Biggest astronomical discovery since gravitational waves

Editor's note

In a remote part of Western Australia’s desert sits a table-sized piece of equipment. It has now detected a radio signal from the first stars to form in our universe, just 180 million years after the Big Bang.

But what’s got astronomers even more excited is that this early star formation could have involved some interaction between the mass we know, and the mysterious dark matter - meaning it could help us better understand dark matter.

Astronomer Karl Glazebrook says it’s the most important astronomical discovery since the detection of gravitational waves.

Michael Lund

Deputy Editor: Science + Technology

Top story

An artist’s rendering of how the first stars in the universe may have looked. N.R. Fuller, National Science Foundation

Signal detected from the first stars in the universe, with a hint that dark matter was involved

Karl Glazebrook, Swinburne University of Technology

Signals from the first stars to form in the universe have been picked up by a table-sized detector in a west Australian desert. The find also hints at an early interaction with dark matter.

Science + Technology
How art merges with maths to explore continuity, change and exotic states Tom Lee, University of Technology Sydney Art can help us explore and understand some of the more abstract ideas in maths - such a topology.

Politics + Society

Federal government's foreign donations bill is flawed and needs to be redrafted

Anne Twomey, University of Sydney

If the purpose of this bill is to prevent foreign donations from influencing elections, it manifestly does not achieve that outcome.
More money may be pouring into women’s sport, but there's still a dearth of female coaches

Fraser Carson, Deakin University; Julia Walsh, Deakin University

Despite participation rates in women’s sport growing exponentially in recent years, the number of women in coaching positions has remained frustratingly stagnant.

Health + Medicine

Yo-yo dieting doesn't necessarily make you heavier in the long run

Claire Madigan, University of Sydney; Wendy Brown, The University of Queensland

We found that over 12 years, women who had an unhealthy weight and had yo-yoed didn't gain more weight than women who had never yo-yoed.
Mould levels seen at Nauru detention centre are enough to cause serious health problems

Michael Taylor, Flinders University

Several factors play a part when determining what kind of risk high levels of mould exposure can pose to human health.

FactCheck
FactCheck: do women in Tasmania have access to safe abortions? Angela Dawson, University of Technology Sydney In Hobart supporting the Tasmanian Greens ahead of the state election, Greens leader Richard Di Natale said 'in one of our states, women are not getting access to safe terminations'. Is that correct?

Business + Economy
Why we put money into bizarre cryptocurrencies like ponzicoin and cryptokitties Brendan Markey-Towler, The University of Queensland When we lust for riches, fear being left behind and identify strongly with some moral cause all at once, reason and willpower don't really stand a chance.

Education

How philanthropy could change higher education funding

Mark Dodgson, The University of Queensland

For universities in Australia to get the most out of philanthropic donations, they need to develop persuasive cases for giving, and work with staff, communities and donors towards shared goals.
Margaret Gardner: freezing university funding is out of step with the views of most Australians

Margaret Gardner, Monash University

The freeze on university funding not only limits opportunities for students, it puts limitations on the communities unis serve, the economy, and business interested in forming collaborations.
Four ideas for reforming higher education policy-making

Gavin Moodie, RMIT University

Practical ways forward for higher education policy reform include fixing the dysfunctional relationship between higher and vocational education or government-sponsored analysis of the future of work.

Cities
Growth pains and gridlock come to Hobart, and building more roads is not the best way out Emma Pharo, University of Tasmania; Jason Byrne, University of Tasmania Hobart is a smaller city with big city problems that have become an election issue. Recent growth is creating traffic congestion that affects productivity, residents' health and liveability.

Arts + Culture

The VR film Carriberrie is a vital face-to-face experience of threatened Indigenous culture

Kate Gwynne, UNSW

A new virtual reality film showing at the Australian Museum immerses viewers in remote Indigenous communities. Such films can be a path to reconciliation and understanding.
The Second Woman: a 24-hour lesson in the gendered performance of intimacy

Annamarie Jagose, University of Sydney; Lee Wallace, University of Sydney

In The Second Woman, actor Nat Randall replays the same scene, across 24 hours, with 100 different men. Leaving the audience to join her on stage is a thought-provoking experience.