the conversation
-
There’s No Evidence Video Games Can Manipulate You, Actually
The ABC’s latest Four Corners report is an investigation into how videogames are “deliberately designed to get people hooked”. It describes the use of gambling-like “loot boxes” in games, the hotly debated notion of videogame addiction and, to a lesser extent, the “predatory techniques” of using user data and AI to increase spending in freemium…
-
The Trucking Industry Has Begun To Turn Electric — But Passenger Vehicles Will Take A Little Longer
Australia’s trucking industry is making moves to go electric. The latest development — a system for using swappable batteries instead of time-consuming recharge stations for long-haul trucks between Sydney and Brisbane — shows how this transition is gathering momentum. There will be clear socio-economic, environmental and health-related benefits from the switch to electric trucks —…
-
DNA-Inspired ‘Supercoiling’ Fibres Could Make Powerful Artificial Muscles For Robots
The double helix of DNA is one of the most iconic symbols in science. By imitating the structure of this complex genetic molecule we have found a way to make artificial muscle fibres far more powerful than those found in nature, with potential applications in many kinds of miniature machinery such as prosthetic hands…
-
A Jane Austen Quote Encoded In Plastic Molecules Demonstrates The Potential For A New Kind Of Data Storage
The words “if one scheme of happiness fails, human nature turns to another” were originally published in 1814 in Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. At the time, the words were printed using revolutionary steam-powered printers that could roll through over a thousand sheets of paper an hour. Since the early 2000s, it’s been possible to read…