This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about diabetes in pregnancy, X-ray body scanners, the language gene, those slippery neutrinos, and more…
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geology
New research from an Australian-Indian collaboration has provided evidence that disputes the widely accepted theory of how India and Eurasia came together.
The team used the ANU-designed Sensitive High Resolution Ion Microprobe (SHRIMP) to date zircon crystals from north of the ancient plate boundary between India and Eurasia, and found they were the same age as those from the south.
http://news.anu.edu.au/?p=11891
Mr Lloyd White, Research School of Earth Sciences and colleagues from the University of Kashmir and the University of Delhi
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems
New technology for cleaning up nuclear spills, kids wearing the wrong seatbelts and re-writing the textbook on muscles and are just some of the stories we found interesting in Australian science in the last week.
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This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about killer volcanoes; rogue satellites; robot gardeners; the anti-waggle song; and more… Read the full article →
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about Australia’s big twist; slipped discs; poisonous rats; hungry bats; and more… Read the full article →
From tomorrow, for nearly two weeks Australia is hosting a huge meeting of earth scientists – many of them flying directly from their work at recent hot spots.
They will be providing the most up-to-date information on the Japanese tsunami, the safety of nuclear installations, the Christchurch earthquake, Cyclone Yasi, the ash clouds and more. They will also be putting all of this in context and reveal the bigger picture about our planet in all its moods.
The conference is Earth on the Edge, the 25th General Assembly of the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy (IUGG), and it has attracted almost 4,000 delegates from around 100 countries. Read the full article →
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about printing new skin; earthquake prediction; bears in space; innovation irritation; and more… Read the full article →
In 2011 Australia will hold one of the world’s largest meetings of earth scientists. They will explore all the physical aspects of our planet, from deep in the Earth’s core to our place in space.
Given recent natural disasters—such as the Pakistan floods, Black Saturday bushfires, Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami, 2010 Chile earthquake, Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano—the Earth seems ever more restless and destructive, and the impact on human life and infrastructure is increasingly heavy.
So it is important to understand how the Earth works—which means the 25th General Assembly of the International Union of Geophysics and Geodesy in Melbourne from 28 June to 7 July 2011 will be a focus of attention, not only for the 3,000 delegates expected to attend, but for many others besides. Read the full article →
Welcome to our December bulletin celebrating the International Year of Biodiversity (IYOB).
If you are in Canberra next week, join us at CSIRO’s Discovery Centre for a reception and public forum to celebrate the achievements of the International Year of Biodiversity. The forum, Biodiversity and You is chaired by Tony Peacock. The invitation is below.
Here’s a taster of other events occurring in December and into the New Year Read the full article →
Tomorrow the Prime Minister will present her Prizes for Science. The embargo is 5 pm on Wednesday 17 November 2010.
The winners will be at Parliament House from 11 am tomorrow morning and available in the Press Gallery from 1 pm.
Other science news: a L’Oréal award and $100,000 for an Aussie scientist discovering bacteria everywhere; Chinese science leaders in Australia marking 30 years of collaboration; CERN director here soon for physics congress; the end of the world; and…
‘When you’re up to your arse in alligators, it’s hard to remember that your original intention was to drain the swamp.’ This quote sets the scene for a black comedy on biodiversity staged in the skeleton gallery of the Australian Museum tonight and Thursday. Read the full article →
Released on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science.
We know more about the surface of Mars than we do of the earth beneath our feet. Australian earth scientists are calling for a national program to map our country – 300 metres down under.
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about tracking and recovering meteorites; liquefying your body; chlorophyll that works with low energy light; ancient zombie ants; and more…
1. Desert fireballs—An intelligent camera system has been set up to track and recover meteorites in the Nullarbor. It is expected to detect about three or four of them a year. Many of these will be recovered. As debris left over from when planets were constructed, they carry a unique record of the birth of the Solar System.—Australasian Science.
This story can be found in the latest issue of Australasian Science. Read the full article →
In two weeks Australia will play host to a major UN conference focusing on global health and the Millennium Development Goals. More than 70 countries and over 300 organisations will be represented. There will be many compelling stories that matter to Australia and our region. More details and downloads below.
Also, in Canberra today the Australian Academy of Science Think Tank is tackling questions regarding Australia’s mineral deposits. Will we run out of minerals? How much more mineral wealth is still to be found? Do we have the technologies to find it and extract it safely? The media releases are online at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/blog
These issues are being discussed in Canberra at a forum on 19 and 20 August. The media are invited to day one and the speakers are available for interview. The findings will be published later in the year. Read the full article →
Released on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science
Predicting where Australia’s next mineral boom will come from is serious business. Data collected using satellite sensing, airborne surveys, seismic crews and prospecting teams is immense and is piling up rapidly. But what use are all these data? Read the full article →
Released on behalf of the Australian Academy of Science
Most of the easily-found, economically exploitable mineral deposits in Australia have already been discovered, and are steadily being mined out. We need new, large, rich ore bodies to replace them.
How we go about finding and developing them is at the core of an Australian Academy of Science Think Tank to be held in Canberra on Thursday 19 and Friday 20 August. The media are invited to the first day, and the speakers are available for interview. Read the full article →
Zenobia Jacobs
University of Wollongong
Zenobia Jacobs wants to know where we came from, and how we got here. When did our distant ancestors leave Africa and spread across the world? Why? And when was Australia first settled? Read the full article →
Where did we come from; how are we made; and how will it all end?
These fundamental questions are being tackled by the 2009 L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellows who received their Fellowship from Mark Tucker, CEO of L’Oréal Australia, at a ceremony at L’Oréal’s Australian head office in Melbourne on Tuesday 25 August. Read the full article →
‘Fool’s gold’ has tricked many amateur gold miners, but Queensland researchers have discovered it can reveal much about the early evolution of life on Earth.
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