Bookmarks (530)

Megafauna once roamed across Australia with some species reaching massive sizes. But ancient bone fragments are sometimes too damaged for palaeontologists to be able to assign them to a species – so they came up with a new way. Better understanding species distribution through time could help determine why the megafauna vanished between 50,000 and […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article by Prianka Srinivasan was published in June 2024. In the physical realm, Tuvalu is under threat. The Pacific nation, made up of nine atolls dotting a 676-kilometre stretch of ocean midway between Hawai‘i and Australia, is one of the lowest-lying […]

Bougainville, an autonomous archipelago currently part of Papua New Guinea, is determined to become the world’s newest country. To support this process, it’s offering foreign investors access to a long-shuttered copper and gold mine. Formerly owned by the Australian company Rio Tinto, the Panguna mine caused displacement and severe environmental damage when it operated between […]

At the end of a dark hallway in the Australian National University’s (ANU’s) School of Music in Canberra, is a room with more than 40 historical keyboards and replicas. These instruments play with unique historical qualities ready for interdisciplinary analysis, including from the sciences. Unlike hands-off museum collections, each of the instruments in the ANU’s […]

On September 16, 2023, an unusual seismic signal shook the world. It appeared like clockwork every 90 seconds and lasted for 9 consecutive days. A month later, a similar signal reappeared and lasted for another week before disappearing. Scientists have since determined that these seismic anomalies were triggered by 2 massive landslides which ripped through […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In June 2024, Cat Williams reported on the postgraduate science students working with Indigenous families to put Noongar knowledge on the map. “Western technological societies continue to fail ­biodiversity,” Stephen Hopper tells me bluntly. A world-renowned ecologist and professor of biodiversity at […]

According to Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, the latest emissions data show “we are on track to reach our 2030 targets” under the Paris Agreement. In 2024, Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions were “27% below 2005 levels”. That’s great news, right? Well, yes and no. Australia continues to rely on changes in land […]

CHRISTCHURCH. June 3: Marine heatwaves are becoming annual events in New Zealand and the resulting mass mortalities of marine creatures and the impacts on ecosystems rival those seen on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef “Marine heatwaves can have concerning effects, with heat stress pushing marine organisms towards or beyond their thermal tolerance limits,” says Dr Vonda […]

The nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way, Andromeda, probably won’t collide with our home galaxy as previously predicted. Andromeda is also known as Messier 31, or M31, and about 2.5 million light-years from the Milky Way. Like our own home galaxy, Andromeda is a spiral. It is slightly larger at about twice the diameter […]

Researchers have developed a new way to train a 4-legged robot to clamber its way across a parkour obstacle course. Experts say the capability puts its designers at the forefront of robot technology. The acrobatic AT-AT could reach speeds of up to 2m/s while navigating the route completely on the fly.  “Acrobatic skills such as […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In June 2024, Drew Rooke looked into the groundbreaking research that is deriving medicines from the depths to transform our lives on land. On 5 June 1981, the US Center for Disease Control published an article in its regular newsletter, Morbidity and […]

A vaccine targeting gonorrhoea will soon be rolled out on the NHS. This will make England and Wales the first two countries in the world to offer such a programme. This move comes amid a sharp rise in gonorrhoea cases in England and increasing concern about antibiotic resistance. In 2023 alone, there were over 85,000 […]

Brian Schmidt was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics along with his colleagues for discovering that the universe’s expansion is picking up speed. Up to that point, cosmologists had assumed that the expansion of the universe would eventually slow down. The work of Schmidt and his collaborators had profound implications. It meant that something […]

Archaeologists using new methods have unlocked more mysteries of ancient human development hidden under the surface in southern Africa. And it involves no digging. Southern Africa is a treasure trove of ancient human artefacts and fossils. South Africa’s 120,000-acre Cradle of Humankind UNESCO World Heritage Site has the highest concentration of prehistoric human remains in the world. […]

Machine learning is pulling back the curtain on sex trafficking — revealing how fake job ads are used to lure victims into exploitation. The UN describes human trafficking as: “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of people by force, fraud or deception to exploit them for profit.” It says the extent of the crime […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article was written by Deborah Devis and published in March 2021. All manner of unusual jobs exist in science, but perhaps one of the most remarkable is the expertise of Phil Bell, of the University of New England. Bell is a […]

