Why does lightning zigzag? At last, we have an answer to the mystery

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Why does lightning zigzag? At last, we have an answer to the mystery Dr John Lowke was a member of the Standards Australia committee that recommended the change to lightning protection standards. Everyone has seen lightning and marvelled at its power. But despite its frequency – about 8.6 million lightning strikes occur worldwide every day – why lightning proceeds in a series of steps from the thundercloud to the earth below has remained a mystery. Continued here

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Ventilation reduces the risk of COVID. So why are we still ignoring it? At the end of the third year of the pandemic, we are no longer surprised to hear we’re in a new wave of infection. It’s fuelled by new sub-variants of the virus that may evade immunity from both vaccination and previous infections. Authorities recommend control measures, but they are “voluntary”. They include wearing a mask, vaccination, testing if you have symptoms and staying home if you test positive, and ventilation. Ventilation is often the last measure listed – as if it’s an afterthought. Continued here

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54% of projects extracting clean energy minerals overlap with Indigenous lands, research reveals Chair of National Native Title Council and Ngalia Cultural Leader | EthnoEcologist, Indigenous Knowledge Deanna is chief investigator of an ARC Linkage grant on public-private inquiries in mining; member of the International Council of Mining and Metals (expert review panel; and trustee and member of the international advisory council for the Institute of Human Rights and Business. She is Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining at The University of Queensland. Continued here

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Half a century on, it's time to reassess the Whitlam government's economic legacy After leading the Australian Labor Party to its first federal election victory in 23 years, Gough Whitlam wasted no time. The Tuesday after his election on December 2 1972, he formed an interim two-man cabinet – a duumvirate – with his deputy Lance Barnard, and set about changing the nation. Continued here

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50 years ago today, Gough Whitlam was elected. There are some lessons for Albanese in what came next Honorary Fellow, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, The University of Melbourne Liam Byrne is a member of the Australian Labor Party. Liam works as the Historian of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, but writes in a personal capacity. Continued here

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Fifty years ago, the new Whitlam government removed the luxury sales tax on the pill. It changed Australian women's lives Amid the scale and sweep of the list of decisions made by the Whitlam government in their first week in office, most people remember the big changes: freeing all draft resisters from prison, or official recognition of Communist China. The removal of the sales tax on the contraceptive pill, and adding it to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which came into effect on December 9 1972, is easily overlooked. Yet this reform was both symbolic and materially important. It signalled to Australian women that their new government would be much more responsive to their demands for reproductive rights and freedoms, and ushered in a wave of feminist reforms under the Whitlam government. Continued here

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On World AIDS Day, Canada must lead the way in combating HIV-AIDS Julio Montaner has received support, paid to his institution, from the BC Ministry of Health, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Genome BC, Vancouver Coastal Health and the VGH Foundation. Institutional grants have been provided by Gilead, Merck and ViiV Healthcare. In 1996, the first remarkable breakthrough against the HIV-AIDS epidemic came with the novel combination of drugs that became known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). Continued here

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Territories free to make their own voluntary assisted dying laws, in landmark decision. Here's what happens next Katrine Del Villar has been involved in designing the legislatively-mandated training provided by the Western Australian and Queensland Governments for health practitioners involved in voluntary assisted dying. Voluntary assisted dying will soon be an option for the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory, now the Senate has just passed a landmark bill. Continued here

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Four-day week trial confirms working less increases wellbeing and productivity Jan-Emmanuel De Neve is a Director of the World Wellbeing Movement which counts the 4 Day Week Global organization among its founding members. These firms have been participating in a trial organised by non-profit 4 Day Week Global. The four-day working week trial, which involved 33 companies and nearly 1,000 employees, saw no loss of pay for employees – organisations paid 100% of their salaries for 80% of their time. But employees also pledged to put in 100% of their usual effort over the shorter working week. Continued here

