Zoom out news, research and analysis - the conversation

March 11, 2020 Geoffrey Mann, _RMIT University_; Paul R. Cerotti, _RMIT University_, and Vince Bruno, _RMIT University_ Remote working is about to surge as companies around the world advise

employees to stay away in response to the coronavirus outbreak. But nothing beats the effectiveness of face-to-face interactions. July 9, 2019 Alice Gorman, _Flinders University_ In the

future we might get sick of hearing people tell their stories about going to the Moon. Perhaps the Moon will just be like thinking about today’s Antarctica – a remote but accessible place.

June 21, 2019 Justin Zobel, _The University of Melbourne_ In just three decades we’ve gone from a very limited internet connection in Australia to now sharing our lives online. May 9, 2019

Julian Savulescu, _University of Oxford_ Athlete Caster Semenya will need to take hormone-lowering agents, or have surgery, if she wishes to continue her career in her chosen events. But the

decision to ban her is flawed on many grounds. April 25, 2019 Cathal D. O'Connell, _The University of Melbourne_ The ancient question ‘Are we alone?’ has graduated from being a

philosophical musing to a testable hypothesis. We should be prepared for an answer. December 11, 2018 Merlin Crossley AM, _UNSW Sydney_ Genome editing technology has, and will always have,

limits. Limits that are related not to the technology itself but to the intrinsic complexity of the human genome. November 26, 2018 Paulo de Souza, _CSIRO_ Mars has long captured our

imagination, from claims of canals to Martian attacks and now our latest NASA exploration to look inside the red planet. November 16, 2018 Steven Tingay, _Curtin University_ We will never

see ‘Oumuamua again, and we may never know exactly what it is. But with the right kind of media coverage it could inspire some kids to take up a career in science. November 2, 2018 Gilby

Jepson, _University of Adelaide_; Alan Collins, _University of Adelaide_, and Jack Gillespie, _University of Adelaide_ Setting the scene for ancient Silk Road trading and now China’s Belt

and Road initiative, the Tianshan has changed humanity. Geological evidence shows us how this incredible mountain range formed. October 11, 2018 Amy Prendergast, _The University of

Melbourne_ Archaeologists are trash sifters. They use clues preserved in artefacts, plant and animal remains that people threw away or left behind to reconstruct the past. September 27, 2018

John Long, _Flinders University_ Travel from Perth to Melbourne and every kilometre you go represents 100 million years of life on Earth. So let’s take a ride, on a motorcycle of course.

September 20, 2018 Jenny Graves, _La Trobe University_ There are many cultural and social factors involved in making a baby into a man or a woman. But biologically speaking, sex starts when

you’re just a tiny group of cells in your mother’s uterus. July 5, 2018 Jim Bowler, _The University of Melbourne_ It’s been half a century since Jim Bowler discovered Mungo Lady, which

changed the course of Australian history. But now he says the find has fallen off the national radar, leaving a legacy of shame. June 10, 2018 Will J Grant, _Australian National University_

and Rod Lamberts, _Australian National University_ Life in the human herd is complex, and we are unavoidably inter-dependent when it comes to our health. Population health science looks at

the things that cause ill-health in the first place. May 23, 2018 Sarah Hamylton, _University of Wollongong_ and Rachelle Balez, _University of Wollongong_ This year 77 women took part in

the largest all-female expedition to Antarctica as part of a leadership training program. Rough weather enroute put group decision-making skills to the test. May 17, 2018 Nicholas Davis,

_Swinburne University of Technology_ and Professor Aleks Subic, _Swinburne University of Technology_ Recent controversies associated with the impact, privacy and security of new technologies

signal that we need better governance. The government alone can’t fix this. This is a job for everyone. May 3, 2018 David Lambert, _Griffith University_ New techniques for genetic analysis

are helping us build more detailed and accurate stories about the ancient histories of the first Australians. April 5, 2018 Christopher Benjamin Menadue, _James Cook University_ Stephen

Hawking raised the public profile of grand science, and speculated about the future of artificial intelligence, as well as contacting aliens. Does science mix easily with science fiction?

March 8, 2018 Darrin Durant, _The University of Melbourne_ Plato suggested we leave complex things to experts and Aristotle suggested we leave them to the people. That tension has carried

through to modern debates about where expertise belongs.