the conversation
-
Your Personal Data is the Currency of the Digital Age
The commodification of the internet in the early 1990s brought western societies into the digital age and has changed the way consumers interact with commercial enterprises. The digital industry companies have one thing in common: the use of the user’s personal data through technology to gain competitive advantage. Spotify, Amazon, eBay, Apple, Google Play: these…
-
A Million Deaths From Coronavirus: Seven Experts Consider Key Questions
The pandemic has reached a grim milestone: one million people have now died of COVID-19, according to Worldometers. On January 13, we published “Mystery China pneumonia outbreak likely caused by new human coronavirus” by Connor Bamford, a virologist at Queen’s University Belfast. Since then, we have published more than 3,500 articles on the now not-so-novel…
-
Australia’s Just Signed Up For a Shot at 9 COVID-19 Vaccines, Here’s What to Expect
Australia’s $123 million contribution to a global vaccine initiative, announced earlier this week, means the country would have access to a wider pool of COVID-19 vaccines, should they pass clinical trials. The agreement with the World Health Organisation-backed COVAX initiative currently covers nine vaccines, with another nine being considered. These are to be shared with…
-
Svalbard Glaciers Lost Their Protective Buffer in the Mid-1980s and Have Been Melting Ever Since
The archipelago of Svalbard, a land of ice and polar bears, is found midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. Its capital Longyearbyen on the main island of Spitsbergen is the world’s most northerly city, some 800 miles inside the Arctic Circle. Svalbard is also home to some of the Earth’s northernmost glaciers, which…