Great National Science Week stories and talent up for grabs around South Australia, including:

• Are koalas really cuddly … or are they dropbears in disguise?
• How do superbugs get super-villain powers?
• Forget the Telstra shop. Your smartphone came from the stars. Find out how.
• Giant wombats versus ichthyosaurs: which would win? Adelaide palaeontologists fight over the best fossil
• Explore a gravitational wave detector via Minecraft
• How can you tell good science from bad? Ask the experts (if you trust them!)
• Meet the cuttlefish, sea-dragons, dolphins, sharks and rays of the Great Southern Reef – without getting wet
• The science of blowing a record-breaking 19.8-metre soap bubble
• Help SA’s endangered bandicoots find prickly new homes
• Discover the love-hate relationship between butterflies and ants
• Become a Carbon Counter and join the challenge cut our contribution to climate change.

More on these highlights below, and others at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, artists, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977

Great stories and talent up for grabs around Australia, including:

• Discover storms on Jupiter—multiple events and locations
• Your selfie from space—Canberra and Northern Territory
• Get your dark sky back—talent from Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne
• Are bushfires good for plankton?—Tasmania
• Giant wombats versus ichthyosaurs: which would win? Adelaide palaeontologists fight over which is the best fossil
• Vaccines, coronavirus, criminal trials, and climate change: trusting science in a time of crisis—Melbourne
• Is your diet good for the planet?—talent in Sydney and Melbourne
• What will it take to keep the Great Barrier Reef great? Ask an expert—Gold Coast
• Flying doctors: how do you save lives while flying thousands of metres above sea level?—Perth
• Growing hemp in the Red Centre—Alice Springs

These are just a few of the events happening across Australia in National Science Week, August 15 to 23.

If you’re after more great ideas for stories, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, performers and event organisers are available for interview before and during National Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

• Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
• Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977 or 03 9398 1416.

Great environment stories up for grabs now around Australia.

Are dropbears just koalas making mischief? Are there really dragons living near Adelaide? And just what curious creatures live in your garden?

These are just a few of the questions set to answered during this year’s National Science Week (August 15 to 23).

If you’re after more great ideas for highly visual stories, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at www.scienceinpublic.com.au/science-week, and on Twitter at @SciWKMedia.

Scientists, experts and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week. Read on for contact details for each event, or call:

• Tanya Ha: tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863
• Niall Byrne: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0417 131 977 or 03 9398 1416.

2020 program goes virtual, DIY and well-spaced, accessible across the country

15 to 23 August – start scheduling stories now!

Workshops on conserving endangered honeyeaters, lessons in making sourdough bread, insights into Indigenous astronomy – the range of events in this year’s National Science Week is vast.

And because most of them are online, anyone can take part, no matter where they live. Broome residents can see the sea-dragons of the Great Southern Reef, Territorian students can join the Sydney-based challenge to eradicate malaria, and science fans in Penrith can test their ability to spot deep fake videos with a neuropsychologist in Melbourne.

There are stories here not just for science rounds, but also health, environment, kids, sport, tourism and the arts.

Seoul firm KISCO and CSIRO invest in Melbourne’s Boron Molecular, taking CSIRO precision chemistry to new global customers

• Media contacts
• Images and captions
• Video footage
• KISCO media release in English, in Korean (available 4pm AEST, 9 July)
• Background links

Launch: 3pm KST, 4pm AEST, Thursday 9 July 2020, Grand Hyatt Hotel, Seoul and via Zoom
With His Excellency James Choi, Australian Ambassador to the Republic of Korea.

The next generation of flexible phone screens and other high tech products are one step closer to development following a partnership agreement between Melbourne company Boron Molecular; South Korean chemical company, the Kyung-In Synthetic Corporation (KISCO); and CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency. KISCO and CSIRO will both take a minority shareholding in Boron Molecular.

Who has the darkest skies?

Tell us what you can see on the longest night, help us map Australia’s light pollution, and set a world record

Stunning video overlay and photos, spokespeople in all States and Territories

• Background information
• Images and captions
• Video footage

Scientists are asking all Australians to step outside on the longest night of the year to help them measure light pollution around the country.

“We’re expecting thousands of people to join us on Australia’s longest night, Sunday 21 June, to help researchers create a map of Australia’s darkest skies, and learn about light pollution and its effect on people, animals, and astronomy,” says Marnie Ogg, CEO and founder of the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance.

Research finds current models underestimate the impact of hurricanes and typhoons on coral reef communities

Full paper and images available. Details below.

Big and strong cyclones can harm coral reefs as far as 1000 kilometres away from their paths, new research shows.

A study led by Dr Marji Puotinen from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) sounds a warning about the way strong cyclone winds build extreme seas that affect coral reefs in Australia and around the world.

Conventional modelling used to predict how a cyclone, hurricane or typhoon might impact corals assumes that wave damage occurs primarily within 100 kilometres of its track.

Unusual galaxy set to prompt rethink on how structures in the Universe form

Full paper, Full video, and images available. Details below.

Astronomers have captured an image of a super-rare type of galaxy – described as a “cosmic ring of fire” – as it existed 11 billion years ago.

The galaxy, which has roughly the mass of the Milky Way, is circular with a hole in the middle, rather like a titanic doughnut. Its discovery, announced in the journal Nature Astronomy, is set to shake up theories about the earliest formation of galactic structures and how they evolve.

Australian scientists flag dramatic improvement to next-gen perovskite R&D

Full paper and images available. Details below.

Tests on new designs for next-gen solar cells can now be done in hours instead of days thanks to a new system built by scientists at Australia’s Monash University, incorporating 3D-printed key components.

The machine can analyse 16 sample perovskite-based solar cells simultaneously, in parallel, dramatically speeding up the process.

The invention means that the performance and commercial potential of new compounds can be very rapidly evaluated, significantly speeding up the development process.