Real Focus showcases world-changing research news, features and expert commentary.
QUT is a research-intensive university with international reach, based in Brisbane, Australia. We focus on research excellence with real-world impact relevant to our communities.
You'll find a regularly updated mix of stories and opinion pieces to evoke curiosity and stimulate your mind.
Discover how innovative minds are taking on some of the world's big challenges in science, technology, health, the environment, business, the arts and more.
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Articles may be republished in print or online under Creative Commons licence.
Republishing guidelines
Real Focus is an open-access website published by the university to showcase its research activities and real-world impact through stories, images and videos.
You can republish our articles online or in print for free under a Creative Commons — Attribution/No derivatives licence (CC BY-ND 4.0), provided you follow these guidelines.
For print and online
- You can't edit our material, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. If you do wish to make material edits, contact the author or media@qut.edu.au for approval before publication.
- You must credit the author/s and QUT, ideally in the byline. Include a link back to www.qut.edu.au/realfocus or the article URL in a sentence at the top of the article.
- You can't sell our material separately, but it's OK to put our articles on pages with ads.
- You must confirm you're licensed to republish images in our articles. Some images, such as those from commercial providers, don't allow their images to be republished without permission or payment. Copyright terms are generally listed in the image caption and attribution. You are welcome to omit our images or substitute with your own. Charts and interactive graphics follow the same rules.
- You can't systematically republish all of our articles, nor frame the content of our site.
Special cases
- You can run extracts by including the first few lines or paragraphs of the article and then say: “Read the full article on QUT Real Focus” with a link back to the article.
- You can quote authors provided you include a link back to the article URL.
- Translations are technically a derivative under our Creative Commons licence and so require author approval. Many authors will give approval in good faith.
- Signed consent or copyright release forms are not required, providing you are following these guidelines.
- Articles can be published in print under these same rules. We would appreciate it if you would send an image of the republished article to media@qut.edu.au so that we can share it with the author.
- Videos are also covered by Creative Commons and the same attribution requirements apply.
Latest stories
25 September 2026
An AI model has found a new ‘CRISPR‑like’ biological system. Here’s what it means for science
AI agents may become another tool for researchers and even transform biological research, but there are also questions around how the technology can be kept safe, writes Associate Professor Dimitri Perrin, Co-Director of the QUT Centre for Data Science.
18 September 2026
The Jim Henson Company reminds us even the synthetic can be joyous and beautiful and beloved
The creations of Jim Henson are joyous, beautiful and beloved, but QUT robotics researcher James Lachlan Dwyer argues they are also an extension of the puppeteer in the same way robots are an extension of people.
14 September 2026
Why big tech will hate the Australian tax office’s latest ruling
QUT Professor of Taxation Kerrie Sadiq unpacks the ATO’s controversial view that some software subscription payments to big tech should attract Australian royalty tax.
Read more of Why big tech will hate the Australian tax office’s latest ruling