News
all News articles
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Trees tell tales of troubling change
Heatwaves in Mongolia and falling leaves in Europe.
As the climate crisis intensifies, forests are feeling the heat, as two studies just published in the journal Science...
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Hawai’i has a hidden reservoir
Freshwater find raises hopes for volcanic islands worldwide
The Hawai’ian island chain has been a tropical holiday destination for decades, renowned for its warm waters, fine su...
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NatureWrap: Dolphins are clever breathers
Plus helpful rats, jaguar threats and acoustic wings.
Dolphins actively slow their hearts before diving and can even adjust their heart rate to suit how long they plan to ...
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Was Earth once a bit more like Venus?
Researchers create magma to model our old atmosphere.
The degassing of early Earth’s magma ocean may have produced an atmosphere similar to that found on Venus today – ric...
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Naming that plant just got easier
Researchers streamline the list of known vascular species.
A major difficulty in plant research is the sheer abundance of names. Most databases contain multiple or archaic ...
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Talk back to babies to help them learn
It’s the quality of chat that counts, not the quantity.
It’s a no-brainer that babies learn language from their caregivers, but how we respond to them rather than simply how...
Swift by design, drone by nature
Ornithopters not just a flight of fancy.
Hovering, darting, gliding, diving and braking, the fleet-winged contraption in the video below is at the cutting edg...
COVID news and trends @ 27 November
A digest of science and reporting highlights.
The numbers Global As at 19:03 CET on Wednesday 25 November, cases confirmed worldwide by national authorities ...
Features
all Features articles
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History
Henri Laborit feels our pain
French surgeon a pioneer of modern anaesthetics.
In her new book Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness, Australian journalist Kate Cole-A...
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Conversation
The life and times of a forensic linguist
What they do, and what it takes to do it.
By Georgina Heydon, RMIT University If you’re an avid viewer of crime shows, you’ve probably come across cases in ...
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Conversation
We need to promote the right kind of fire
Changing patterns threaten species with extinction.
By Luke Kelly and Katherine Giljohann, University of Melbourne, Annabel Smith, University of Queensland, and Michael ...
Space
all Space articles
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Was Earth once a bit more like Venus?
Researchers create magma to model our old atmosphere.
The degassing of early Earth’s magma ocean may have produced an atmosphere similar to that found on Venus today – ric...
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Shining light on the Sun’s source of power
New class of neutrinos ends a chapter of physics.
Scientists working with $AU60 million instrument in Italy have found a new class of neutrinos coming from the Sun tha...
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Snapshot
Zooming in on space
Lots of pixels and our second minimoon.
When trying to find things in space, it helps to have technology on your side. And the technology keeps getting bette...
Technology
all Technology articles
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Research
Swift by design, drone by nature
Ornithopters not just a flight of fancy.
Hovering, darting, gliding, diving and braking, the fleet-winged contraption in the video below is at the cutting edg...
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Producing hydrogen, not oxygen
Scientists create tiny droplet-based microbial factories.
The search for alternative energy sources is as wide-ranging as it is important. In a new chapter, scientists from...
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Nature
all Nature articles
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NatureWrap: Dolphins are clever breathers
Plus helpful rats, jaguar threats and acoustic wings.
Dolphins actively slow their hearts before diving and can even adjust their heart rate to suit how long they plan to ...
-
Naming that plant just got easier
Researchers streamline the list of known vascular species.
A major difficulty in plant research is the sheer abundance of names. Most databases contain multiple or archaic ...
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The evolution of an aggressive tumour
Genomic study may help save the Tasmanian Devil.
Australia’s iconic Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is particularly prone to a cancer that spreads through biti...
Earth
all Earth articles
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Trees tell tales of troubling change
Heatwaves in Mongolia and falling leaves in Europe.
As the climate crisis intensifies, forests are feeling the heat, as two studies just published in the journal Science...
-
Hawai’i has a hidden reservoir
Freshwater find raises hopes for volcanic islands worldwide
The Hawai’ian island chain has been a tropical holiday destination for decades, renowned for its warm waters, fine su...
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Wheat and barley are incredibly diverse
Scientists begin building an encyclopedia of their genes.
The grains we use for bread and beer have thousands of years of history. Now, researchers are one step closer to unde...
History
all History articles
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There’s more than one way to grow a beak
Madagascar fossil adds new twist to bird evolution.
A new fossil discovered on the ever-surprising island of Madagascar suggests ancient Mesozoic bird beaks and faces we...
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People chose the coast during the big chill
Evidence found of persistent occupation in South Africa.
Excavations on South Africa’s southeast coast have uncovered evidence of persistent human occupations from the end of...
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Conversation
NZ fossils reveal a new southern seal
And that’s changed thinking about a rare marine mammal.
By James Patrick Rule and Justin Adams, Monash University, Erich Fitzgerald, Museums Victoria, and Felix Georg Marx, ...
People
all People articles
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Talk back to babies to help them learn
It’s the quality of chat that counts, not the quantity.
It’s a no-brainer that babies learn language from their caregivers, but how we respond to them rather than simply how...
-
Conversation
The life and times of a forensic linguist
What they do, and what it takes to do it.
By Georgina Heydon, RMIT University If you’re an avid viewer of crime shows, you’ve probably come across cases in ...
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Health
all Health articles
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History
Henri Laborit feels our pain
French surgeon a pioneer of modern anaesthetics.
In her new book Anaesthesia: The Gift of Oblivion and the Mystery of Consciousness, Australian journalist Kate Cole-A...
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Mitochondria linked to health in space
Data of mice and men point in the same direction.
As we plan to send more people into space for more time, there’s a growing imperative to understand what spacetime do...
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Why gyms need to not smell like gyms
It could provide motivation in more ways than one.
Scientists have put forward a couple of new reasons why gyms need to smell a bit different. The first is a study ...
Core Sciences
all Core Sciences articles
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When bacteria behave like liquid crystals
Two studies watch closely as they move and build.
Two studies just released cast new light on the cunning ways of bacteria. Both involve collaboration – and prompt com...
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Solar device that takes pressure off doctors
Engineers find a way to keep things really hot.
This rather unassuming looking set-up on a research station roof in Mumbai, India, could play a part in improving med...
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Whip you up a diamond? No pressure
Researchers do it in the lab, at room temperature.
Australian-led research has taken a leaf out of Superman’s comic book and created diamonds at room temperature for th...