Modern scanning techniques let ancient mummies ‘live’ again

Professor John Magnussen, Macquarie Medical School

New light has been shed on the lives of six people who lived and died in Egypt between two and three thousand years ago, through a collaboration involving archaeologists, forensic anthropologists – and one Macquarie University radiologist.

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Expert insights into the economic year ahead

Professor Jana Bowden, Department of Marketing; Dr Rohan Best, Department of Economics; Professor David Orsmond, Department of Economics; Dr Lurion De Mello, Department of Applied Finance

With cost-of-living pressure soaring for many Australian households, four Macquarie Business School experts predict how economic conditions might unfold in 2023 with energy prices, ‘revenge’ spending and inflation under the microscope.

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Actually Mr Darcy … it’s not all about you

Associate Professor Stephanie Russo, Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature

Plot twist: To mark the 210th anniversary of Jane Austen’s beloved novel Pride and Prejudice, literature scholar Dr Stephanie Russo explains why a lesser-known character beats Fitzwilliam Darcy for the title of her best romantic hero.

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Make sure to subscribe to The Lighthouse so you don’t miss the latest world-changing research news from Macquarie’s pioneering minds who are solving some of the world’s big challenges in science, technology, health, the economy and the environment.

If you have upcoming or recently published research and would like to be featured in The Lighthouse, get in touch with Editor Angie Kelly at angie.kelly@mq.edu.au or your relevant Communications Partner for your faculty. Research published on The Lighthouse often receives external media coverage.

This record number of visits – 100,000 more than last year – helped drive our overall traffic since launch in April 2018 through the two million mark – demonstrating once again there is a strong appetite for news our audience can trust.

Our time-on-page metric for the year is an enviable 10 minutes 36 seconds – proving our readers come to The Lighthouse for the story of the day, then stay for more.

Our top content of the year was an expert comment piece by education scholar Professor Garry Falloon. Published in May to coincide with significant media coverage on the growing number of boys’ schools opening their doors to girls, traffic hit over 22,000 in its first week with numbers steadily growing to hit 32,364 clicks by year’s end.

A story about a world-first clinical trial testing the effectiveness of psychedelics on moderate depression was the most popular research story of the year, and resulted in huge media coverage for Dr Vince Politio’s project.

Leaps in Alzheimer’s research, work on the newly identified internet gaming disorder, a study showing our worst beaches for microplastics and results of a two-year project showing how living seawalls promote regeneration in Sydney Harbour were the most popular projects we reported on in 2022.

For the second year in a row, explainer articles made up five of the top ten articles, with academic expertise tied to news of the day continuing to be a winning combination. Readers were eager to know why petrol is so expensive, while insights from Macquarie Law School and the Department of History and Archaeology satisfied reader curiosity about defamation and the centenary of Tutankhamun’s discovery.

Launching our new brand storytelling page MQ Life helped build a new audience by publishing a suite of content aimed at school-leavers and their parents. The new page also provides a place to tell the stories of our beautiful campus, our award-winning teachers and inspiring graduate success stories.

Our Leading Lights video interview series continued to go from strength to strength with CSIRO chief Dr Larry Marshall, world-famous Wiggle Anthony Field and mental health changemaker Lucy Brogden among the high-impact alumni partnering with us this year.

Take a look at our 2022 Lighthouse highlights video below and subscribe to our news emails here.

Please explain: What is La Nina and does it affect me?

Adjunct Fellow Andrew Gissing from the School of Natural Sciences explains the cause and effect of La Nina, the five-month long weather event that occurred in Australia earlier in 2022.

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World first: Study confirms mistaken identity may explain why sharks bite humans

Dr Laura Ryan from the School of Natural Sciences and Professor Nathan Hart from the Department of Biological Sciences have confirmed why great white sharks bite humans.

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You know you’re swimming in it: worst beaches for microplastics revealed

Dr Scott Wilson from the School of Natural Sciences reveals the worst Australian beaches for micro-plastics pollution.
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Tricks used by phone scammers exposed in new study

Professor Dali Kaafar and Dr Ian Wood from the School of Computing and the Macquarie University Cyber Security Hub identify the scripts and emotions that drive most scam calls.
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Light up your nightlife: Astronomy events still to come in 2022

Professor Orsola De Marco from the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences shares the exciting upcoming astronomy events for 2022.
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Two year study shows living seawalls promote regeneration in Sydney Harbour

Associate Professor Melanie Bishop from the School of Natural Sciences announces the success of the Living Seawalls marine science initiative in producing evidence to support the environmental benefits of the project.

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Please explain: What’s so scary about the honeybee Varroa mite?

Professor Andrew Barron from the School of Natural Sciences explains the importance of Australia’s biosecurity response to the honeybee parasite and why we should be worried about the Varroa mite.

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Launched to coincide with the University’s advertising campaign (currently showing in cinemas, on billboards and on digital platforms) Macquarie Life showcases a suite of stories designed to answer common questions asked by parents and school leavers on the brink of starting tertiary study.

Using the voices of current students, recent graduates, their employers and our academic staff, Macquarie Life is a new home for articles that highlight the student journey from first lecture to first job.

It reveals secrets of our beautiful campus, goes behind the scenes across an array of learning and teaching facilities, interviews our award-winning teachers and talks to parents, bosses and young graduates to offer tips about courses to choose, clubs to join and how to take advantage of career support services on campus.

It answers ATAR and pathways-to-study questions, explain the benefits of double-degrees and tackles crucial questions about ways to find friends while studying.

Find Macquarie Life on the navigation menu at the top of The Lighthouse and keep your eye out for our articles on the new parent page under the ‘Study’ section of our Macquarie website.

Got a great story to share?

Our Lighthouse Editor, Angie Kelly, would love to hear about more inspiring case studies from our community so please do get in touch if you would like to suggest a story.

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