Explainers
Explainer
AFL 2023
Another week, another suspension: Behind the AFL’s crackdown on dangerous tackles
Why are a record number of tackles, once just “part of the game”, ending up before the AFL tribunal – and how’s it changing footy?
- by Michael Gleeson
Latest
Explainer
Submersible search
Death in 20 milliseconds: the catastrophic implosion 4km beneath the sea
How extreme is the pressure in the deep sea, and how can a vessel implode?
- by Angus Dalton and Liam Mannix
Explainer
Sleep
‘Panic began to creep in’: Why do adults sleepwalk, and is it dangerous?
In a twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness, ‘walkers’ go about their strange business. What do scientists know about this unsettling phenomenon, and what can habitual somnambulists tell us?
- by Angus Holland
Explainer
Genetics
‘It’s in your genes’: What can we learn from our DNA?
Did we really inherit that singing voice? What about our maths brain? Some of the answers are in our DNA – but how much can scientists actually tell?
- by Jackson Graham
Series
Science
Rogue waves, the icy poles and hotspots around the world. We explain
In these Explainers, journey with us to far-flung regions (and some closer to home) to understand the tensions shaping our world.
Series
Russia
What is Putin’s endgame? And why do Russians get poisoned? We explain
In these Explainers we’ve delved into the machinations of the Kremlin and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, bringing context to the news and the people behind it.
Series
Drugs
What is deja vu? What’s a panic attack? We explain
Explainers aim to demystify conditions that touch thousands of Australians, and offer insights into the latest research.
Series
Illness
Heart attack, stroke, cancer: What does the latest science say? We explain
World experts tackle myths and misunderstandings about common health issues in our Explainers.
Series
Science
Are time travel and teleporting just pipe dreams? We explain
Dive in as Explainers sift fact from fiction. From de-extincting mammoths to making super soldiers in a lab ... the future is closer than you might think.
Explainer
Illness
Millions of people are battling superbugs. What happens when the drugs don’t work?
They could wipe 20 years off average life expectancy and rock the foundations of modern medicine. What are superbugs? What can we do about them?
- by Henrietta Cook
Explainer
Roberts-Smith case
What it took to win the biggest defamation case in Australia’s history
Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Victoria Cross and Medal of Gallantry winner Ben Roberts-Smith, has lost a landmark defamation case.
- by Michael Bachelard