Sherryn Groch
The Sydney Morning Herald
Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Past articles by Sherryn:
The secret service agents had a message: take down the app or go to jail. How is the internet splintering?
Cracking down on the net was like nailing jelly to a wall, Bill Clinton said in 2000. But governments have found myriad ways to filter, block or slow it. And now some nations want nets of their own. Why? → Read More
What is deja vu, and what’s happening in the brain when we feel it?
Memory misfires. A glitch in the Matrix. Scientists are still untangling why we get deja vu. But there’s much it could teach us about the brain and the nature the memory. → Read More
It’s not a headache and it can feel like a stroke. What happens in the brain during a migraine?
Auras. Electric waves. Strange food cravings. For a condition that affects so many of us, migraine remains mysterious (and under-researched). Now a better wave of treatment is finally emerging. → Read More
The internet is run under the sea, not in the cloud. What happens if the cables get hacked – or snipped?
Hundreds of undersea cables link up the worldwide web, with about a dozen connected to Australia. How does this little-known network work – and what happens if it’s sabotaged? → Read More
Russia has annexed more of Ukraine. What does that mean and what happens now?
Ukraine’s army is winning back territory almost as fast as Russia claims to have taken it over. How are the latest twists in the Ukraine crisis unfolding? And why is everyone talking about nukes? → Read More
Scientists spoke to people in their sleep. They responded. What’s lucid dreaming?
Some of us “wake up” in our dreams, and can even direct the action, Inception style. What is this strange state of dreamwalking? And can you learn to do it? → Read More
Could we ever journey to the centre of the Earth? What’s there?
We’ve landed humans on the moon but we’ve barely scratched the surface of our own planet. What lies beneath? → Read More
‘Like the Wild West’: Who owns the moon and what’s up there?
Missions are blasting off again for the moon as the new space industry hits its stride. Why are we going back? And will it be “finders keepers” for what’s there? → Read More
This neuroscientist accidentally discovered he was a psychopath. How can you pick them?
People are often happy to diagnose their “psycho” boss or “sociopathic” in-laws but what do these conditions actually mean? How are they detected? And what’s it like to live with them? → Read More
Why do smart people join cults? And how do they get out of them?
It’s not just doomsday bunkers and goat’s blood. Cults are all around the world, including in Australia. What are the red flags and how do cult leaders operate? → Read More
Ten years on from the God particle, we may have found a fifth force of nature
It took four decades to find. Homer Simpson predicted it. And, depending on who you ask, it could one day destroy the universe. What’s the Higgs Boson? And what is left to discover? → Read More
Scientists thought these monster waves were myth. Now they’re racing to understand them
These are the real sea monsters: waves so tall they can block out the sky. So what happens when waves go “rogue”? Why do they strike out of nowhere? And how do sailors survive them? → Read More
How do we stop the next pandemic?
What needs to happen to avert another virus-borne global tragedy? We ask the scientist who helped discover Ebola, a Nobel laureate, and the man who first published COVID-19’s genetic code. → Read More
Why can’t America fix its gun crisis?
Why do mass shootings keep happening in the US? What does the Second Amendment mean? Who are the NRA? And where is gun regulation reform at today? → Read More
Our experts answer your burning election questions
Our inbox was flooded with questions. Here are some answers. → Read More
How does Australia’s pandemic response stack up globally?
World-leading or a “shit show”? How does Australia’s pandemic response so far compare with other countries? And who gets to take credit? → Read More
How are doctors unravelling the mystery of long COVID?
Doctors are still unravelling the mysteries of long COVID. They expect the answers will change our understanding of immunity – and medicine – forever. → Read More
Who has nukes, and what do Russia’s nuclear threats mean?
The world’s nuclear arsenal started to seem irrelevant – until Putin put his nation’s on high alert. What is the likelihood of him using nukes, and how effective is “deterrence” today? → Read More
What are chemical weapons and how might Putin use them?
Poison gas conjures up the ghost horrors of WWI. But it’s been used in battle since. And Western leaders are warning that Russia may use it soon in Ukraine. What would that mean? → Read More
What is Putin’s endgame in Ukraine?
The ex-KGB officer has launched the biggest attack in Europe since World War II. Why did Putin invade Ukraine – and how far could he go? → Read More