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There's no official French version of the 1867 Constitution Act. So is taking the oath to the King in French valid? Since the election of the first Parti Québécois legislators in 1970, controversy over Québec MNAs swearing an oath to the sovereign before taking their seats in the National Assembly has stirred emotion and sparked heated debate. PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon recently fuelled the controversy by stating loudly and clearly that he will not swear allegiance to King Charles. His PQ colleagues followed suit as did Québec solidaire MNAs, who have since changed their minds. Continued here

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The UN committee against torture has found Australia still has work to do Andreea Lachsz is currently contracted to the ACT government as the ACT National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) Coordination Director. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of ACT government, ACT NPM or any extant policy. Content warning – this article discusses acts of violence, suicide, and deaths in custody. Continued here

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Five ways drones will change the way buildings are designed Drones are already shaping the face of our cities – used for building planning, heritage, construction and safety enhancement. But, as studies by the UK’s Department of Transport have found, swathes of the public have a limited understanding of how drones might be practically applied. It’s crucial that the ways drones are affecting our future are understood by the majority of people. As experts in design futures and mobility, we hope this short overview of five ways drones will affect building design offers some knowledge of how things are likely to change. Continued here

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Kim Jong Un wants North Korea to be a nuclear superpower – the real risk is a regional arms race The recent claim by Kim Jong Un that North Korea plans to develop the world’s most powerful nuclear force may well have been more bravado than credible threat. But that doesn’t mean it can be ignored. The best guess is that North Korea now has sufficient fissile material to build 45 to 55 nuclear weapons, three decades after beginning its program. The warheads would mostly have yields of around 10 to 20 kilotons, similar to the 15 kiloton bomb that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. Continued here

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Ethnic community media can play a key role in a crisis – but it needs our support Wilfred Yang Wang is affiliated with Victorian Multicultural Commission, Knox Multicultural Advisory Committee and Centre for Holistic Health. This article is part of The Conversation’s Breaking the Cycle series, which is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay Foundation. The recent Who Gets to Tell Australian Stories? report on diversity in Australian newsrooms revealed some grim, but unsurprising figures. The report found most television news and current affairs presenters on major Australian free-to-air networks are Anglo-Celtic. So too were most senior network news editors. Continued here

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The world finally has its first 'parastronaut'. Can we expect anyone to be able to go to space one day? The European Space Agency made history last week with the announcement of the first “parastronaut”, 41-year-old UK citizen John McFall. He is the first candidate selected for the Parastronaut Feasibility project, described by ESA as a “serious, dedicated and honest attempt to clear the path to space for a professional astronaut with a physical disability”. Continued here

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Lehrmann retrial abandoned because of 'a significant and unacceptable risk' to Brittany Higgins' life The plan for a second trial of Bruce Lehrmann has been dropped after expert medical advice warned it posed a “significant and unacceptable risk” to Brittany Higgins’ life. The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, announced the decision in a statement at 10am Friday. He also condemned in the strongest terms the attacks Higgins has had to endure. Continued here

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A China-backed dam in Indonesia threatens a rare great ape – and that's just the tip of the iceberg In 2017, scientists described a new species of great apes – the Tapanuli orangutan. The species, found in the Batang Toru ecosystem of North Sumatara, Indonesia was listed as critically endangered soon after. The population of the species has declined by 83% over the past 75 years, largely due to hunting and habitat loss. Just 800 Tapanuli orangutans remain – and their last known habitat is threatened by a slew of infrastructure projects. Continued here

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Pro-government disinformation floods Twitter debates on Papuan special autonomy: new study Associate, Centre for Indonesian Law, Islam and Society, The University of Melbourne Online discussion about the conflict over independence in Indonesia’s easternmost provinces — the Papua conflict — is a fiercely contested space. Continued here

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The 'greatest film of all time': Chantal Akerman's win shows a generational shift is taking place among critics and filmmakers Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles – Chantal Akerman’s 1975 hypnotic study of a mother performing domestic chores in microscopic detail – has just been crowned the “greatest film of all time” in Sight and Sound’s prestigious poll. It is only the fourth film to have topped the list since polling began, and the first directed by a woman. Continued here

