Latest National news

An Aedes albopictus female mosquito feeding on a human blood meal.

Zika virus set to reach Australia but can be contained, say experts

Julia Medew 4:52 PM   The Zika virus is likely to reach Australia through a return traveller at some stage, experts say, but there is hope it will be swiftly contained if it does arrive.

Mother takes on Banana Boat over child's sunburn

Damien McCaull got sunburnt on Australia Day.

Esther Han 4:34 PM   Melissa McCaull is adamant she followed instructions, but her son's skin turned into the colour of an "overripe tomato".

What's the Zika virus, and why should Australia worry about it?

The Aedes aegypti mosquito is the main transmitter of the Zika virus. It is found in parts of northern Australia.

Julia Medew, Daniella Miletic and Daniel Flitton 4:32 PM   A global health warning says the frightening Zika virus could infect millions of people this year. But is it likely to be a threat here? Here's what you need to know.

'If you have a pulse you can get in'

At the gateway between school and university, the ATAR determines the order in which people pass through.

Eryk Bagshaw 4:11 PM   Of the 6000 students who are offered a university place with an ATAR below 50, less than 20 per cent graduate. And taxpayers are footing the bill to the tune of $7bn.

Shane Warne shuts controversial charity

Cricketing legend Shane Warne announced the foundation would shut today via his Facebook page.

Chris Vedelago, Cameron Houston 3:29 PM   Shane Warne has announced he is shutting down his charitable foundation, blaming "unwarranted speculation" about its financial and regulatory situation.

Sydney weather: Severe thunderstorms sweep in from the west

Storm cells line up west of Sydney.

Peter Hannam 1:39 PM   Waves of thunderstorms have begun to hit Sydney, some of them potentially severe, as a complex low pressure system brings storm activity to much of eastern Australia.

Thunderstorms likely, possibly severe, across the Sydney Basin

Expect a stormy Friday across Sydney, meteorologists say.

Peter Hannam 7:08 AM   A swathe of western Sydney is the path of severe thunderstorm on Thursday evening while the whole basin can expect rain and storms on Friday.

Troubled myGov to be taken from Human Services

MyGov was launched in 2013 and is now used by several million Australians as a portal to access their Centrelink, Medicare, Child Support, Department of Veteran Affairs, e-health, and DisabilityCare accounts.

Noel Towell 11:30 PM   Malcolm Turnbull's DTO has been critical of myGov, now it has the chance to show it can do better.

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The force driving diseases like Zika virus

A doctor measures the head of a baby with microcephaly in Brazil. The baby's mother was diagnosed with the Zika virus during her pregnancy.

Lucy Cormack 8:12 PM   Regions with "increasing average temperatures" at greater risk of mosquito-born diseases, say researchers.

Dramatic genetic finding takes scientists a step closer to schizophrenia cause

Scientists pursuing the biological roots of schizophrenia have zeroed in on a potential factor, a normal brain process that gets kicked into overdrive.

Kate Aubusson 7:24 PM   Scientists have pinpointed a major trigger for schizophrenia in our molecular make-up that could explain why the disorder develops in adolescence.

NSW hospitals putting 'babies at risk'

Hospitals are delivering elective caesareans earlier than the recommended term of 39 weeks gestation.

Harriet Alexander 6:05 PM   Thirty-eight weeks or 39? Non-medical factors are pushing women to have elective caesareans earlier than official guidelines - and hospitals are playing along.

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Bermagui cafe owner receives death threats

The sign erected outside the cafe on the NSW south coast.

Albert McKnight and Katie Burgess   South coast espresso bar owner says he has been subjected to vandalism and death threats since a photo of a controversial Australia Day message went viral.

The 30c stamp now worth thousands

Rare 30c emergency stamps printed in Adelaide.

Paul Chamberlin   How a stamp printed earlier this month and valued at 30 cents has taken the world, and space, by storm

Why blueberries can help you lose the extra kilos

Blueberries contain anthocyanins which has been linked with weight loss.

Esther Han   In the battle against the bulge, you may want to add flavonoid-rich blueberries and strawberries to your arsenal, Harvard researchers suggest.

Mass rescue of kayakers in the bay

Volunteer lifesavers helped with the rescue once the exhausted kayakers were safely on the beach.

