Ellen Phiddian

New blood clot cases have led to a further revision of rules around Australia’s only locally prod...

Yesterday, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) revised its recommendations for the AstraZ...

How do Australian states’ and territories’ electric vehicle policies compare to each other – and ...

The NSW Government has just joined the pack of state governments announcing electric vehicle subsidies, with a $500 m...

Chemists have seen the light and developed a better way of making cyclodextrin.

You may not have heard of cyclodextrins, but chances are you’ve used or ingested things made with them. The doughnut-...

A specially-made straw relieves the annoying condition.

What’s your home remedy for hiccups? Holding your breath, drinking water upside down, having a fright, giving up and ...

Five things we learned about COVID-19 this week.

Hop on Zoom to get your PPE checked Wearing personal protective equipment properly is a critical part of medical c...

Australia is well positioned for renewable energy exports, but more research needs to be done.

Australia and Germany have agreed to invest in the development of a clean hydrogen supply chain between the two count...

Papers with “mice” in the title receive less media attention – but more accurate coverage.

A study in PLOS Biology has spotted a link between studies on mice and their media coverage: when the paper omits “mi...

The current global dearth of silicon chips isn’t funny – but there could be worse to come in the ...

The global semiconductor shortage is wreaking havoc on industries from handheld electronics to car making. There is a...

Impurities found in the crystal structures of perovskites could be hindering their performance.

A group of Australian and Chinese researchers have found tiny defects – and ways to resolve them – in the atomic stru...

What needs to happen to make a silicon chip – and why it needs so much water.

The ongoing computer chip shortage has multifaceted causes, including drought, an uptick in demand following the pand...

Australian researchers have found an advanced material that doesn’t change size over a huge tempe...

It’s a basic rule of chemistry and physics: when you heat things up, they get bigger. While there are exceptions (lik...

New research locates a gene that causes infertility – and then gives it to mice.

A team of Chinese researchers has used mice to identify a gene that causes male infertility, which may pave a way tow...

Five things we learned about COVID-19 this week.

Pfizer vaccine looks to be somewhat effective against Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant A study on blood serum has found th...

Australian chemists have found a clean, efficient method of making large amounts of ammonia.

A team of Australian scientists have developed a new, efficient way to make the critical agricultural product ammonia...

A team of scientists find that the 2021 disaster was triggered by a massive rock and ice avalanche.

An international coalition of 53 scientists has determined the cause, scope and effects of the devastating natural di...

A new technique allows researchers to ‘preview’ DNA strands without sequencing them entirely.

DNA stores tremendous amounts of genetic information, but it also has a lot of potential for storing digital data. It...

Satellite data shows where kelp is sticking around – and where it needs help.

A paper published in Communications Earth & Environment has tracked 35 years of satellite data to create a comprehens...

We talk to Robert Speight and Adrian Jones about recovering fabric waste at BlockTexx.

If they can’t be used second-hand, is it possible to recycle old clothes? What about recycling other fabrics and text...

Fresh insights on how a Vortex Fluidic Device can be used to control chemical reactions.

Professor Colin Raston with his Vortex Fluidic Device. Credit: Flinders University Fluids are fiendishly unpredict...

New research provides a more accurate way of simulating soft tissue on ancient skulls.

If you have a passing interest in science, it’s likely you’ve seen some reconstructed hominid faces – they give some ...

Five things we learned about COVID-19 this week.

The vaccine should be free in India, argue experts While the COVID-19 crisis rages in India, only 3% of the countr...

Temperate freshwater lakes are seeing a drop in dissolved oxygen.

The world’s lakes and oceans are filled with dissolved oxygen (O2), which aquatic species rely on to breathe. But res...

Those removed from their families are worse off than other Indigenous Australians.

Survivors of the Stolen Generations aged over 50 have poorer health and socioeconomic demographics than other Indigen...

This class of molecule appears across chemistry, biology and technology – so what exactly are pol...

Polymers are used all across chemistry and materials science. With a growing need for plastics recycling and increasi...

