The first accurate 3D map of our galaxy reveals its true shape: warped and twisted. Background information and further images below. Astronomers from Macquarie University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have used 1339 ‘standard’ stars to map the real shape of our home galaxy in a paper published in Nature Astronomy today. They found…
Female scientists have played a critical role in many scientific discoveries throughout history, but their contributions have often been overlooked. Ahead of International Women’s Day this Thursday, Macquarie University scientists are celebrating the work of forgotten women of science through history; explaining how their work today is changing the world; and making the case for…
Science paper Friday, 15 September 2017 Background information below. More high-res images available below. Wastewater, tourism, and trade are moving microbes around the globe at an unprecedented scale. As we travel the world we leave billions of bacteria at every stop. As with rats, foxes, tigers and pandas, some microbes are winners, spreading around the…
Click here for high-res images. Background information below. And feature story by lead author Ian Wright for The Conversation here. A global team of researchers have cracked the mystery of leaf size. Their research was published today as a cover story in Science. Why is a banana leaf a million times bigger than a common heather leaf?…
Caring for Country in Arnhem Land Macquarie University Eureka Prize winners Macquarie University congratulates its winners in the 2017 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes and the winner of the Macquarie University Eureka Prize for Outstanding Early Career Researcher. High-power diamond lasers invented at Macquarie University High-power lasers have many potential applications: from medical imaging to manufacturing,…
High-power diamond lasers, invented at Macquarie University, Eureka finalist High-power lasers have many potential applications: from medical imaging to manufacturing, shooting down drones or space junk, or powering deep space probes. But current laser technologies overheat at high power. Rich Mildren and his team have developed a technique to make diamond lasers that, in theory,…
A unique collaboration between scientists and Aboriginal people in remote south-eastern Arnhem Land is building knowledge about country and how local people can better manage it. In the last nine years the Ngukurr Wi Stadi bla Kantri (We Study the Country) Research Team has discovered species new to science, found new populations of threatened species,…
What fly guts could reveal about our health: microbes in the gut can influence diet and reproduction, and the changes could be passed on to the next generation. Discoveries from Macquarie University and Sydney University illustrate how microbes in the gut can influence host animals. The work could be important for understanding the effects of…
Australian and Vietnamese medical researchers are meeting in Sydney this week to plan their next move against tuberculosis (TB), a disease that once was Australia’s top killer and still kills 54,000 people each year in Vietnam. The researchers are coming together in Australia to share their progress and build stronger ties in fighting a disease…
Centenary Institute’s Prof Chris Semsarian available for comment on sudden cardiac death in young athletes. Two fit, young professional footballers – apparently completely healthy – have suffered sudden heart attacks mid-match in recent weeks.