Gender bending: baby turtles influence their own sex

Operations on 2 August, 2019

Chinese-Australian research finds climate change good news, and solves an evolutionary mystery

Chinese Pond Turtle (Mauremys reevesii)
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

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 scientists from China and Australia have now provided clear proof of the process.

The research, published in the journal Current Biology, solves a long-standing evolutionary mystery – and offers hope that at least some species thought especially vulnerable to effects of climate change will prove more robust than thought.

Read More about Gender bending: baby turtles influence their own sex

Sydney scientists on the hunt for faster TB diagnosis for China’s millions of TB cases

Toni on 14 March, 2013

China’s Ningxia Hospital sees more TB cases a year than the whole of Australia. ci-logo
A new project at the hospital, in collaboration with researchers from the Centenary Institute in Sydney, aims to identify a new way of diagnosing TB and monitoring response to treatment. The research is funded in part by the Australian Respiratory Council.

Read More about Sydney scientists on the hunt for faster TB diagnosis for China’s millions of TB cases