In search of the oldest animal
Sponge-like fossil found in ancient reef might be the earliest evidence of animal life.
In the latest instalment in the quest to find our oldest animal ancestor, a Canadian geologist has unearthed a sponge...
News
all News articles
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First light detected from behind a black hole
X-rays bouncing off a black hole’s disc confirm Einstein’s predictions.
For the first time, astrophysicists have caught sight of light reflected from behind a black hole, proving Einstein r...
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Bees benefit from coffee buzz
Even the foraging abilities of bumble bees are better focused with a caffeine charge.
Most of us are familiar with that morning coffee buzz caffeine-hit– and need it to get started on our working day. Bu...
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Behind the scenes: new national park offers an exclusive window into life at the dawn of time
Remarkable fossils that date back to the earliest days of complex life on Earth are finally in pu...
There’s a place where you can get a glimpse of the world as it was when animals were first becoming animals, and it h...
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Spyware unplugged
New software attacks cast a light on cybersecurity.
A major investigation conducted by news organisations has found that governments around the world may have been spied...
Features
all Features articles
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Alice Hamilton hates heavy metal
This medical pioneer deplored the devastating effects of leaded petrol when it was first introduc...
In the early 1920s, scientists from a wide range of disciplines were involved in what the United States Environmental...
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Magazine
How do mass drone displays work?
The Tokyo Olympic Opening Ceremony showed the spectacular potential of drones to join the party. ...
As Australia burned through 2019’s devastating Black Summer, a Change.org petition circulated calling for the cancell...
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Clever cockatoos have learned to open kerb-side bins — and it has global significance
Move over, bin chickens: bin cockies are here, and scientists say they’re confirming the cultural...
John Martin, University of Sydney; Barbara Klump, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, and Lucy Aplin, University...
Cosmos Briefing
all Cosmos Briefing articles
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Video
Seeing science differently
Cosmos speaks to David Attenborough producer and Multi-award winner Dr Chadden Hunter.
Cosmos spoke to Dr Chadden Hunter, who has worked with David Attenborough to direct Seven Worlds One Planet, winner o...
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Video
The polymer brush solution
Molecule-sized brushes: how on earth could they work?
Polymer brushes are substances with a range of medical and environmental uses - environmentally friendly cleaning pro...
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Video
Engineering a Virus
What you need to know about gain of function research
Gain-of-function research is a technique used in virology and genetics to alter the function of a virus, in order to ...
Space
all Space articles
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First light detected from behind a black hole
X-rays bouncing off a black hole’s disc confirm Einstein’s predictions.
For the first time, astrophysicists have caught sight of light reflected from behind a black hole, proving Einstein r...
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Water in Ganymede’s atmosphere
Hubble Space Telescope finds evidence for water around Jupiter’s largest moon.
An international team of astronomers has used Hubble to peer into the atmosphere of Jupiter’s biggest moon, Ganymede ...
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Insight into the Martian underworld
NASA mission maps the Red Planet right down to its molten core.
What do you call an earthquake if it takes place on another planet? On the Red Planet they’re called marsquakes, and ...
Nature
all Nature articles
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In search of the oldest animal
Sponge-like fossil found in ancient reef might be the earliest evidence of animal life.
In the latest instalment in the quest to find our oldest animal ancestor, a Canadian geologist has unearthed a sponge...
-
Bees benefit from coffee buzz
Even the foraging abilities of bumble bees are better focused with a caffeine charge.
Most of us are familiar with that morning coffee buzz caffeine-hit– and need it to get started on our working day. Bu...
-
Earth
all Earth articles
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Will cyanobacteria fertiliser save our soil?
Biofertiliser made from cyanobacteria show promise as a sustainable nitrogen source
As global soil health dwindles, Aussie researchers are investigating the production of a sustainable organic nitrogen...
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Gorgon’s carbon capture target was the largest such project in the world. What does its shortfall mean for the future of CCS?
Chevron’s recent announcement has turned the spotlight onto the complex and controversial techniq...
On Monday, energy company Chevron announced that its Gorgon Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project was about to hit a mi...
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Age of water
When you’re drinking a cool glass of water, have you ever wondered how old it is? Age dating wate...
Australia is an ancient country, geologically speaking, and its groundwater aquifers reflect this: water in the Murra...
History
all History articles
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In search of the oldest animal
Sponge-like fossil found in ancient reef might be the earliest evidence of animal life.
In the latest instalment in the quest to find our oldest animal ancestor, a Canadian geologist has unearthed a sponge...
-
How a 310-million-year-old brain works
Well-preserved horseshoe-crab brain fills gaps in evolutionary knowledge.
While hard appendages like bone and shell can be preserved as fossils for millions of years, palaeontology’s enduring...
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What you may have missed…
Baby pterosaurs soaring, Venusian weather, crafty crows and more – here’s what went on in last we...
Baby pterosaurs fly the nestInfant pterosaurs may have taken to the air as soon as they cracked out of the egg, a...
People
all People articles
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When music ‘speaks’
New research demonstrates how traditional dùndún drumming accurately mimics Yorùbá speech.
Dùndún drumming is an oral tradition among the Yorùbá peoples of Western Africa which involves a special type of drum...
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Vaping on TikTok is depicted positively
It might be time to introduce age limits.
TikTok videos that include vaping mostly show it in a positive light, according to new research in the journal Tobacc...
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Health
all Health articles
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A better test for Alzheimer’s disease
An Australian collaboration’s work could greatly improve the accuracy of diagnosis.
Alzheimer’s disease is tricky to diagnose, and suspecting its presence in oneself or a loved one brings with it inevi...
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Touch screens transmit less disease the more they’re touched
But only because one unlucky person “cleans” it for the following users . . .
You’ve probably used many public touch-screen interfaces, to withdraw cash at ATMs, check-in at airports, and in nume...
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Does wine make the heart flutter?
A new study looks at wine intake and reduced heart risk. But don’t toast the conclusions yet!
A few wines a week may slightly decrease risk of irregular heart flutters, according to a study published in Clinical...
Core Sciences
all Core Sciences articles
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How a 310-million-year-old brain works
Well-preserved horseshoe-crab brain fills gaps in evolutionary knowledge.
While hard appendages like bone and shell can be preserved as fossils for millions of years, palaeontology’s enduring...
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Cherry-picked COVID-19 statistics: Volume 2
Were the weekend’s “Freedom Rallies” based on science?
A flyer recently dropped into the letterboxes of some New South Wales residents urged people to attend the controvers...
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Video
Lifting things with sound waves
Watch a polystyrene ball get levitated by sound waves alone.
Watch a hemisphere of ultrasound transducers that create sound waves, lifting a polystyrene ball off a reflective sur...
Technology
all Technology articles
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Touch screens transmit less disease the more they’re touched
But only because one unlucky person “cleans” it for the following users . . .
You’ve probably used many public touch-screen interfaces, to withdraw cash at ATMs, check-in at airports, and in nume...
-
Magazine
How do mass drone displays work?
The Tokyo Olympic Opening Ceremony showed the spectacular potential of drones to join the party. ...
As Australia burned through 2019’s devastating Black Summer, a Change.org petition circulated calling for the cancell...
-
Spyware unplugged
New software attacks cast a light on cybersecurity.
A major investigation conducted by news organisations has found that governments around the world may have been spied...