Are you “fully” vaccinated after a single dose?

As it stands, over 4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Australia. This doesn’t mean 4 milli...

Five things we learned about COVID-19 this week.

Turn up the volume to combat loneliness As Melbourne goes into another seven days of lockdown, it’s likely that th...

How does wastewater testing work?

COVID-19 detections in wastewater have been making headlines for the past 12 months – including this week in Melbourn...

Over six years, scientists repeatedly found high concentrations of mercury in glacial rivers.

Some of Greenland’s glacial meltwaters are unusually high in mercury, according to a study published in Nature Geosci...

Five things we learned about COVID this week.

An accurate saliva COVID test A group of US researchers has developed a saliva-based test for SARS-CoV-2 that can ...

Sixty years later, researchers learn more about the fallout from nuclear tests in the Great Victo...

In the 1950s and 60s, hundreds of nuclear tests were carried out at Maralinga in western South Australia, releasing r...

The need for a facility is clear, but how feasible is it really?

Could Australia have its own mRNA vaccine production operation soon? Victoria has announced $50 million in funding fo...

Bromadiolone and zinc phosphide are caught up in a bait debate – what’s the difference, and what ...

The NSW government has released a $50 million package to assist with the harrowing mouse plague affecting the west of...

Data from a massive citizen science project is used to estimate global bird numbers.

An Australian study has set out to measure the number of birds worldwide, returning an estimate of 50 billion – altho...

New research suggests that providing healthy foods in a medical context can help some conditions.

We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us, but are they so good that medical programs should prescribe th...

Five things science learned about COVID-19 this week.

Pandemic affected Australia’s mental health Around one in five Australians had an increase in symptoms and intensi...

New research pinpoints genes that are responsible for facial similarities in siblings.

New research might provide an insight into an age-old question: do your siblings really know you better than anyone e...

A newly discovered letter reveals that Einstein predicted recent bee research seventy years ago.

In 2019, a group of RMIT researchers were in the midst of publishing a series of grand discoveries about how bees use...

The distant space probe has found a signal from the interstellar gas.

The most far-travelled thing humans have ever made, Voyager 1 is still transmitting trinkets of information to Earth....

Researchers nail evidence that some shark species use magnetic forces as a natural GPS

Might be time to re-think your strategy for avoiding sharks: turns out the marine predators use the Earth’s magnetic ...

A new paper questions the validity of Dunbar’s number, which places a limit on social interactions.

You may have heard that the human brain can manage social relationships with about 150 people. Or perhaps you heard 2...

Researchers have put together a cheap device that could carry out sophisticated chemical analyses.

With a few additions, commercial smartphones can be used as microscopes and medical monitors. But the humble phone ma...

New review suggests animals aren’t hardwired to avoid mating with relatives.

Because it’s evolutionarily unfavourable, there is a common assumption that animals will avoid mating with relatives....

A newly developed device tracks scratches, as a way of quantifying itchiness.

You may have been asked by a doctor to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten, but have you ever been asked to rate ...

Breakthrough in quantum chemistry has implications for quantum technology.

Quantum technology has a lot of promise, but several research barriers need to be overcome before it can be widely us...

New device speeds up evaporation to desalinate water.

A team of Chinese researchers have announced an efficient solar-powered desalination technique that directly uses the...

The sponges were thought to be stationary, but they leave sneaky spikes on the seafloor.

Adult marine sponges are usually thought to be stationary, picking a spot on the seafloor while still in their larval...

It’s the “soap” in antibacterial soap that’s protecting your hands – not the “antibacterial”.

You might assume that a soap or a cleaning product labelled as “antimicrobial” or “antibacterial” is a safer, more hy...

Five things we learned about COVID this week.

Time seemed to pass more slowly during the UK’s second lockdown A team of UK researchers has examined the way peop...

As the ocean heats up, swirling eddies are getting more active.

A team of Australian researchers has found that climate change has made ocean eddies, which are drivers of ocean curr...

New analysis examines the physics of blood from close-range gunshot wounds.