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Lehrmann trial discontinued: when prosecution isn't in the public interest ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shane Drumgold today announced that the charges against Bruce Lehrmann, the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019, have been withdrawn. There are two tests the DPP must consider in determining whether or not to prosecute a case. Continued here

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LGBT+ Indonesians face difficulties accessing healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and transsexual (LGBT+) individuals in Indonesia have been affected during the COVID-19 pandemic by multi-layered discrimination and intolerance. Their suffering has increased due to challenges in obtaining national ID cards (KTP), losing their jobs or earning less than before the crisis. They have also faced difficulties securing the same healthcare rights enjoyed by the rest of the population. Continued here

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The government will not send out Yes and No case pamphlets ahead of the Voice to Parliament referendum. Does this matter? The Albanese government proposes to ditch the “Yes/No” case pamphlets that are ordinarily posted to voters before a referendum. Is this a good idea, and what, if anything, should replace it? Under the existing law, after a proposed constitutional amendment is passed by parliament, a majority of MPs who voted for it may prepare a written Yes case of up to 2,000 words. If any members voted against it in parliament, they can prepare the official No case. Continued here

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World Cup: what body type works best for football? A professor of biomechanics explains If you’ve been watching the World Cup, you might have marvelled at the physical fitness and skill of these elite players. How can they run and run and run for so long? What makes them so good at speedy changes of direction? Biomechanically, is there a certain body type that is perfect for football? Continued here

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Netflix's Lady Chatterley's Lover reduces this tale of class conflict to a simple love story It is easy to understand the appeal of D. H. Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover (1928) for filmmakers. The issues the novel addresses are so rich. Written in response to the general strike of 1926 in the UK, the story examines the sources of class enmity and imagines how it might be overcome through tenderness, touch and sex. Many, including the author Doris Lessing, have argued that Lady Chatterley’s Lover can only be understood in the context of its time and societal stresses. However, this latest film version strips out the social context and class detail of the novel and with them go most of the psychological complexity of the characters, leaving simply a love story with a happy ending. Continued here

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How the German government was divided by a Chinese investment in the Port of Hamburg Associate Profesor of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham The German government has become divided over a deal, agreed last month, which saw Chinese conglomerate Cosco invest in the Port of Hamburg. The deal had been in the works since September 2021 and was championed by the chancellor (and Hamburg’s former mayor), Olaf Scholz. Continued here

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A Swiss-style Brexit deal is unlikely unless things change dramatically within the Conservative Party Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has denied reports that the UK is reconsidering its relationship with the EU. The “Swiss-style deal” rumoured to be favoured by some in the government would result in a softer form of Brexit, six years after the referendum. Although not a member of the EU, Switzerland is a part of the Schengen agreement, which creates an area in Europe that allows people and goods to move across borders without checks. As a result, trade agreements between Switzerland and the EU have been easier to negotiate and implement. There are more than 100 agreements between the EU and Switzerland covering a range of sectors such as pharmaceuticals and machinery. Continued here

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Living with MND: how a form of 'acceptance therapy' is helping me make one difficult choice at a time The breakthrough came when my therapist showed me photographs of the impact dams can have on the surrounding landscape when they fail. Their purpose is to defend and protect. But if cracks appear in the wall, the dam will burst, causing a flood that can destroy everything in its path. The photos showed me what I am doing to myself and my relationships with family and friends when I bottle up my feelings. I was already aware that stifling my painful anger and sadness did not make those feelings go away, but this was different. Like lightning, it hit me that I had a choice. I could continue to turn away from the difficult feelings, knowing full well that they would only flood other parts of myself. Or I could learn to live with them. It felt like it should be an easy choice. But for someone like me the next question was, how long will I be able to work on removing those barriers? Continued here

