Editor's note
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It may take little effort to read this text – and that’s because, for you, reading is not just easy: it’s automatic. But what you may not realise is that we are not hard-wired to read. In fact, it has taken thousands of years of practice to forge connections in our brains to help us do this. Nicola Bell explains how the brain learns to read, and changes in the process.
Also this week, Australian journalism lost one of its leading lights with the passing of Mark Colvin. His long-time friend and colleague Jim Middleton pays tribute to the Colvin he knew.
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Claire Shaw
Education Editor
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Education
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Learning to read is not actually that easy.
from shutterstock.com
Nicola Bell, The University of Queensland
We are not hard-wired to read. It has taken thousands of years of practice to forge connections in our brains to help us do this.
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Is it fair to make students pay more?
from shutterstock.com
Claire Shaw, The Conversation
Students who take longer to complete their degree will be hit hard by fee hikes.
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Politics + Society
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Mark Colvin spent nearly two decades presenting the ABC’s PM program.
ABC
Jim Middleton, University of Melbourne
Friend and colleague Jim Middleton pays tribute to legendary ABC journalist Mark Colvin, who has died aged 65.
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Striking Fairfax journalists protest out the front of Parliament House, Canberra.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Andrea Carson, University of Melbourne
As the federal government looks to reform media ownership laws, the Australian media environment – in diversity and stability – is looking decidedly shaky.
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Cities
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The public and finance sectors – but not the government, it seems – are questioning the wisdom of investing in infrastructure for projects like the Adani coal mine.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Cynthia Mitchell, University of Technology Sydney; David Singleton, Swinburne University of Technology; Jim Bentley, University of Auckland
If infrastructure is to meet the needs and challenges of an uncertain future, we need to move beyond the AAA ratings mindset and aim for net-positive social and ecological outcomes as well.
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Are the millennials doomed to be nomads, locked out of the home-ownership market forever?
sharon_k/flickr
Briohny Doyle, Deakin University
Owning a home has deep cultural and economic connotations. A home owner is a member of a street, a community. They are a successful adult human. They own a piece of the pie, the dream.
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Science + Technology
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What’s going to happen next in Alien: Covenant?
Twentieth Century Fox
Michael Milford, Queensland University of Technology; Juxi Leitner, Queensland University of Technology
The latest outing of the Alien film franchise pits another human crew against a terrifying enemy. But how does the science stack up?
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The unique tuatara, photographed on Stephens Island, Takapourewa.
Paddy Ryan
Marc Emyr Huw Jones, University of Adelaide
A national icon in New Zealand, tuatara are the only living example of a reptile group that was widespread 60-240 million years ago.
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Health + Medicine
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A controversial editorial has questioned whether saturated fats really clog up your arteries and put you at risk of heart disease. But can it really overturn decades of research?
from www.shutterstock.com
David Richmond Sullivan, University of Sydney; Yutang Wang, Federation University Australia
We need to eat a healthy diet, do some exercise and avoid stress rather than blame saturated fat for heart disease, says a recent editorial. But does the evidence stack up?
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Treating sleep problems first will help in treating anxiety and depression.
Henri Bergius/Flickr
Joanna Waloszek, University of Melbourne; Monika Raniti, University of Melbourne
Sleep problems can lead to anxiety and depression, and vice versa. General improvements to sleep might be beneficial, whether a person has anxiety, depression, or both.
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Environment + Energy
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Workers rebuild a temple damaged during the 2015 earthquake, in Bhaktapur.
Reuters/Navesh Chitrakar
Hemant Ojha, UNSW; Eileen Baldry, UNSW; Krishna K. Shrestha, UNSW
Two years after the second earthquake rocked Nepal in 2015, the recovery efforts have been stalled by political instability and money mismanagement.
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The tropical Pacific has a large say in how fast the world warms.
GTS Productions/Shutterstock.com
Ben Henley, University of Melbourne; Andrew King, University of Melbourne
If the Pacific Ocean enters an 'El Tio' phase, it could speed the world towards 1.5 degrees of global warming, one of the crucial benchmarks of the Paris Climate Agreement.
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Arts + Culture
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The Qantas uniform from 1964-1969, designed by Leon Paule.
Qantas
Prudence Black, University of Sydney
Being an air hostess in the 1960s was a sought after job. But bodies were carefully policed: at Qantas, if a hostess put on too much weight she could be rostered off until she'd lost it.
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Brahms’ piano quartet in G minor was composed for a piano, a violin, a viola and a cello.
kkmarais/Flickr
Peter Roennfeldt, Griffith University
The 29-year old Johannes Brahms had his first major public success with his piano quartet in G minor, but not everyone gave it glowing praise.
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Business + Economy
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There are new requirements for various welfare payment recipients in the latest federal budget.
Jason Reed/Reuters
Peter Whiteford, Australian National University
The government is reinforcing the dichotomy between "them" and "us" with this budget's welfare changes, but it lacks solid evidence of effectiveness.
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Australian Bankers’ Association chief Anna Bligh will have to manage more scrutiny from the ACCC under the new changes.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Harry Scheule, University of Technology Sydney
The budget included a few measures to make the banking sector more competitive, but they don't go far enough.
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Featured jobs
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Featured events
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National Library of Australia Theatre Parkes Pl W Canberra, ACT 2600, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2602, Australia — Australian National University
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National Library of Australia Theatre Parkes Pl W, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, 2600, Australia — Australian National University
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Darlington, Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia — University of Sydney
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