Editor's note
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Some people fall for April Fool’s Day pranks, fake news, and every known marketing scam, while others see straight through them. So, are some people more gullible than others? Or is there something you can do to see through the deception? Joseph Forgas explores the science of gullibility – but will you believe him?
We’ve also launched a new column, where economist Saul Eslake will examine how economic shifts shape our everyday lives. In this week’s Saul’s Call, he explains why the levers to reduce the risk of an increasingly hot property market aren’t working.
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Health + Medicine
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Lies, pranks and April Fool’s Day jokes show how gullible we can sometimes be.
from www.shutterstock.com
Joseph Paul Forgas, UNSW
Why do some people fall for the lamest April Fool's pranks and others see straight through them?
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A potential anti-ageing drug is likely to be more effective at maintaining health than extending lifespan.
Christina Gottardi/Unsplash
Lindsay Wu, UNSW
The true promise of ageing research is that rather than tackling individual diseases one at a time, a single drug to treat ageing would treat all of the diseases that arise in old age, at once.
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Business + Economy
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APRA and its chairman Wayne Bryes may be more prescriptive on lending rules in an attempt to curb rising house prices.
Mich Tsikas/AAP
Saul Eslake, University of Tasmania
The government's unwillingness to consider changing the tax system to fix housing affordability makes it more likely that APRA may have to become even more prescriptive with its lending criteria.
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Reducing wages of Australia’s lowest-paid workers will only worsen the existing economic situation.
Dan Peled/AAP
John Buchanan, University of Sydney
Employer groups are calling for a cut in real wages for low paid workers, but this would only exacerbate current problems.
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Education
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All schools were closed throughout south-east Queensland due to severe rain.
Dave Hunt/AAP
Brendon Hyndman, Southern Cross University
Bad weather conditions often force schools to make unplanned closures.
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Women and early career academics are more likely to take up these teaching-only roles.
from www.shutterstock.com
Dawn Bennett, Curtin University; Lynne Roberts, Curtin University; Subramaniam Ananthram, Curtin University
Teaching-only positions are perceived as second class, with few opportunities for research or career progression.
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Energy + Environment
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Hazelwood in happier times.
Centre for Gippsland Studies
Erik Eklund, Federation University Australia
Hazelwood power station will this week fall silent after a half-century during which it went from a beacon of progress to an emblem of fossil fuel pollution.
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Cyclone Debbie looms over Queensland on Monday afternoon March 27.
EPA
Liz Ritchie-Tyo, UNSW
The category 4 cyclone - the fifth storm of this year's season, and the strongest so far - has buffeted the Queensland coast across a wide area centred on Airlie Beach.
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Cities
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People with intellectual disability face so many barriers to finding a home of their own that it’s hard to pick one.
shutterstock
Piers Gooding, University of Melbourne
Think it's hard for first-home buyers? Ask people with an intellectual disability about it.
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The biggest risk to cities during cyclones comes from storm surge and rainfall – all the water has to go somewhere.
Dan Peled/AAP
Rob Roggema, University of Technology Sydney
Cities would suffer much less damage and avoid the huge financial losses if we designed them to cope with the effects of cyclones.
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Politics + Society
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Despite our geographical distance, Britain leaving the EU will affect Australia substantially.
EPA/Aly Song
Ben Wellings, Monash University
For Australia, Brexit is the diplomatic equivalent of moving into a shared house with a divorcing couple.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
In his latest Quarterly Essay, journalist David Marr delves into why Pauline Hanson attracts so much attention.
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Arts + Culture
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A cross stitch recreation of Nirvana’s classic album cover by Mr X Stitch.
Jamie Chalmers/flickr
Sally Breen, Griffith University
Nirvana's Nevermind was emblematic of the 1990s. But in today's fragmented digital age, can anyone nominate an album that defines the first or second decade of the 21st century?
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Augustin Burdet (engraver) French active (19th century) Victor Marie Picot (after) Cupid and Psyche (c. 1817) engraving.
39.9 x 49.2 cm (image), 49.4 x 57.5 cm (sheet) National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1927 (3506-3)
Patricia Simons, University of Michigan
In early modern times, wooing happened at balls and markets and in churches; while sex was obtained in bathhouses, inns, brothels and alleyways. Art tells the story.
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Science + Technology
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William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) entering a Holodeck simulation.
Star Trek/Screenshot/Memory Alpha
Fabio Zambetta, RMIT University
The technology needed to create a real Star Trek-like Holodeck is not that far out of reach.
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How risky is it to swim?
Christine Cabalo/Wikimedia
Ben Newell, UNSW; Chris Donkin, UNSW; Dan Navarro, UNSW
We naturally overestimate the risk of rare events, like shark attacks or terrorism. But there are things you can do to think more rationally about the real risk.
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Featured jobs
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Swinburne University of Technology — Hawthorn, Victoria
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RMIT University — Singapore, Singapore
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Murdoch University — Murdoch, Western Australia
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UNSW Sydney — Kensington, New South Wales
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Featured events
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Abercrombie Business School LT 1040, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Swinburne University of Technology
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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The Wheeler Centre, 176 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Swinburne University of Technology
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