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Hailey Bieber has revealed she has an ovarian cyst – here’s why they happen Model Hailey Bieber recently revealed that she’s been suffering with an ovarian cyst the size of an apple. While we don’t know exactly how many women suffer with ovarian cysts, they are thought to be relatively common – with estimates suggesting around 7% of women will suffer from an ovarian cyst at some point in their life. Continued here

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Binge-eating disorder is more common than many realise, yet it's rarely discussed – here’s what you need to know Paul Jenkins works for a service providing evidence-based treatments for people with eating problems, including binge-eating disorder. Television personality, author and hair stylist Jonathan Van Ness recently shared on social media his struggles with his eating and weight after “years of feeling out of control with food”. He described suffering from binge-eating disorder – an eating disorder characterised by consuming large amounts of food with a sense of feeling out of control. Continued here

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Energy bills: how much money does turning down the thermostat actually save? The unprecedented rise in energy costs this winter has many people asking how to reduce their bills. In a typical UK home, around 80% of the total energy used in a year goes towards heating space and water, so any change in heating makes a big difference. The most common advice is to reduce your thermostat temperature. Worryingly (because of climate change) and fortunately (because of the cost of living crisis), the autumn so far has been extremely mild. But temperatures are now beginning to drop. Colleagues and I have therefore looked into our data on home energy use to see how much energy is typically used at different thermostat temperatures. Continued here

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Corruption in South Africa: new book lifts the lid on who profits - and their corporate enablers Keith Gottschalk is an ANC member, but writes this review in his professional capacity as a political scientist. University of Western Cape provides support as a hosting partner of The Conversation AFRICA. Continued here

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How China's response to zero-COVID protests could affect global business The recent protests in China against the country’s zero-COVID policy have been unprecedented in their scale, intensity and distribution. Protestors numbering in the thousands were reported in dozens of cities. Not since 1989’s Tiananmen Square protests has there been such widespread civil disobedience. The protests do not signify the imminent collapse of the Chinese Communist Party regime, but they are a big challenge to the authority of the party’s general secretary Xi Jinping, the president of China. They also have far-reaching implications for China’s domestic economy and society, as well as for international firms and the global economy. Continued here

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3 ways cryptocurrency is changing the way colleges do business with students and donors Until about 2020, universities used cryptocurrencies only to pay ransoms to criminals attacking their networks. A fast payment to criminals helped victim universities restore their networks quickly. With increasing public adoption of cryptocurrencies, especially among young consumers, universities are exploring them, too. As of early 2022, 20% of U.S. consumers had used cryptocurrencies. According to an April 2022 report, 28% of 13- to 39-year-olds had purchased at least one type of cryptocurrency. Among consumers in this age group, 13% had purchased and 38% were interested in a particular offshoot of cryptocurrencies called non-fungible tokens. Continued here

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Genocides persist, nearly 70 years after the Holocaust – but there are recognized ways to help prevent them Kerry Whigham is affiliated with the Auschwitz Insitute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, an international non-governmental organization. The newly formed United Nations passed its first international treaty on Dec. 9, 1948, just three years after the Holocaust ended. The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was designed to prevent genocide from ever happening again. Continued here

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Student 'slave auctions' illustrate the existence of a hidden culture of domination and subjugation in US schools In an otherwise normal football season, two California high schools abruptly canceled the remainder of their games for the same reason. Players on both teams participated in troublesome acts of racism. In October 2022, Amador High School in Sutter Creek ended its season after school officials learned that several players joined a Snapchat called “Kill the Blacks.” Continued here

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Nurses' attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for their children are highly influenced by partisanship, a new study finds Children of nurses who identify as Republican are less likely to receive a COVID-19 vaccination compared with children of nurses who identify as Democrat, according to our recently published study in the Journal of Community Health. We surveyed more than 1,000 nurses in South Dakota in June and July of 2022. Of those, 298 participants reported having children 5 to 17 years old. We asked this group about the vaccination status of their children and found that the children of nurses who identified as Democrats had a 13% higher probability of being vaccinated compared with the offspring of nurses who identified as Republican. Continued here

