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A small bone found 30 years ago has been reanalysed revealing perhaps the stem ancestor of platypus and echidnas went through an “extremely rare” evolutionary change. Platypus and echidnas are the only surviving members of the monotreme family. This includes the only mammals to lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young. For this […]

Measles may become endemic again in the US within 20 years if vaccination rates don’t improve, according to new modelling. Only 2 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine are required to achieve 99% effectiveness to prevent infection from the virus for life. These are usually both administered to children by the age […]

Choosing to receive a vaccine’s first dose and booster in the same arm, rather than in separate ones, generates more effective immune response more quickly, Australian scientists have found. Experiments in mice revealed the key to this lies in the lymph node closest to the vaccination site, where the vaccine response is generated. A clinical […]

Scientists are coming closer to understanding the impact of the two periods known as “Snowball Earth,” on the evolution of life, and in particular, complex life. Earth was covered in ice twice during a period called the Cryogenian, 720 to 635 million years ago (mya). The first, called the Sturtian glaciation, lasted 56 million years. […]

Many teachers and parents know neuroscience, the study of how the brain functions and develops, is important for children’s education. Brain development is recommended as part of teacher education in universities. Neuroscience is even mentioned in Australia’s “early years framework”, which guides early childhood programs. Previous research has shown there are misunderstandings about how neuroscience […]

Event industry numbers are huge: according to the Australian Business Events Association 43.7m people attended an event in 2019 in an industry which is estimated to be worth $36bn a year and employs an estimated 229,000 people. It comprises tens of thousands of businesses ranging from multinationals to sole traders; it is far more than […]

A leading platypus research group is calling for a new way to train wildlife researchers to work on animal anaesthesia, without having undertaken a full veterinary degree. Dr Gilad Bino from the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, and the Platypus Conservation Initiative at the University of New South Wales says the new approach […]

The NASA team behind the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope – due to launch in 2027 – have shared the designs for the mission’s 3 core surveys. Roman will deepen understanding into the mysteries of astrophysics and the universe. “Roman’s setting out to do wide, deep surveys of the universe in a way that will […]

Astrophysicists have just discovered a vast molecular cloud right under our noses. Only 300 light-years away, this crescent-shaped cloud of gas and dust is invisible to the naked eye but is enormous – if we could see it in the night sky, it would take up the space of 40 Moons. It’s one of the […]

Ants crawl and tunnel their way through almost every landmass on Earth today – except Antarctica and some remote or inhospitable islands. This wasn’t always the case, but new research suggests that ants had made their way into global ecosystems earlier than previously thought. “Our team has discovered a new fossil ant species representing the […]

Australia just sweltered through one of its hottest summers on record, and heat has pushed well into autumn. Once-in-a-generation floods are now striking with alarming regularity. As disasters escalate, insurers are warning some properties may soon be uninsurable. Yet, despite these escalating disasters — and a federal election looming — conversation around climate change remains […]

Professor Sharon Lewin is an infectious diseases physician internationally renowned for her research into all aspects of HIV disease – specifically in strategies to achieve an HIV cure. She is the recipient of the NHMRC Elizabeth Blackburn Investigator Grant Awards – Clinical Medicine and Science (Leadership). Research Excellence Awards are awarded annually to the top-ranked researchers […]

Foods high in saturated fat and refined sugar reduce the human brain’s capacity to store memories, say Australian researchers. It’s established that too much saturated fat and refined sugar causes obesity, heart disease and some cancers, but thinking ability also declines and brain disorders increase in people on high fat-high sugar diets, says Dr Dominic […]

New research suggests that prescribed burns in South Australia’s Mount Lofty Ranges might be threatening the survival of local reptile species with potential cascading effects for the wider ecosystem. Such health risks for local wildlife in the region and beyond are likely to become more pronounced as climate change worsens, the authors warn. The study, […]

Earlier this year farmers in western Victoria vowed to lock their gates to stop a major energy link to New South Wales even as the developers said they didn’t need permission to access the land and in Wollongong, 1,000 people gathered to protest against renewables – a proposed offshore wind farm. It’s become a familiar scene in regional areas […]

The Pacific is one of the world’s most disaster-prone regions, facing intensifying cyclones, droughts, and rising tides — and now, a growing threat to its freshwater supplies. Hydrology experts at Flinders University are calling for an urgent investigation into how bore fields extract fresh groundwater in the region. The new study, published in the Journal […]

One day soon, we may have permanent human dwellings on the Moon. These structures will need to withstand extreme conditions to protect the vulnerable astronauts and essential equipment inside. And, when things inevitably do go wrong, there won’t be lunar tradies around to repair them. “One of the things we’ve got very used to here […]

When precious relics are unearthed by archaeologists, it’s the job of conservators to ensure they’re passed on to future generations by protecting them from further degradation. But a new study has cast into doubt a common technique used in the conservation of ancient metal artefacts. The “significant and alarming” findings indicate that some clear resin […]

The world’s biggest solar telescope has delivered its first images with a new instrument, showing the Sun’s explosive surface in exceptional detail. The Daniel K Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii – with a primary mirror diameter of 4m – took the images with its Visible Tunable Filtergraph (VTF) spectro-polarimeter. The telescope has been taking scientific […]

When we think about intelligent animals, farm species aren’t usually the first to spring to mind. We may picture tool-using primates or puzzle-solving crows. But my recent research suggests that sheep, goats and alpacas – staples of the barnyard – deserve more credit. In two separate studies, I tested how these animals learn, remember and […]

Small, hungry crabs may be unsung heroes in the fight to save the Great Barrier Reef, playing a critical role in controlling populations of the destructive crown-of-thorns starfish. New research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America reveals compelling evidence of crab predation on juvenile crown-of-thorns, offering […]

Knowing how much methane is leaking into the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources like oil, gas, coal and cows is critical as humans heat up the planet. Now UNSW researchers are trialling  a new plane-mounted hyperspectral camera to make detection of local sources easier.  “Methane is a stronger blanketing effect than CO2, but doesn’t last as […]

Cultured or lab-grown meats have been touted as next great alternative to animal products since the first artificial burger patty was grown in 2013. Though lab-grown meat products have been commercially available in some countries since 2020, they remain expensive, novelty foods with many challenges to address to become widely available. One major obstacle is […]

Deep in the tree hollows, logs, and rock cavities on a mountain on the Hawaiian island of Oʻahu, there dwells a macabre caterpillar – with a penchant for body parts. This rare carnivorous caterpillar skulks about on cobwebs and feasts upon any weakened or recently deceased insects trapped there. It employs a morbid kind of […]