Drew Rooke

Who would win in a fight between 100 men and 1 gorilla? An evolutionary expert weighs in Beyond the jokes and memes, this silly debate provides an opportunity to reflect on human evolution.

Science has the answers to life's biggest questions:

theconversation.com/who-would-wi...

A square canvas. Only the top corner is filled with Harings distinctive figures, rendered in Lavender, the rest is blank.

Keith Haring died of AIDS aged 31 on 16 Feb 1990.
One of his last works, Unfinished Painting, was deliberately incomplete, reflecting the devastating, unquantifiable loss to the arts due to AIDS.
#LGBTplusHistoryMonth

Lethal second-generation rat poisons are killing endangered quolls and Tasmanian devils Second generation rat poisons are so potent that they’re banned for home use in Europe and North America. But here, you can pick them up at Bunnings or Coles.

For 7 years we have been studying how rat poisons affect native wildlife. Our initial work focussed on owls, then we found it in reptiles and today we have released our world first study showing it is killing Australia’s threatened quolls and the Tasmanian Devil. theconversation.com/lethal-secon...

An ‘earthquake swarm’ is shaking Santorini. It could persist for months Several thousand earthquakes have been recorded near the Greek island since late January. So why is this happening?

@deeninis.bsky.social and Konstantinos Michailos with an excellent explainer about the current earthquake emergency in Santorini:

Planes have high-tech systems to stop midair crashes. So what went wrong in Washington?

A Traffic Collision Avoidance System – or TCAS – isn’t designed to work at low altitudes.

Just as Zverev is about to speak at the trophy ceremony, a woman repeatedly shouts:

“Australia Believes Olya and Brenda! Australia Believes Olya and Brenda!”

Broke through the silence.

#AusOpen

Bishop confronts Trump on immigration and gay rights: ‘They fear for their lives’ YouTube video by Guardian News

A speech for the ages:

Spin has transformed modern-day tennis. Here’s the physics behind it The physics underlying the effect of topspin and backspin are best explained by what’s known as the ‘Magnus effect’.

Here's one for the tennis fans out there – the science behind the spectacle of the Aus Open

Social media platforms are throttling access to news – with far-reaching implications for democracy There is still public hunger for reliable and trustworthy information. This should give news media outlets hope – and inspire them to invest in new ways to reach audiences.

A great rundown of the tools some other social media platforms have been using to limit access to news.

All of my favourites!

How can Australia actually keep young people off social media and porn sites? A new trial will test 3 options The trial is testing age verification, age estimation and age inference. All three options come with problems.

@tobycmurray.bsky.social explains how the Australian government's social media ban might actually work:

Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 just became law. How it will work remains a mystery The ban won’t take effect for at least 12 months. But key details about it are still missing – including how social media platforms will actually verify users’ age.

It's official:

Minerals in hot springs performed a key chemical reaction for early life on Earth, new study confirms The experiment involved custom-building a small chamber that simulated hot spring environments on early Earth.

The experiment involved custom-building a small chamber that simulated hot spring environments on early Earth.

Hippophooray!

Four unique women shared a common fate. It's our national shame Eight more Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory are dead this year with barely been a pip in parliament or national media. Have we become desensitised to the violence?

This is an excellent analysis of a horrific problem. Will Australia listen?

A milestone legal case from 35 years ago holds important lessons for how courts deal with scientific evidence today The 1989 trial of Desmond Applebee shows the challenge of interrogating novel scientific evidence – a challenge that persists in Australia today.

The 1989 trial of Desmond Applebee shows the challenge of interrogating novel scientific evidence – a challenge that persists in Australia today.

Banning under-16s from social media may be unconstitutional – and ripe for High Court challenge This bill may well fall foul of the implied freedom of political communication by cutting children out of large parts of social media conversation.

@profsarahj.bsky.social explains why the federal government's social media ban for under 16s might be unconstitutional: theconversation.com/banning-unde...

A note from the Editor of The Conversation, Misha Ketchell. You’re here on social media, so you know that things are looking increasingly shaky for democracy globally. Misinformation circulates freely and populist currents are intensifying. Here at The Conversation, we do things differently. We team academics with journalists to deliver research-based news and analysis. Our stories are accurate, unbiased and free. Because we give away our work for free we need your help to secure our team into the future. This month we need 750 new supporters to join us. Can you help?

We need 750 new supporters, can you help us? tinyurl.com/4zkt459c

Science continues to exclude Indigenous communities. Fixing this benefits everyone A recent summit in Canada tackled the challenge of how science can be more inclusive and better engage Indigenous communities.

A recent summit in Canada tackled the challenge of how science can be more inclusive and better engage Indigenous communities.

The government has introduced laws for its social media ban. But key details are still missing The ban will affect platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. But the bill is vague about how exactly these platforms must comply.

theconversation.com/the-governme...

@antmandan.bsky.social from @qutdmrc.bsky.social explains what is – and isn't – in the new social media ban bill.

Guest column | I taught rats to drive, but they taught me to enjoy the ride Unexpectedly, we found that the rats had an intense motivation for their driving training.

#DYK that The Conversation gives away all our journalism for free syndication under a @creativecommons.bsky.social license (as well as being available for free on our website)?

100s of news sites and newspapers use our stories each month.

🧵 So you may have read our stories on national websites…

Terrible news today:

This year, one-third of coral cover has been destroyed in two northern sections of the Great Barrier reef due to anthropogenic heating.

Results for the southern sections (which were even hotter) have not been officially released.

www.aims.gov.au/information-...

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