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There’s dedication, and then there’s the story of Tim Friede, who spent 18 years injecting himself with increasing doses of various snake venoms, all in the name of science. He nearly died several times. The result is a new, more broadly applicable antivenom derived from the “super antibodies” in Friede’s blood.
It’s hard to imagine what it would feel like to be so committed to such a project – after all, we can never really know exactly what someone else is experiencing. In fact, we don’t even know what makes us conscious and able to experience things at all. Recently, two big theories of consciousness were pitted against each other, but there’s still no winner.
Speaking of winners, you may have come across the aggravating meme that asks: who would win in a fight, 100 men or 1 gorilla? It’s a frivolous question, sure, but it does provide an opportunity to reflect on human evolution – and what our majestic and endangered distant cousins, the gorillas, can teach us about ourselves.
Until next week,
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Signe Dean
Science + Technology Editor
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Christina N. Zdenek, The University of Queensland; Timothy N.W. Jackson, The University of Melbourne
A man spent 18 years injecting himself with venom, almost dying more than once – and now his blood is behind a new snakebite treatment.
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Tim Bayne, Monash University
When it comes to consciousness, theories are like toothbrushes. Everybody has their own and nobody wants to use anybody else’s.
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Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University
Beyond the jokes and memes, this silly debate provides an opportunity to reflect on human evolution.
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Sue Hand, UNSW Sydney; Camilo López-Aguirre, University of Toronto; Laura A. B. Wilson, Australian National University; Robin Beck, University of Salford
A controversial idea suggests the ancestors of echidnas were more like the platypus. For the first time, fossil evidence might support it.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Stories from the front line of the US government’s attack on federal science funding. Listen to The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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Our most-read science articles this week
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Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Swinburne University of Technology
Whatever caused the blackout in Spain and Portugal, it highlights the vulnerabilities in some electricity grids.
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Tegan Cohen, Queensland University of Technology
Political parties are exempt from many of the regulations about spam and unsolicited marketing – and it’s unlikely to change.
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Ben Singh, University of South Australia; Ashleigh E. Smith, University of South Australia
Habits are more like planting seeds than flipping switches. They take time, care and patience to grow.
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Monica Gagliano, Southern Cross University; Prudence Gibson, UNSW Sydney
During a solar eclipse in a forest in Italy’s Dolomites region, scientists seized the chance to explore a fascinating question.
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More of this week's coverage
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Anna Skarbek, Monash University; Anna Malos, Monash University
In its previous term, Labor laid the groundwork for stronger climate action. Now, in an expanded majority government, it has the chance to capitalise.
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Mia Cobb, The University of Melbourne
It’s the dirty secret of dog ownership nobody wants to talk about.
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Jay Deagon, CQUniversity Australia; Gemma Mann, CQUniversity Australia
It’s a common hack, but it can easily fail you – here’s why.
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Caitlyn Forster, University of Sydney; Melissa Humphries, University of Adelaide
iNaturalist might turn out to be an important part of the murder trial, but how else can observations of plants and animals be used?
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Celeste Rodriguez Louro, The University of Western Australia
AI models too often produce a monolithic version of English that erases variation.
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Milad Haghani, The University of Melbourne; Abbas Rajabifard, The University of Melbourne; Benny Chen, The University of Melbourne
By 2050, the majority of the world’s population will live in cities. So how do we make them as liveable as possible?
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Phoebe Williams, University of Sydney; Archana Koirala, University of Sydney
Measles cases are rising in Australia and globally. Two paediatric infectious disease experts answer some key questions.
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