Stories of Aus Sci

In 2010 and 2011 we produced a compilation of stories of Australian science. You can read the stories here

Mission design at rocket speed

Planning space missions is traditionally a time-consuming and costly process. But the new Australian National Concurrent Design Facility (ANCDF), housed at UNSW’s Canberra campus, speeds things up so a mission can be planned in weeks rather than months.

Harnessing the expertise, design processes and software of the French Space Agency CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), the UNSW team has created Australia’s first concurrent design facility.

The ANCDF allows engineers and scientists—both professionals and students—to design different parts of a mission in parallel rather than one after the other, which is the traditional approach. [continue reading…]

Wheat that’s good for guts

A new kind of wheat high in resistant starch can improve intestinal health

Bowel cancer is the world’s third most common cancer. A diet that includes more resistant starch, a kind of fibre that feeds good bacteria in the large intestine, can make it less common. Resistant starch helps improve gut health and reduces the risk of conditions such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer.

Since 2006, CSIRO scientists have been working in a joint venture with French company Limagrain Céréales Ingrédients and the Grains Research and Development Corporation to develop wheat with more resistant starch. [continue reading…]

Radar-in-a-suitcase makes bridges safer

Assessing ageing bridges just got safer and easier, thanks to a high-tech radar device that fits inside a suitcase.

Developed by Dr Lihai Zhang of The University of Melbourne as part of a collaborative research project supported by The Australia-Indonesia Centre, the IBIS-S radar technology can scan a bridge in 15 minutes from a kilometre away with an accuracy of 0.01mm, quickly assessing its condition and stability.

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Stories of Australian Science 2012

Call for stories open until 1 June 2012.

We are gathering stories for our next magazine collection and online showcase of Australian science — Stories of Australian Science 2012.

We’ll publish online by 30 June, in print by 31 July, and distribute them to our contacts in Australia and overseas. We’ll also present them to guests at the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science dinner in October.
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Stories of Australian Science 2011 now open

We’ve opened submissions for Stories of Australian Science 2011 –our third edition of this magazine style collection of science stories.

We’ve also included a reminder of the closing dates for L’Oréal’s For Women In Science Fellowships, the PM’s Prizes and Eureka Prizes, and a brief mention of The Conversation – another way of getting your ideas to a national audience.

Our collection of Stories of Australian Science 2011 will put your research and researchers in front of hundreds of science journalists who came to Melbourne in 2007, including reporters from Nature, Scientific American, Science News, Reuters, BBC, China Daily, Associated Press, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.
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