Studying a crime scene isn't easy, especially because blood droplets don’t just fly away from the wound, according to...

Five things we learned about COVID this week.

Physical inactivity a risk factor for severe COVID and death A paper published in BMJ Sports has established a lin...

The highly reflective paint could reduce reliance on air conditioning.

A team of US engineers has developed the whitest – and therefore coolest – paint in the world, able to reflect 98.1% ...

Human screams can convey at least six emotions, with clear acoustic differences.

The human scream can communicate at least six distinct emotions, according to new research published in PLOS Biology....

A discovery about the chemistry of aerosols has implications for climate modelling and pollution ...

Aerosols – tiny droplets of liquid suspended in the air – have interesting chemical and physical properties. They ...

A new study shows that intoxication can last 3–10 hours, depending on how pot is used and who’s u...

A review from the University of Sydney has located a “window of impairment” for cannabis users, suggesting more accur...

What’s the truth behind the NSW air-quality stoush between past and serving politicians?

The air quality in New South Wales’ Hunter Valley has made news this week, with serving and former politicians accusi...

Scientists design a polymer that changes colour depending on its length.

An international team of chemists, including some Australians, have developed a type of polymer that can glow in a br...

Researchers highlight five important facts to help curb allergy symptoms.

Antihistamines are one of the most widely taken medications worldwide, used to relieve allergy symptoms such as runny...

New research points out that pregnancy and cardiovascular disease are risky for each other.

Cardiologists need to address the risk of pregnancy appropriately with women of child-bearing age, and encourage cont...

Chemists have proposed a new technique to find drug doping in sport.

A group of US scientists has developed a new drug detection method to test doping of performance-enhancing drugs. ...

Five things we learned about COVID this week.

Cities encouraging cyclists, with good results Aside from being cheap and environmentally friendly, a bicycle is o...

The complicated work involved in predicting the losses from climate change.

The Australian Academy of Science’s new report, The risks to Australia of a 3°C warmer world, has grim predictions fo...

New research identifies a protein in teeth that senses the cold.

Cold teeth can be painful, particularly if they’re decayed. In a new paper, published in Science Advances, scientists...

Screening, better data collection best ways to improve Indigenous cervical cancer elimination.

Australia is aiming to officially eliminate cervical cancer by 2028, but more work needs to be done to bring Indigeno...

Blame metabolites in the brain for drunk shambling.

A paper published in Nature Metabolism has revealed new information about an enzyme in the brain that’s responsible f...

Molybdenum disulphide offers a more sustainable transformation of CO2.

Chemists have suggested a new method for turning carbon dioxide into methanol using a special catalyst – a technique ...

Stray science stories from last week to cheer up your Monday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtPMDSVopR4 Bonobo adoptees It’s always nice to see animal altruism. A paper p...

Relying on carbon dioxide removal in agriculture will drive up the cost of produce.

A Swiss study has found that using carbon dioxide removal alone to mitigate agricultural emissions is likely to incre...

A small amount of seaweed could get rid of a lot of agricultural emissions.

Livestock are responsible for around 15% of annual greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. A large part of that is methan...

Artificial intelligence helps inform robot’s balance.

A team of researchers, including Australian scientists, have developed a robot that learns to walk across different t...

New research has shone light on the internal structures of perovskite crystals.

Perovskites are a popular substance in materials science, particularly in solar panel research. They’re flexible, the...

Five things we learned about COVID-19 this week.

Health experts are no better than students at detecting fake COVID news A team of German researchers have found th...

A solar cell mounted on the light actuated material can move and track a light source without wires, gears or motors....

The UK’s sugar tax hasn’t affected overall buying habits but has reduced sugar intake.

A study has found that, a year after the introduction of a sugar tax, people were still purchasing the same amount of...

Throw on a wearable, washable fabric that can act as a screen.

Researchers have created a durable, wearable textile that features a large-area, electronic display. Created from ...

Top-level recognition for 24 stellar Australian women and men of science.

The Australian Academy of Science has announced the recipients of its 2021 honorific awards, highlighting 24 Australi...

