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Editor's note
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Just before lunchtime yesterday, Darwin was jolted by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake, prompting offices in the CBD to be evacuated. The epicentre was some 700 away to the north in the Banda Sea off Indonesia. But despite the distance, the quake rocked Darwin hard, because it occurred within the same tectonic plate, rather than directly at the boundary between two neighbouring plates. As Brendan Duffy and Mark Quigley explain (with the help of an
excellent metaphor involving sliced cheese), the tectonic plate in this zone is literally tearing itself apart.
Many of us have now had our flu shots for this year. People often say they feel unwell in the days after getting the jab – they’ll even tell you the vaccine has given them the flu. But that’s not how it works. As Allen Cheng and Katherine Kedzierska explain, the vaccine introduces a small, inactive dose of the flu strain, thereby stimulating a response from our immune system. That way, if we’re exposed to the flu virus for real, our immune
systems will be better prepared to fight it. This “practise” immune response is one reason we can feel a bit off after the flu shot. But any symptoms will be milder than the real thing, and won’t last as long.
We are nearing the end of the financial year, and we need just 359 more people to donate to hit the magic number of 10,000 donors. A big thanks to everyone who has been so kind and generous in supporting our work so far. And if you’re thinking you’d like to jump onboard, there is no time like right now. Please donate here.
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Michael Hopkin
Environment + Energy Editor
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Top story
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The quake prompted several buildings to be evacuated in central Darwin.
Shutterstock.com/sljones
Brendan Duffy, University of Melbourne; Mark Quigley, University of Melbourne
Because it happened within the Australian Plate rather than at a plate boundary, shockwaves from the quake travelled more efficiently to Darwin than to cities closer to the epicentre.
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You might feel a bit off after your flu shot but this doesn’t last long.
Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock
Allen Cheng, Monash University; Katherine Kedzierska, University of Melbourne
The flu vaccine takes about two weeks to start working and only protects against influenza, so you can still get sick from other viruses after your flu shot.
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Health + Medicine
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Tom Ross, University of Tasmania
When several milk brands were recalled last week due to the presence of E. coli, people were concerned. But the recall is a sign that dairy surveillance systems are working as they should be.
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Politics + Society
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Alex Reilly, University of Adelaide
With parliament sitting next week, the home affairs minister is pressuring Labor to support a repeal of the medevac law. But the law has worked just as it was intended.
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Phoebe Bailey, Western Sydney University
Research shows that older people tend to be more trusting than young people, for reasons related to experience and the ageing process.
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Science + Technology
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Donell Holloway, Edith Cowan University
Companies scrutinise our online likes, dislikes, searches and purchases to produce data that can be used commercially. And it's often done without us understanding the full extent of the surveillance.
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Education
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Pi-Shen Seet, Edith Cowan University; Ann-Louise Hordacre, Flinders University; Janice Jones, Flinders University; John Spoehr, Flinders University
Training providers and employers aren't adapting fast enough to meet the skill needs thrown up by the fourth industrial revolution.
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Business + Economy
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John Hawkins, University of Canberra
A former senior economist with the Reserve Bank of Australia doubts Facebook's cryptocurrency will take control of monetary policy away from central banks.
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Environment + Energy
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Matt Curnock, CSIRO; Scott Heron, James Cook University
Severe coral bleaching may have been the crucial factor in bringing home the reality of climate change for many people.
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Samantha Nixon, The University of Queensland; Andrew Walker, The University of Queensland
Human eyes are very complex and are good at doing many jobs at once, while spiders have different sorts of eyes that do different jobs.
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Arts + Culture
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Julie Shiels, RMIT University
This major exhibition examines Tasmania’s overlooked history of dispossession and frontier war.
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Featured jobs
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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Featured events
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