New research may have uncovered a relationship between changes in bacteria in the gut and a rare neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects people in a remote Indigenous community in the Northern Territory.
COVID-19 could cause long-term neuron damage: new study
New research has shown that COVID-19 can fuse brain cells together, and could explain brain fog, headaches, loss of taste and smell and other long-term neurological symptoms some patients experience.
Earth's first flower was pollinated by insects: world-first research
For the first time, scientists have been able to trace the origins of how flowers were pollinated more than 140 million years ago.
Please explain: What is a debt ceiling?
Many governments are grappling with burgeoning national debt, accelerated by post-COVID stimulus spending. Economist Dr Ben Zhe Wang from the Macquarie Business School explains what a debt ceiling is and why it is so important.
Bowel cancer rates are rising among younger people
A new study has found that bowel cancer patients under 50 often experience delays in diagnosis, despite rates of bowel cancer markedly increasing in this group in recent decades.
Australian children needed more mental health medications during the pandemic
A new study of general practice data has found there was a rise in the number of prescriptions written for children and adolescents during the pandemic for conditions including depression and anxiety.
Good vs evil: how the urge to win drives gaming decisions
Researchers have built their own computer game to test the impact of meters which give players a morality score for the decisions they make while playing.
Man-made boulders with rock pools dropped into Sydney Harbour
Living boulders containing artificial rock pools installed in Lavender Bay will provide critical habitat for harbour marine animals.