Australia has nearly five million dogs, with nearly 40% of Australian households owning one. But it seems that 40% of Australian dogs are not walked enough and that a similar percentage of dogs are overweight or obese. With colleagues at the University of Sydney, we are interested in collecting more recent data on these trends.

So why do we need to walk our dogs? And how much is enough?

If you’ve used birth control pills for any length of time, you may have been told to take it at the exact same time every day to ensure effectiveness. Maintaining a consistent pill schedule at home is as easy as setting an alarm on your phone — but what happens when you travel across several time zones?

Many Aboriginal Australians would say with conviction that they have always been here. Their ancestors and traditional learnings tell them of this history, and their precise place within it. Our review of the scientific evidence, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that for all practical purposes, this is indeed the case.

Dear Lifehacker, I keep seeing certain types of debt (mortgages, student loans) referred to as "good" debt, whereas other types (credit card debt, for example) are referred to as "bad" debt. What does that mean? What makes a certain type of debt "good" and another type "bad?"

Dear Lifehacker, I've heard cow's milk is actually bad for you, or at least not beneficial when compared to the many alternative options. But if I shouldn't drink milk, what's the best alternative? Are any of them good? I've heard good and bad things about most, so how do I decide?

Dear Lifehacker, I was thinking about buying a larger/better trailer than what I need for myself with the intention of renting it out to other people to help recoup the cost. Is it possible that a speeding or red light fine would go to the owner of a trailer if the camera was behind the vehicle?

Last week I had a shocking cold. Blocked nose, sore throat, and feeling poorly. This made me think about the countless vitamins and supplements on the market that promise to ease symptoms of a cold, help you recover faster, and reduce your chance of getting another cold.

The question How much water do I need to drink? is often followed with the related question Can I drink too much of it? We're here to tell you that, while difficult to do accidentally, it is in fact possible to drink too much water -- and the repercussions can be deadly.

I want to know what a burger means to you.

We're turning the lens around for this week's Ask Lifehacker. Our Managing Editor Virginia Smith posed a question in our internal Slack channel that cuts wide and deep: "It's safe to delete photos from my iPhone, right?"

Telstra kicked off its T22 strategy this week launching a bunch of new plans, including an unlimited data behemoth, and introducing its new 'Peace of Mind' data bolt on, designed to save you from excess data usage fees.

The Peace of Mind Data add-on costs $10 per month and is available for all post-paid mobile plans, except the unlimited plan, which doesn't need the option. Once activated, your data service is throttled to 1.5Mbps when you hit your data limits, rather than paying $10 per extra gigabyte of data they use before the end of the month.

Dear Lifehacker, Is there a way to use my phone to provide wifi to my laptop and smart tv so we can say goodbye to our home broadband? I'm flabbergasted at the cost of internet!

Humans have been aware of their heart rate for thousands of years. But knowing the meaning behind the beats isn’t so simple. Exactly what should a healthy person's heart rate be? And what affects it? Let's take a look at the science.

We might need to get used to the phrase 'almond juice' pretty soon.

There is currently a war being waged between the world's dairy industries and manufacturers of almond and soy-based "milks". American, European and Australian farmers have all been pushing to have the word banned from packaging on non-dairy products. Is this fair? Or censorship gone mad? Let's take a look at the evidence.

Dear Lifehacker, I've heard that I should be "mixing it up" and changing up my workouts at the gym. My friend, who's a bodybuilder, told me that this is called "muscle confusion" and will force them to grow. I only know a few exercises at the gym so changing seems even more difficult. What do I do?

The BMJ recently published a case report about a 34-year-old man admitted to an emergency room in Cooperstown, NY with thunderclap headaches; a particularly painful kind that can be a sign of cerebral haemorrhaging. His symptoms included dry heaving and intense head and neck pain.

The man traced his anguish to a chilli eating contest a few days prior where he consumed a single Carolina Reaper, the Guinness World Record holder for the world's hottest chilli.

Dear Lifehacker, Why is all pizza these days so freaking salty? I don't just mean somewhat salty; I mean if I made my own and dropped the salt shaker in it that would still be less salty than my local Domino's or Pizza Hut. Can they add so much salt? Surely that can't be healthy. Do pizza makers have to comply with any rules in this area or can they legally add as much salt as they want?

Dear Lifehacker, For several years now, my laptop (a refurbished 2016 Acer Aspire V-3) has been destroying my home internet soon after it connects to the router. Some times the internet crashes within seconds. Other times it takes days. But usually it is within 10 minutes.

Dear Lifehacker, I'm a teenager in year 10 and I've started looking at things like programming and coding. I was wondering if you could tell me how to get started with programs like C and Python? I've struggled to find helpful tutorials online for teenagers.