News
all News articles
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Study assesses Victoria’s COVID-19 response
Reproduction ratio down and thousands of infections 'averted’.
COVID-19 control measures in the Australian state of Victoria reduced the reproduction ratio of the virus from 1.75 t...
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Grooming and the social lives of cows
Study highlights link to mood and behaviour.
Cows, it seems, are more complex creatures than we thought. Earlier this year, Cosmos reported on the mood swings ...
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Evocations of abstract art
Blending art theory and cognitive science.
Art has been an integral part of human existence since time immemorial, prompting scientists to try to understand its...
Dogs trained to sniff out coronavirus
International effort showing positive results.
By Susan Hazel and Anne-Lise Chaber, University of Adelaide What does a pandemic smell like? If dogs could talk, t...
Does a 'recycled' brain region let us read?
New study adds weight to an evolutionary hypothesis.
The ability to read sets humans apart from other species, but we’re not completely sure how the brain developed the a...
Features
all Features articles
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Conversation
Cars rule as pandemic changes travel trends
Data shows walking is doing better than public transport.
By Neil G Sipe, University of Queensland As with other parts of the global economy, COVID-19 has led to rapid chan...
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Focus
More on the language of immunity
Peter Doherty explains some other perplexing terms.
This continues the process from last week (the I essay) of introducing terms that will be encountered as we engage wi...
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Citizen Science
Insect disguises and pygmy-possum ID
Investigate mimicry or go on a virtual expedition.
Each week Cosmos takes a look at projects and news about Citizen Science in Australia. This week, with winter and cor...
Space
all Space articles
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SpaceWatch: spiral arms and space junk
News of space exploration, astrophysics and astronomy.
Mars is space flavour of the month, with three spacecraft on their way and suggestions of a possible icy past, but th...
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When Mars was like Canada
Analysis suggests early landscape was icy, not warm.
Ancient river channels on Mars may have formed beneath thick ice sheets, scientists say. It’s an important find, b...
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Mars is the place (in space) to be
Three missions, three countries, one destination.
Mars is about to become crowded. When the spacecraft carrying NASA’s Perseverance rover safely launched from Cape Can...
Technology
all Technology articles
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Who’s the fool now?
Magnetic new role possible for a maligned material.
Fool’s gold could actually be valuable, but only if you do something that no-one (fool or otherwise) has done before....
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Attacking e-waste with ‘material microsurgery’
Innovative small-scale approach has big potential.
Australian researchers have reported early success with an innovative idea for recycling old electronic devices or e-...
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Nature
all Nature articles
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Research
Does a 'recycled' brain region let us read?
New study adds weight to an evolutionary hypothesis.
The ability to read sets humans apart from other species, but we’re not completely sure how the brain developed the a...
-
Conversation
Dogs trained to sniff out coronavirus
International effort showing positive results.
By Susan Hazel and Anne-Lise Chaber, University of Adelaide What does a pandemic smell like? If dogs could talk, t...
-
Grooming and the social lives of cows
Study highlights link to mood and behaviour.
Cows, it seems, are more complex creatures than we thought. Earlier this year, Cosmos reported on the mood swings ...
Earth
all Earth articles
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Why biocrust is useful in the desert
Study highlights the value of tiny plants and organisms.
Miniscule plants and microscopic organisms growing on desert soils reduce water erosion by an average of 68% worldwid...
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NZ glacier melt linked to climate change
Extreme event attribution used to calculate human influence.
It is “very likely” that the increased melting of 10 glaciers in New Zealand’s South Island is caused by human greenh...
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The increasing cost of coastal flooding
Scientists predict it could be up to 20% of global GDP.
Infrastructure damage from coastal flooding will cost the world US$14.2 trillion over the next eight decades and affe...
History
all History articles
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Crocodiles bound for America
New research suggests they went via Africa.
How crocodiles first reached the Americas has long been a matter of debate. Now Italian researchers are suggesting th...
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Evidence for early arrival of humans in America
Two teams analyse artefacts from Mexican cave.
Humans may have reached the Americas 30,000 years ago – some 15,000 years earlier than previously thought – according...
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An ancient story of change and adaptation
Study fills gaps in history of Aboriginal Australians.
Archaeologists are continuing to unravel the complex history of Australia’s Aboriginal people, the world’s oldest civ...
People
all People articles
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Conversation
Cars rule as pandemic changes travel trends
Data shows walking is doing better than public transport.
By Neil G Sipe, University of Queensland As with other parts of the global economy, COVID-19 has led to rapid chan...
-
Evocations of abstract art
Blending art theory and cognitive science.
Art has been an integral part of human existence since time immemorial, prompting scientists to try to understand its...
-
Health
all Health articles
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Study assesses Victoria’s COVID-19 response
Reproduction ratio down and thousands of infections 'averted’.
COVID-19 control measures in the Australian state of Victoria reduced the reproduction ratio of the virus from 1.75 t...
-
Focus
More on the language of immunity
Peter Doherty explains some other perplexing terms.
This continues the process from last week (the I essay) of introducing terms that will be encountered as we engage wi...
-
History
Casimir Funk introduced us to vitamins
Polish biochemist explored what was essential for life.
Over the past century, a vast amount of research has looked at nutritional supplements, without reaching a consensus ...
Core Sciences
all Core Sciences articles
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Is this how human sperm really move?
New research challenges centuries-old assumption.
We know what human sperm do, but it seems we may be wrong about one aspect of how they do it. Research by fertilit...
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History
Rachel Makinson and the science of wool
Distinguished career began on a temporary basis.
Rachel Makinson joined the radiophysics laboratory at Australia’s then Council of Scientific and Industrial Research ...
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Can water be two types of liquid?
Researchers offer evidence to support decades-old theory.
Cold water behaves strangely. For starters, it expands rather than contracting as it cools (which is why ice floats),...