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Brain-computer interfaces could allow soldiers to control weapons with their thoughts and turn off their fear – but the ethics of neurotechnology lags behind the science Imagine that a soldier has a tiny computer device injected into their bloodstream that can be guided with a magnet to specific regions of their brain. With training, the soldier could then control weapon systems thousands of miles away using their thoughts alone. Embedding a similar type of computer in a soldier’s brain could suppress their fear and anxiety, allowing them to carry out combat missions more efficiently. Going one step further, a device equipped with an artificial intelligence system could directly control a soldier’s behavior by predicting what options they would choose in their current situation. While these examples may sound like science fiction, the science to develop neurotechnologies like these is already in development. Brain-computer interfaces, or BCI, are technologies that decode and transmit brain signals to an external device to carry out a desired action. Basically, a user would only need to think about what they want to do, and a computer would do it for them. Continued here

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Darknet markets generate millions in revenue selling stolen personal data, supply chain study finds The stolen data supply chain begins with producers – hackers who exploit vulnerable systems and steal sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank account information and Social Security numbers. Next, the stolen data is advertised by wholesalers and distributors who sell the data. Finally, the data is purchased by consumers who use it to commit various forms of fraud, including fraudulent credit card transactions, identity theft and phishing attacks. This trafficking of stolen data between producers, wholesalers and consumers is enabled by darknet markets, which are websites that resemble ordinary e-commerce websites but are accessible only using special browsers or authorization codes. Continued here

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Protecting 30% of Earth's surface for nature means thinking about connections near and far PhD Student in Fisheries & Wildlife and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology & Behavior, Michigan State University A biodiversity crisis is reducing the variety of life on Earth. Under pressure from land and water pollution, development, overhunting, poaching, climate change and species invasions, approximately 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction. Continued here

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Religious freedom and LGBTQ rights are clashing in schools and on campuses – and courts are deciding Disputes over religious freedom and LGBTQ rights in the United States have led to some of the most high-profile judicial controversies – and 2022 is no exception. For example, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Dec. 5, 2022, about whether a designer can refuse to create wedding websites for same-sex couples; a ruling is likely in late June 2023. Lately, many of these controversies have begun in educational settings, both in K-12 schools and on college campuses. As a professor of education law who often writes about First Amendment issues in schools, I see these cases, which are trying to balance tensions between fundamental rights, as potentially shaping new precedents. Continued here

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Winter of discontent: how similar is today's situation? The UK government is battening down the hatches for a wave of strikes in December and January. Railway workers, nurses, ambulance workers, civil servants and postal staff are all set to take industrial action in the coming weeks in protest at wages not keeping up with inflation, with teachers’ and firefighters’ unions also balloting their members. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has put close ally Oliver Dowden in charge of a new task force to coordinate the government’s response to so many groups of workers. With rail staff, university lecturers, postal workers and criminal barristers having already taken to the picket lines, the government is trying to avoid another winter of discontent. Continued here

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Ukraine war: Turkey is the pivot point between Russia and the US – history shows us why The war in Ukraine has put Turkey into the geopolitical spotlight. One of Nato’s earliest member states, with a special relationship with Russia, Turkey is attempting to balance its competing interests, as well as increasing its own influence. Meanwhile, Turkey is in the middle of launching a military operation into Syria which challenges its relationship with Russia and the US, as well as causing the UN to worry about “military escalation”. In late October Turkey launched an operation targeting Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq and is currently threatening a land invasion into the Kurdish regions of Syria. Russia is the Syrian government’s main ally, and the US is backing the Kurds in northern Syria. Continued here

