News

Editorial coverage from the Brisbane Australia Wire newsroom.

Health
Which is more filling, protein or fibre?
Protein has been everywhere lately. You may have seen food products promoting high protein content, or reels online telling you how to boost your intake.
SyndicatedMargaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology9 Oct 20265 min read
Health
‘A hard, hard book to write’: Magda Szubanski on trauma, cancer and the cost of coming out
This story discusses sexual assault.
SyndicatedKate Cantrell, Senior Lecturer in Humanities, University of Southern Queensland9 Oct 202610 min read
Culture
Anne Carson has won the Nobel Prize for Literature for her bold, inventive, breathtaking work
Anne Carson has been awarded the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. The 76-year-old Canadian poet, essayist, translator and classicist was in Iceland “listening to the wind” when the news broke.
SyndicatedAlexander Howard, Senior Lecturer, Discipline of English and Writing, University of Sydney9 Oct 20266 min read
Health
NZ’s nursing squeeze is an election issue. Is it time for compulsory patient ratios?
Nurses are often described as the glue that holds hospital care together. They monitor patients for changes, administer medications and coordinate a wide range of services, keeping everything on track.
SyndicatedAndrew Jull, Professor of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau9 Oct 20264 min read
Health
Thinking of taking melatonin to help you sleep? Here’s what you need to know
Whether you’re struggling with jet lag, are a shift worker who sleeps during the day, or someone with more severe insomnia, you might have wondered if melatonin can help you get a better sleep.
SyndicatedNial Wheate, Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Macquarie University8 Oct 20265 min read
Business
We need to stop asking if NZ can afford its superannuation scheme. It’s the wrong question
Like many countries, New Zealand has an ageing population. Retirees are living longer while fertility rates have fallen. The number of workers relative to retirees will decline.
SyndicatedAaron Gilbert, Professor of Finance, Auckland University of Technology8 Oct 20265 min read
Environment
Catherine Chidgey’s The Starving Bride exposes the extremes of our always-performing world
In The Starving Bride, the latest novel from internationally acclaimed New Zealand author Catherine Chidgey, the English town of Blackpool attempts to stave off the horrors of the present by returning to the past.
SyndicatedJulian Novitz, Senior Lecturer, Writing, Department of Media and Communication, Swinburne University of Technology8 Oct 20265 min read
Environment
Colonisation, not climate change, first primed these forests to burn
Bushfire season is here. The Bureau of Meteorology expects the declared El Niño to be strong to very strong. Southeastern Australia is bracing for a long run of dangerous fire weather.
SyndicatedMichael-Shawn Fletcher, Professor in Biogeography, The University of Melbourne8 Oct 20265 min read
Technology
Can data centre company Firmus live up to its blockbuster $43 billion listing value? Why some investors doubt it
Firmus Technologies, a developer of artificial intelligence (AI) data centres, plans to raise A$7 billion from investors on the Australian Securities Exchange on October 23.
SyndicatedMarta Khomyn, Senior Lecturer, Finance and Data Analytics, Adelaide University8 Oct 20265 min read
Technology
Microdramas are booming. AI could make it even harder to stop binge-watching
They’re dubbed duanju, or microdramas – and they’ve become big business.
SyndicatedJohnny Chan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Business and Economics, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau8 Oct 20264 min read
Technology
It’s true, Australia won’t ban ‘sock puppet’ accounts on social media. Here’s why
Australia’s new Digital Duty of Care bill proposes a significant shift in online safety. Rather than simply responding to harmful content after it appears, platforms would be required to identify “all reasonably foreseeable risks” of harm i…
SyndicatedDaniel Angus, Professor of Digital Communication, Director of QUT Digital Media Research Centre, Queensland University of Technology7 Oct 20264 min read
Government
Republicans continue to slide in US polls, four weeks before midterm elections
Four weeks before the November 3 US midterm elections, Republicans trail Democrats by 9.6 points on the generic ballot in analyst Nate Silver’s midterm forecast model.
SyndicatedAdrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne7 Oct 20265 min read