Early results from Australia-wide experiment suggest being outdoors can be a good way to trigger “aha” moments. People are most likely to have a sudden bright idea when out in the bush – or lying in bed. That’s one of the early observations arising from The Aha! Challenge, the month-long Australia-wide science experiment that kicked…
Scientists urge priority action on hundreds of surviving reefs. The majority of 2500 reefs surveyed in a major international exercise retain the coral species that give them their distinctive structure. More than 80 marine scientists, including several from Australia, contributed to the study, which is published in the journal, Nature Ecology and Evolution.
Australia-UK researchers identify ancient protein pumps that make bacteria tough to treat – but could be key to new green polymers The molecular machinery used by bacteria to resist chemicals designed to kill them could also help produce precursors for a new generation of nylon and other polymers, according to new research by scientists from…
Researchers set up Australia-wide experiment to explore why and when the pennies drop. Scientists want to know the things that make you go “aha!”. Throughout August, researchers from the University of Melbourne are conducting a country-wide citizen science project to better understand how the human brain works. The focus of the project, dubbed The Aha!…
Australian scientists develop cheap and rapid way to identify antibiotic-resistant golden staph (MRSA). A combination of off-the-shelf quantum dot nanotechnology and a smartphone camera soon could allow doctors to identify antibiotic-resistant bacteria in just 40 minutes, potentially saving patient lives. Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph), is a common form of bacterium that causes serious and sometimes…
Chinese-Australian research finds climate change good news, and solves an evolutionary mystery Baby turtles influence their gender by moving around inside their eggs, research has revealed. The idea that an embryo reptile can act in a way that affects its chances of developing as male or female has long been thought impossible, but findings by…
Macquarie University’s Professor Rob Harcourt urges Oceania-wide action to safeguard several species. Sharks in Australian waters are well protected but are at risk as soon as they leave them, a new international study reveals. The study compiled by 150 scientists around the world – including 26 with ties to Australia – has found that even…
Dr Stuart Ryder is venturing into the stratosphere on a NASA jet to study the birthplace of massive stars. Macquarie University astronomer Dr Stuart Ryder is in New Zealand to hitch a ride on a NASA jet and take a closer look at how stars are born in one of the most active stellar nurseries…
Australian research finds little lizards learn very quickly. Young Australian eastern blue-tongue lizards (Tiliqua scincoides) are every bit as clever as adults, researchers have found. Life is hard for baby blue-tongues. As soon as they are born, they are on their own, with neither parental support nor protection. Adults of the species can grow to 600…
Australian and South American researchers posit wandering “ploonets” as unseen actors in distant solar systems. Moons ejected from orbits around gas giant exoplanets could explain several astronomical mysteries, an international team of astronomers suggests. Researchers led by Mario Sucerquia, from the Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia, and Jaime Alvarado-Montes from Australia’s Macquarie University, modelled the likely…