Science In Public
Science writers, communicators, media, training, and public relations
Issued on behalf of the People for a Living Moorabool
Farmers, conservationists, and others available for interview + photos and HD overlay
Film premiere on Saturday 26 June in Ballarat
“The Moorabool River will continue to deteriorate and die unless we give back some of its water,” says Cameron Steele, coordinator of river protection group, People for A Living Moorabool.
[Read more…] about Dying Moorabool River needs big drinks of water
The first detailed cross-section of a galaxy broadly similar to the Milky Way, published today, reveals that our galaxy evolved gradually, instead of being the result of a violent mash-up. The finding throws the origin story of our home into doubt.
The galaxy, dubbed UGC 10738, turns out to have distinct ‘thick’ and ‘thin’ discs similar to those of the Milky Way. This suggests, contrary to previous theories, that such structures are not the result of a rare long-ago collision with a smaller galaxy. They appear to be the product of more peaceful change.
And that is a game-changer. It means that our spiral galaxy home isn’t the product of a freak accident. Instead, it is typical.
[Read more…] about Milky Way not unusual, astronomers findAdelaide company Micro-X (ASX: MX1) has won the Land Forces 2021 National Innovation Award for inventing and manufacturing Rover, a lightweight go-anywhere X-ray machine ruggedised and optimised for high intensity use in field hospitals and remote locations.
Military doctors aim to provide combat soldiers who go in harm’s way with no less a standard of medical care than they can expect at home. However, conventional, hospital-grade mobile x-ray machines are heavy (typically 400 to 600kg), power hungry and very hard to move around on uneven surfaces.
So, prior to the Rover’s development, only small-animal veterinary x-rays units were light enough to be deployed by military forces.
[Read more…] about Innovation Award for ADF’s new mobile medical X-rayThis year’s festival runs 14 to 22 August with thousands of events around Australia.
Entertainment, business, environment, food and wine, Indigenous, the Arts, health, sport, technology, farming and agriculture, lifestyle, education, and disability media …
EVERY round can find a story in this year’s National Science Week.
National Science Week 2021 runs from 14 to 24 August. Here are some of the early top picks:
Future-proofing food
How are we going to feed 10 billion people on a planet hit by climate change? Ask one of the hundreds of Australian scientists working on solutions. For instance:
Astronomers, students and telescopes available for photographs. Key dates and locations:
April 29, morning: Riverside High School, 354 West Tamar Road, Launceston; Jay Duggan: 03 6327 6333
April 29, afternoon: Exeter High School, 28 Glen Ard Mohr Road, Exeter; Greg Finnigan: 03 6394 4366
April 30, morning and afternoon: Ulverstone Secondary College, 38 Leven St, Ulverstone; Kylie Waters: 03 6425 1433; 0400 126 282
Three schools in Launceston, Exeter and Ulverstone will be visited by astronomers, who will present them with powerful telescopes and show eager students how to use them to unlock the secrets of the stars.
Dr Brad Tucker, from the Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D (ASTRO 3D) and the Australian National University, together with Mr Peter Swanton, also from ANU, will give the telescopes to Riverside, Exeter and Ulverstone high schools on April 29 and 30.
[Read more…] about Free telescopes for Launceston, Exeter and Ulverstone schools, April 29 and 30It will take until at least 2080 before women make up just one-third of Australia’s professional astronomers, an analysis published today in the journal Nature Astronomy reveals.
“Astronomers have been leaders in gender equity initiatives, but our programs are not working fast enough,” says Professor Lisa Kewley, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D).
Kewley is also an ARC Laureate Fellow at the Australian National University’s Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics. She developed workforce forward modelling that can predict the fraction of women at all levels in astronomy from 2021 to 2060, given different initiatives in hiring or retention. The models show that Australia’s university leadership need to adopt 50:50 or affirmative action hiring and introduce exit surveys and retention initiatives.
“With these initiatives we can reach one-third women in 11 years, growing to 50 per cent in 25,” she said.
[Read more…] about More than 60 years to achieve gender equity?Media release from the Hon Karen Andrews MP, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology
Tea bag rockets, doughnut-flinging robots and a singing palaeontologist are among the events being supported by the Morrison Government’s 2021 National Science Week grants.
33 public science projects will share in nearly $500,000 as part of Australia’s annual celebration of science and technology.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said the Morrison Government was proud to support inspiring, innovative and accessible projects as part of National Science Week.
[Read more…] about Feast for the senses this National Science Week
Innovative Adelaide-based manufacturer Micro-X has received funding to develop a game-changing portable brain scanner from the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund.
The scanner will be small enough to be placed in ambulances or Royal Flying Doctor Service aircraft and will give more Australians rapid access to treatment in the crucial first “golden hour” after a stroke.
It is expected to revolutionise stroke care particularly for rural and remote Australians who are twice as likely as city stroke survivors to be left with a serious, lifelong disability.
[Read more…] about Can a brain scanner fit into an ambulance?
Expert health and medical science leaders welcome vaccine roll-out, but caution that the vaccines alone are not enough.
See here for comments from Tania Sorrell, Tony Cunningham, Fran Baum, and other health experts.
The COVID-19 vaccination roll-out is a major development for Australia. It will enable people to take action that will help to protect themselves, their families and the wider community from a disease that has killed millions of people and impacted everyone, says the country’s expert body in the health and medical sciences.
The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS) is an independent body comprising more than 400 senior researchers and health leaders. It has been active in monitoring and guiding the nation’s pandemic response.
[Read more…] about COVID-19 vaccines will protect individuals, families and communities