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With 2020 having just ten days left to run, many of us will be glad to see the back of it. It’s hard to remember a year in recent history that has been more turbulent and troubling than the one we’ve just lived.
But that will all be behind us once the clock ticks over to midnight on December 31, right?
Well no, writes Melissa Conley Tyler, as we - and much of the world - will still be preoccupied with many of the same issues as this year, particularly the three “C"s.
First, there’s coronavirus, and while the roll-out of vaccines globally offers cause for hope, we need to see how equally they are distributed and how well individual countries can recover from the effects of the pandemic.
Second is China, and whether there will be any detente between the two countries, and also with the US.
Third is climate, which is where Joe Biden’s election win in the US will have the greatest effect on Australia - he has already pledged to rejoin the Paris Agreement and convene a world climate summit within the first 100 days of his administration.
There will be other crises, of course - there always are - but perhaps 2021 will also see us make some headway on the issues that never go away, and are right on our doorstep, including entrenched inequality.
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Amanda Dunn
Section Editor: Politics + Society
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Climate change will continue to be one of the world’s greatest challenges in 2021.
AAP/AP/David Goldman
Melissa Conley Tyler, University of Melbourne
Which countries emerge best from the pandemic, and how the world tackles the climate crisis, will be among the defining features of global politics in the coming year.
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Dean Lewins/AAP
Catherine Bennett, Deakin University
The cluster in Sydney's northern beaches is likely linked to a US strain of the virus. But no one knows how it got there.
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Kateryna Kon/Shutterstock
Lucy van Dorp, UCL
All your questions about the new coronavirus variant, answered by a microbial genomics researcher.
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Jacinda Ardern after claiming victory on election night in October 2020.
Getty Images
Richard Shaw, Massey University
The pandemic delivered a political year like no other. The risk now is that the country returns to a 'normal' that wasn't working to start with.
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Shutterstock
Claus T. Christophersen, Edith Cowan University
If your gut is healthy to begin with, it will take more to knock it out of whack. Prepare yourself now by making food choices that feed the microbiome and enhance gut health.
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This is Noojee, a joey koala who was rehabilitated in Healesville Sanctuary after being hit by a car.
Healesville Sanctuary
Marissa Parrott, University of Melbourne
As the holiday season begins after months of reduced travel, wildlife hospitals are braced for a new wave of admissions.
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Science + Technology
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Chris James, The University of Queensland
We've already sent probes to land on Mars. The challenge now is to get people there and bring them home again.
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Politics + Society
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Lorna Piatti-Farnell, Auckland University of Technology
The Christmas we celebrate today around the world, whether in northern winter or southern summer, has its roots in many cultures and traditions.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The most important changes in Scott Morrison's limited reshuffle are centred on two vital and controversial issues that will severely test the government in coming months.
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Environment + Energy
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Dianne Cook, Monash University
The method, using satellite data and other information, could reduce the work of fire forensics teams after bushfires.
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Health + Medicine
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Catherine Bennett, Deakin University
The cluster in Sydney's northern beaches is likely linked to a US strain of the virus. But no one knows how it got there.
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Kazi Mizanur Rahman, University of Sydney; Holly Seale, UNSW
We still don't know if current vaccines prevent people from transmitting the virus to others. Here's why that matters in 2021.
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