Driverless cars promise many benefits, including an improvement in safety, but new research shows many people are still not aware of this.

Sydney artists and cultural practitioners face growing barriers to working in or close to the city, according to our new research. This is because of a shortage of creative spaces, due to the disappearance of industrial buildings, and rising rents and property prices.

Research shows that fear or shock tactics, or strategies based on are generally not effective, and can even be counterproductive. High-threat fear appeals can be effective provided that the target audience is already taking positive steps toward the desired behaviour change, or feel that they can easily do so. Crucially, this means that campaigns not only need to tell people about an issue, but also provide straightforward advice on what do to about it.

The rate of growth in residential rooftop solar photovoltaics (PV) in Australia since 2008 has been nothing short of breathtaking. Our new research suggests that the households most likely to join in the solar spree are those that are affluent enough to afford the upfront investment, but not so wealthy that they don’t worry about their future power bills.

Bunya pines (botanical name: Aracauria bidwilli) are living fossils. They come from a fascinating family of flora, the Araucariaceae, which grew across the world in the Jurassic period. Many of its “cousins” are extinct.

The captives within our conservation fences are adorable – floppy-eared bilbies, tiny hare-wallabies, long-tongued numbats – and they all share an extreme susceptibility to introduced predators. At least 68 native mammal species cannot exist in the wild if either foxes or cats are present.

WHETHER you’re an expert trekker or weekend wanderer, there are plenty of beautiful pockets to explore on Sydney’s northern beaches.

So lace up your boots and slap on the sunscreen, here’s our list of five best nature trails.

The New Zealand government’s announcement that it will not issue any new permits for offshore exploration for oil and gas deposits is exciting, and a step in the right direction.

As the fire season extends and heatwaves become more frequent, it’s vital to preserve our natural protections. My research, recently released in the journal Austral Ecology, contradict one of the central assumptions in Australian fire management - that forest accumulate fuel over time and become increasingly flammable.

State-owned power networks have spent up to A$20 billion more than was needed on the electricity grid, and households and businesses in New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania are paying for it in sky-high power bills.

A new Grattan Institute report, Down to the Wire, shows that electricity customers in these states would be paying A$100-A$400 less each year if the overspend had not happened.