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The five best fiction books of 2022 In 2022, we saw Annie Ernaux win the Nobel prize for literature for her uncompromising writing about her experiences. Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker prize for his darkly comic Sri Lankan political satire, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida. There were also a series of screen adaptations and spin-offs that brought us back to some of our favourite books. The new Lord of the Rings series Rings of Power gave fans an opportunity to delve further into Middle Earth, discovering all the lore and world building that Tolkien meticulously laid out in his books. Continued here

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What David Hockney's new exhibition can teach us about finding beauty and joy this winter David Hockney’s new exhibition finds beauty in the most local of places: the home. His new series, 20 Flowers and Some Bigger Pictures, is about the pleasure of looking intensely at what is in front of us. At home in Normandy during lockdown in 2021, Hockney turned what he describes as his ability to “see things clearer and clearer”, into drawing the 3D delicacy of flowers in a vase on the flat surface of his iPad. Continued here

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Why you could have 'face-ism' – an extreme tendency to judge people based on their facial features You’ve finally got an interview for your dream job. Dozens of applications, dozens of rejection letters – but now you’ve got a shot at the job you really wanted. In you go. Maybe you shake hands with the person who will decide your future, pour a glass of water to steady your nerves. Look at the two faces below. Would you hire these people? Who looks more intelligent? Would you trust either person to watch your laptop in a cafe while you pop out to take a call? Continued here

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Emmanuel Macron's state visit with Joe Biden: key takeaways as relations warm up after a frosty few months Emmanuel Macron has just completed the first major state visit to the US since the pandemic. As central pillars of Nato and the broader western, democratic alliance, France and the US are historic allies. However, there was a sense of tension ahead of this particular visit, mainly because of concerns that a trade war between the US and Europe could be triggered by president Joe Biden’s protectionist Inflation Reduction Act. This offers subsidies to green industries based in the US, which Macron fears could cause European companies to relocate. Continued here

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Jobs are up! Wages are up! So why am I as an economist so gloomy? In any other time, the jobs news that came down on Dec. 2, 2022, would be reason for cheer. The U.S. added 263,000 nonfarm jobs in November, leaving the unemployment rate at a low 3.7%. Moreover, wages are up – with average hourly pay jumping 5.1% compared with a year earlier. Continued here

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High fossil fuel prices mean UK cannot delay transition to low emissions steel Steel is essential for making many of the technologies that will end fossil fuel combustion, including electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. Unfortunately, to produce a lot of steel, manufacturers need to burn a lot of fossil fuel. Steel production accounted for 2% of the UK’s emissions in 2019 and ranks second for energy consumption among the country’s heavy industries. Roughly two-thirds of this energy comes from coal. Continued here

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World Cup 2022: either Morocco or Senegal could break the glass ceiling Sixteen remaining teams are playing in the knock-out phase of the 2022 men’s football Fifa World Cup in Qatar, among them two African teams – Senegal and Morocco. The knock-out phase in Qatar reminds football fans globally of the unmistakable glass ceiling over Africa at football World Cups. Despite spicing the tournaments with outstanding and iconic moments, African teams have always fallen short of Brazilian football great Pelé’s assertion that an African team would win the World Cup by 2000. Continued here

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The Mystery of Alaska’s Disappearing Whales When Roswell Schaeffer Sr. was 8 years old, his father decided it was about time he started learning to hunt beluga whales. Schaeffer was an Iñupiaq kid growing up in Kotzebue, a small city in northwest Alaska, where a healthy store of beluga meat was part of making it through the winter. Each summer, thousands of these small white whales migrated to Kotzebue Sound, and hunts were an annual tradition. Whale skin and blubber, or muktuk, was prized, not only as a form of sustenance and a trading commodity, but also because of the spiritual value of sharing the catch with the community. Now, nearly seven decades later, Schaeffer is one of only a few hunters who still spend the late weeks of spring, just after the ice has melted, on Kotzebue Sound, waiting for belugas to arrive. Many people have switched to hunting bearded seals, partly out of necessity: There simply aren't enough belugas to sustain the community anymore. Continued here