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Editor's note
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If you’re an Aussie parent, you’re probably very familiar with the ABC Kids program Bluey, which follows the adventures of a six-year-old blue heeler puppy and her family. The show is a gem of Australian art, and as our authors write, its messages are remarkably consistent with scientific literature on parenting – from the importance of play to using emotions as an opportunity for learning and connection. At the very least, time spent watching Bluey might impart some nuggets of parenting wisdom.
And for some truly old-school parenting, a new study of 2-million-year-old fossil teeth reveals that Australopithecus africanus – one of our early evolutionary ancestors – breastfed their children for up to 6 years. As Renaud Joannes-Boyau and colleagues explain, the habit was so calorifically costly that it may have contributed to that species’ extinction.
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Rosanna Hunt
Deputy Editor: Arts + Culture
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Top story
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Bluey is not just a TV success story - it also contains important parenting wisdom.
IMDB
Koa Whittingham, The University of Queensland; Amy Mitchell, The University of Queensland; Ben Mitchell, The University of Queensland
Children's show Bluey is not just a gem of Australian art - its messages are also remarkably consistent with scientific literature on parenting.
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The teeth in these Australopithecus africanus skulls contain important evidence about the nutrition of these individuals as they grew up.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau
Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University; Ian Moffat, Flinders University; Justin W. Adams, Monash University; Luca Fiorenza, Monash University
A new study shows the enigmatic hominin species Australopithecus africanus may have breastfed young for around 5-6 years – a very costly practice for the mother.
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Target, Cotton On, Jeanswest, Dangerfield, IKEA and H&M are among the brands in Australia sourcing cotton from Xinjiang.
www.shutterstock.com
Yvette Selim, University of Technology Sydney
The prospect of China using forced labour to supply foreign companies highlights the importance of modern slavery laws.
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It’s quicker to use hand sanitiser than soap and water, which means people might be more likely to use it.
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Trent Yarwood, The University of Queensland
Washing your hands helps protect against the flu. So it makes sense for governments to make hand sanitisers available in public places.
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Business + Economy
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Zsuzsanna Csereklyei, RMIT University
An eight year study of half hourly prices finds that wind and solar generation have been pushing wholesale electricity prices down.
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Nary Hong, UNSW
Help with reading and writing increases the probability of receiving the Disability Support Pension by about 20%.
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Environment + Energy
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Matt Herring, Charles Darwin University; Kerstin Zander, Charles Darwin University; Stephen Garnett, Charles Darwin University; Wayne A. Robinson, Charles Sturt University
The endangered Australasian bittern offers a way past the 'farmers vs environmentalist' debate in the Murray-Darling basin.
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Cities
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Todd Denham, RMIT University; Jago Dodson, RMIT University
While governments focus on how to ease congestion and make affordable housing more accessible for workers in our biggest cities, fast rail could be a mixed blessing for regional cities.
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Science + Technology
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Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland
The short answer is yes, but it’s really, really difficult.
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João Teixeira, University of Adelaide
New research outlines how the ancestors of modern humans interbred with several archaic human groups on the passage from Africa to Australia.
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Caitlin Syme, The University of Queensland
When the first Jurassic Park film came out, we didn’t know which dinosaurs had feathers. But a few years later, a very important discovery was made that changed our thinking on how dinosaurs looked.
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Politics + Society
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Joyce Y.M. Nip, University of Sydney
Pro-Beijing media used different messages to target specific audiences inside and outside China during the Hong Kong protests, but each had the same goal – putting the right spin on the news.
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Ahmar Mahboob, University of Sydney
Researchers have warned about the reliability of voice evidence in criminal cases. Yet, there are few legal guidelines on the use of such evidence in court.
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Health + Medicine
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Philip Russo, Monash University; Brett Mitchell, University of Newcastle
A surprising number of people are catching pneumonia or urinary tract infections in hospital, a new Australian study shows for the first time.
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Featured jobs
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RMIT University — Point Cook, Victoria
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CSIRO — Sydney, New South Wales
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Children's Medical Research Institute — Westmead, New South Wales
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Griffith University — Bundall, Queensland
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Featured events
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Level 5, Corporate Centre, 121 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Australia New Zealand School of Government
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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Level 12, Tower 2, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia — Deakin University
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The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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