Marika Dobbin   A group of 17 kayakers was rescued on Australia Day after a strong easterly wind change created rough waters on Port Phillip Bay.

This man beat Centrelink's system and he says you can too

Tom Wade used the Commonwealth government directory to contact senior executives in the Department of Human Service when he couldn't get through to Centrelink using the official channels.

Noel Towell   "Where did you get my number?" Medicare boss demands.

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Australia expects public servants to work longer hours, agency boss claims

Bosses at the Civil Aviation Safety Authority want their public servants at their desks for 45 minutes each week in return for a 2 per cent pay rise.

Noel Towell   Longer hours for public servants a "community expectation" CASA public servants told.

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New cancer drug trials find promising outcomes for leukaemia

The new drug is designed to kill a protein that promotes cancer cell survival.

Rania Spooner   Australian cancer patients are currently testing a promising new drug targeting advanced forms of leukaemia, one of the most common of blood cancers.

Hospitals staring at 'funding black hole'

AMA president Brian Owler says public hospitals are facing a budgetary "black hole".

Harriet Alexander   The Australian Medical Association is warning of an imminent crisis for public hospitals unless funding is increased.

'I don't want to go to school': What to do when it's a battle to get out the door

The first week back at school is fraught with challenges for children with anxiety.

Phoebe Moloney   The first week back at school is fraught with challenges for young children with anxiety.

Let's move beyond ATARs: UNSW Vice-Chancellor

Ian Jacobs, Vice-Chancellor of the University of NSW.

Eryk Bagshaw   UNSW's Vice-Chancellor Ian Jacobs said NSW should move away from the ATAR as the only measurement of academic success as quickly as possible.

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Unis defend standards but condemn imperfect ATARs

The ANU says its system of publishing guaranteed ATAR cut-offs is one of the most transparent in the country.

Eryk Bagshaw and Emma Macdonald   University chiefs are publicly condemning the ATAR system amid an outcry that many students in NSW were being admitted to study without meeting the academic requirements in any case.

'Funding pressures ... are no excuse'

The University of Sydney

Eryk Bagshaw and Inga Ting   NSW universities are admitting students with ATARs as low as 30 into competitive tertiary degrees, an investigation has revealed.

3D printing aids in kidney transplant operation

Lucy Boucher with her father Chris.

British doctors have used 3D printing to help surgical teams performing a kidney transplant from a father to his daughter.

Turning Lego into technology (at a fraction of the cost)

Richard Moser used Lego to build lad equipment.

Phoebe Moloney   Physics PhD student Richard Moser shirked a high-tech tensometer, worth $50,000, to make his own piece of equipment out of Lego. And it works just as well.

Avocado growers reject market manipulation claims amid shortage

Australia is in the midst of an avocado shortage.

Esther Han   A former Avocados Australia chief executive said the shortage was caused partly by West Australian producers who shifted more fruit and artificially lowered prices before Christmas to boost sales, fearing demand would drop in January.

Pharmacist under fire for intravenous vitamin drips

Model Carla DiBello receives an intravenous shot she says 'kills' her jetlag.

Julia Medew   Doctors are sceptical about clinics which claim they can flush toxins from your body, reduce headaches and nausea, boost your immune system and leave you with 'glowing and radiant' skin.   

Migrants and houses keep ACT afloat

CommSec found improved business investment, housing finance, dwelling starts and population growth had allowed the territory economy to defy the hit to employment and wages.

Noel Towell   ACT economy defies the lowest wages growth of any state or territory and soaring unemployment to climb state rankings.

Are people living at higher altitudes less likely to get lung cancer?

Human­s need oxyge­n, but the link betwe­en highe­r altitudes, where there­’s less of it, and a lower incid­ence of lung cance­r is growi­ng stron­ger.

George Johnson   Humans need oxygen, but the link between higher altitudes, where there’s less of it, and a lower incidence of lung cancer is growing stronger.

Diabetes breakthrough offers hope of end to injections within years

The breakthrough could mean the end of daily insulin injections for the millions living worldwide with Type 1 diabetes.

Sarah Knapton   A cure for type 1 diabetes is closer than ever after scientists showed they can switch off the disease for six months in animals, which would equate to several years in humans.