New research describes how heavy precipitation happens in dry areas.

New research has explained the drivers of extreme precipitation events around the globe. Extreme precipitation eve...

People say they’re not more likely to take ecstasy if they can get it tested.

New research from Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found that access to pill testing would not give people an incenti...

The proof is in the hormones when it comes to breast-cancer treatment.

Breast cancer is now the most-diagnosed cancer worldwide. With 2.3 million new cases revealed in 2020, it’s not a pro...

Five things science learned last week about COVID-19.

WHO says hydroxycholoroquine won’t prevent COVID-19 A panel of experts from the World Health Organisation have str...

New research explains how a type of crystal could be used to detect dangerous chemicals.

A group of Australian researchers have found a fast method of detecting toxins produced from pesticides and chemical ...

Inspired by deep sea creatures, a soft robot can withstand underwater pressure.

A team of engineers have announced that their deep-sea exploration vessel can operate at the bottom of the Mariana Tr...

New research explains why ozone pollution has jumped even as emissions fall.

Last year’s lockdowns resulted in a drop in air pollution around the globe. But while other pollutants decreased, Bei...

Stray science stories from last week to cheer up your Monday.

A round up of the stories that may have snuck past you in this week's edition of science digest... Sharks aren’t s...

Australian engineers complete successful test of new rocket engine.

As Australia’s space industry gears up, a team of Australian researchers has successfully tested a new type of engine...

Five things science learned last week about COVID-19.

A toolkit to speed up vaccine development and research An international team, including researchers from Griffith ...

A nation-wide study has once again found the vaccine works.

A study with over half a million subjects has found the Pfizer mRNA vaccine to be 92% effective at preventing infecti...

New standards aim to shine a light on the scientific evidence.

The Australian guidelines for radio wave safety have been updated for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Australi...

Experts discuss Australia’s future in space.

Australia’s Space Agency is young, but that doesn’t mean we should be underestimated in space: that’s the message fro...

Researchers use novel technique to produce a vaccine candidate for deadly Streptococcus A.

New research from Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics, Queensland, has advanced the development of a vaccin...

Fast lower-atmosphere winds have a complicated effect on wind power.

Wind farms and their turbines have been growing over the past decade – both in area and in height. The larger a tu...

A kangaroo painting is now Australia’s oldest known rock art.

An image of a kangaroo has been identified as Australia’s oldest known rock painting, dated to over 17,000 years old....

New research finds evidence of winemaking in Islamic Sicily.

Chemical residue from grapes has been found inside medieval containers from Islamic Sicily, suggesting there was wine...

Stray science stories from last week to cheer up your Monday.

Please wear a mask when taking selfies with gorillas Gorillas can catch SARS-CoV-2 from humans: in January, it spr...

Oil spills affect dolphin health for a decade and counting.

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and subsequent oil pollution have had long-term health effects for dolphins, accordi...

The oldest DNA found in the world has been sequenced from a mammoth specimen.

Ancient DNA is famously tough to extract and identify. Until today, the oldest sequenced DNA came from a horse that h...

Drops in carbon dioxide levels may have allowed herbivorous dinosaurs to get to Greenland.

A new paper pinpoints the date that a large group of dinosaurs made it to Greenland, suggesting that climatic changes...

Five things science learned about COVID last week.

Nebuliser might be responsible for transmission in hotel quarantine Nebulisers – medical devices that turn liquid ...

Atomic-force microscopy allows new understanding of Saturn’s moon.

New research from the Astrophysical Journal has identified some of the intricate molecules and reactions happening on...

Genes help explain differences between Neanderthal and human brains.

Researchers have identified a mutated gene that appears to be responsible for a large disparity between Neanderthal a...

Ancient conch makes music for the first time in 17,000 years.

How old-fashioned is your taste in music? Researchers have recreated notes from a 17,000-year-old conch shell, found ...

You can expect worse allergy seasons as the climate warms.

Climate change is causing allergy seasons to start earlier, last longer, and be more intense, according to a new stud...