Category: Science and Nature

New research that shows how a mouse’s brain produces the placebo effect may help the development of better pain-relieving drugs.

On a soaking wet spring day at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds campus in Victoria, under a leaden sky devoid of sunshine, two former engineering students are finally taking the solar-powered car they have painstakingly designed over three long years for a spin. “It’s so smooth,” enthuses Angus McDonald, one of the two key designers among…

UNSW Sydney projects have been awarded a glut of funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to support research and development that will significantly reduce the cost of solar. As reported this week, the funding is part of ARENA’s ‘Solar 30 30 30’ target, aimed at achieving 30% module efficiency and 30 cents-per-installed-watt at…

Leaders in the EU and the UK have announced markedly different plans to manage the escalating energy crisis, as August power-prices in Europe soar to an all-time high and Putin vows to shutter the Nord Stream 1 pipeline until sanctions are lifted. The newly-minted UK prime minister Liz Truss declined to follow the EU lead…

How can we be so specific about an event so far in the past?

IPCC sixth assessment report on mitigation: The bad news? We’re polluting more than ever. The good news, though, is mitigation strategies are more possible than ever.

New research sheds light on the origin story of our mysterious monotremes.

A massive bleaching event – the first during a La Niña climate cycle– has alarmed scientists, meanwhile new research suggests a potential conservation avenue.

A non-hormonal contraceptive shows promise in mouse trials – is there hope for humans?

Clearest image yet of a mysterious new space object.

In the first of many small steps, the first Moon-bound Artemis spacecraft is out on the launch pad for a series of tests.

Our precious biodiversity is disappearing before we can even put a name to it.

How can we go about quantifying the amount of protein removed from our oceans? And what does it tell us about our reliance on seafood, and the possibility of sustainable fishing into the future?

Airbus to test zero-emissions aircraft, but how does it work?

As storms batters the east coast, is this what our future looks like?

Genetic risk variant for severe COVID-19 actually protects against HIV.

But how does it work, and how soon can we use it?

There is, there isn’t, there is, there isn’t… what’s the deal with liquid water on the red planet?

This new world record was no flash in a pan.

How can we be so specific about an event so far in the past?

More like cousin of Omicron, it seems. But how worried do we need to be?

Russian cemetery provides a glimpse into a society’s response to a mini-Ice Age.

What to make of a newly discovered pulsing radiation source?

Breakthrough Australian research is a major advance in quantum computing.

There may be earlier remains of modern humans – but science is certain about these ones.

Immunity can vary between individuals. But the sooner you can boost, the better.

New theory on the origins of life is a gas.

Persistent human-made debris is providing pelagic habitat for some coastal species. What happens if they make landfall someplace new?

It appears our early ancestors were more diverse than we thought, and co-existed with each other.

Researchers identify key genes that help hardy shrubs adapt to the Atacama desert.

Species dying out as waterways trickle to a stop in the jarrah forests.

Species dying out as waterways trickle to a stop in the jarrah forests.

There’s more evidence – if any were needed – to underline the importance of correct diagnosis for endometriosis.

With Australia’s first cryogenics facility set to open this year, will human cryopreservation ever be a reality?

Illegal trade bust reveals a remarkable specimen of a ground-dwelling pterosaur.

New research shows just how much the 1987 Montreal Protocol has protected the planet.

A new way to manipulate spin qubits – and hasten the arrival of the quantum computer.

The mammoth covered enough of Alaska’s ranging wilds to circle the Earth twice over – in only 28 years

Rapid and drastic melting last summer of the area predicted to be the Arctic’s final refuge of ice has been pinned to unusual meteorological conditions and climate change, with scientists suggesting the ‘Last Ice Area’ (LIA) is more vulnerable than previously thought. The LIA is a region north of Greenland and Ellesmere Island in the…

Between November 2019 and March 2020, the star Betelgeuse – the second closest red supergiant to Earth, and a star that’s slowly pulsing towards the end of its lifespan – dimmed visibly, sparking global speculation about the cause. For many in the astronomical community, it was thought at first that Betelgeuse might be about to supernova –…

American biotech company Novavax announced yesterday that their COVID-19 vaccine PREVENT-19 demonstrated 90% overall efficacy in its phase 3 trial, and provides 100% protection against moderate and severe disease. The phase 3 trial showed PREVENT-19 had high efficacy (90.3%) against newer variants of concern and variants of interest (VOC and VOI respectively). This means that PREVENT-19 may…

The New Zealand mud snail is a small but hardy creature that can reproduce at epic rates. Dispersed across the globe on the waves of globalisation, populations of this tiny aquatic mollusc are crowding out native species in riverbeds around the world. Now, a team of scientists from the University of Iowa, US, have deployed…

Warming waters are triggering a mass exodus of marine creatures from the tropics. For Cosmos Magazine.

New comet is only the second ever interstellar visitor detected entering our solar system. For Cosmos Magazine.

Researchers find that baby brains are bolstered by lemur and human voices – but not by birdsong. Full article in Cosmos online at: https://cosmosmagazine.com/animals/lemur-calls-help-babies-learn/

Researchers use 3D modelling to examine the jaws of different-sized tyrannosaurs. Full article in Cosmos Magazine online at: https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/palaeontology/how-a-baby-t-rex-bites/

If you know where to look, there’s almost no technological or design problem that nature hasn’t solved already. Amalyah Hart dives headfirst into the world of bio-inspiration. Full text here: https://www.thecitizen.org.au/articles/next-wave-technology-inspired-by-the-miracles-of-nature This article originally published in Cosmos Magazine issue 90.