Natasha Mitchell

Gene drives have the potential to eradicate feral mice and malaria. But scientists are treading carefully, warning the radical new science could have unintended consequences.

In China, there’s a growing black market peddling fake research papers, fake peer reviews, and even entirely fake research results to anyone who will pay. Does the rise of fake and fraudulent science threaten the future of research?

Women in science say bad behaviour by prominent professors is often hushed up. Now, there are calls for the agencies that fund Australian university scientists to help hit sexual harassers where it hurts — in their wallet and on their CVs.

Resurrection biology is getting a considerable boost from new technologies. But would the woolly mammoth and Tasmanian tiger be happy living in the 21st century?

When Lolita was 14, she wrote in her diary: “Please, can someone give me a uterus?”. Little did she know her plea would be answered 18 years later, thanks to a group of Swedish scientists pioneering uterus transplant surgery, and a donation from her own sister.

Aboriginal-led research can benefit communities and change the way science is done. So how do we get more kids interested?

Artist A.G. survived. Now the fossil fuel industry is in the cross-hairs. Correction: The President of the Philippines in 2013 was Benigno Aquino III.

A growing number of previously healthy people identify as having ‘long COVID’, a bewildering array of symptoms that continue months after the initial, acute signs of infection.

The world has watched on aghast as one of the world’s richest nations, the US, has failed to protect its citizens from COVID-19. In contrast, one of the world’s poorer nations has become a shining star in containing it. How?

Few scientists can say they grew up in a notorious sect or spiritual movement. But then, nothing about Archa Fox’s childhood was typical.

Scientists want the rules governing the use of human embryos to change, saying they are stopping potentially life-changing research that could provide insights into what causes miscarriages and congenital anomalies.

Damning new analysis suggests gender bias in Australia’s funding system may be forcing skilled medical scientists out of research.

Meet the neuroscientist turned bestselling rom-com novelist who’s exposing the underbelly of science, the passion, and the power games.

Leading computer scientist and co-founder of Black in A.I, Dr Timnit Gebru, was hired by Google to co-lead its Ethical AI team with another tech industry trailblazer Dr Margaret Mitchell. The team investigated the ethics of artificial intelligence to understand and prevent its potential harms. Timnit was the first Black woman the company had employed in a research scientist role. Then Google terminated her contract sparking an international outcry. Some 7000 industry colleagues and others, i…

“Are they a girl or a boy?” That question is often asked about a newborn. But what if you’re born with genetic variations in sexual development, also known as intersex conditions, and possess both typical male and female physical traits? New legislation tabled in the ACT is set to limit the scope of medical treatments and surgeries for such children. Intersex activists have campaigned hard for the law saying the human rights of the child to bodily autonomy is paramount. But some argue not all li…

To write history is to omit. The historical archive is the end-product of a series of choices, and in the wash, particular voices get privileged over others. But around the globe, historians are attempting to identify the gaps in ‘official’ history, and in so doing, understand how and why they were created. Santilla Chingaipe is among them. Her recent work has told the stories of the hundreds of convicts of African descent transported to Australia during colonial rule. In her 2023 EW Cole Lectu…

Women and girls in Iran continue to take to the streets and protest gender oppression and human rights abuses. And too often they risk their lives for this fight. Iranian-born human rights advocate Nazanin Boniadi has used her public profile as an actress to campaign in solidarity with the people of Iran. For that, she’s been honoured with the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize. The ‘Women, Life, Freedom’ movement has demonstrated the unifying power and potential of women’s rights as a lever for mobilisati…

Different generations agree that youth mental health is in decline, but disagree about the causes. We explore generational attitudes to the economic and social drivers of mental ill-health in young people.

How valuable are trees as an alternative crop? And what’s the role of agroforestry in the future of sustainable farming?

Join host Natasha Mitchell and guests for some straight talk that cuts through spin and jargon. Has the way politicians speak ever made you shout at the television, feel bamboozled, helpless,  or shut out of democratic debate over our shared future? Pollie-talk can make important issues opaque, the inequitable seem fair, and the fair seem inequitable. Hear from Richard Denniss (author of Econobabble: How to decode political spin and economic nonsense), Yanis Varoufakis (author of Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism),  Joelle Gergis (author of Humanity's Moment: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope) and Thomas Keneally (Schindler's List).