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo passed a law in January 2025 to lead efforts to establish the largest tropical forest reserve in the world. It will be set up as a 2,600km long green corridor the size of France – 540,000km² – situated in the Congo Basin. The green corridor will follow […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article was written by Karlie Noon and Duane Hamacher, and published in March 2021. In Nuenonne traditions of Bruny Island, Tasmania, the Sun is a man named Punywin and the Moon is his wife, Venna. In the beginning they travelled from […]

An Australian study has revealed an ingenious tactic used by wheat to withstand drought conditions – it calls in reinforcements. The plant sends out a chemical signal to attract specialised soil bacteria which release beneficial compounds that help it resist drought and continue to grow. The researchers behind the discovery say these bacterial species act […]

The world is being inundated with microplastics. They are in our drinking water, soil, and air. They’re deep in the Mariana Trench, on the top of Everest, and in our bodies. Now, they are being found in fully protected marine areas. A new study led by Brazilian and Australian scientists reveals that even Areas of Integral […]

A beaver glides through a restored wetland in London. Falcons raise chicks atop Chicago skyscrapers. Platypuses paddle through creeks on Sydney’s fringe. Leopard frogs soak up the sun in Las Vegas. Behind these scenes is a rising ecological movement: urban rewilding, where cities become havens for once displaced wildlife. A new study led by the […]

CHRISTCHURCH May 29:  Improving healthcare in the face of increasing demand means embracing digital twins and other technology, say Kiwi researchers. “Despite growing demand and abundant data from medical devices and systems, healthcare still lacks effective automation, says University of Canterbury’s (UC) Distinguished Professor Geoff Chase. Effective healthcare automation hinges on accurately predicting how patients […]

In a surprising discovery, it’s been found that ammonia released from the guano of the Antarctic’s millions of penguins may help buffer that continent’s heating due to climate change. Researchers say they’ve found it adds to the formation of cloud-seeding aerosols! Which means the decline in penguin populations could further accelerate climate change. Penguins are […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In December 2020, James Bradley explored how we test intelligence in fish, and how we treat this diverse, enigmatic community. Earlier this year, while on a field trip in the Cocos Islands, I took some time out and went snorkelling. I was […]

Is climate action a lost cause? The United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for the second time, while heat records over land and sea have toppled and extreme weather events have multiplied. In late 2015, nations agreed through the Paris Agreement to try to hold warming well under 2°C and ideally to 1.5°C. […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In December 2020, fluid mechanist Sophie Calabretto wrote how a shark’s most amazing characteristic is only skin deep. For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved sharks. By that I mean I’ve loved the idea of sharks, of course, having fallen […]

A significant fossil puzzle piece in the evolution of the first vertebrate animals to leave Earth’s ancient seas and walked on land was discovered in Scotland more than 40 years ago. But it has only just been accurately aged – and the results have left palaeontologists stunned. The creature was dubbed Westlothiana lizziae and is […]

The latest modelling has shown that an Atlantic Ocean current critical for regulating Earth’s climate will weaken due to anthropogenic climate change, but perhaps not to the point of collapse as previously suggested. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) transports water and heat from the southern to the northern hemisphere. It also regulates regional weather […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. In December 2020, Patrick Nunn looked at how geoscience can explain why some islands have partly or completely disappeared, sometimes abruptly. The idea that an entire island can disappear seems unbelievable, anathemic to our understanding of the natural world, even offensive to […]

Scientists say chemistry practice and education will go through “a paradigm shift” following the signing of an international declaration in Sweden last week. The Stockholm Declaration on Chemistry for the Future, signed on May 23 at the Nobel Prize Museum, urges scientists, industry, educators, students and policy makers to collaborate on implementing solutions “for human […]

Australia’s new environment minister Murray Watt approved an extension for the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project. The gas plant at Karratha, Western Australia, will run until 2070. This expansion – and the pollution it will release – has led to a recommendation by the International Council on Monuments and Sites to defer UNESCO’s […]

Genomes from Yunnan in southwestern China, dating from 7,100 to 1,400 years ago, have been sequenced for the first time, revealing new insights about the links between different cultural groups from Tibet to South and Southeast Asia. The findings, published in the journal Science, come from the genomes of 127 ancient humans. Yunnan province today […]

CHRISTCHURCH, May 29: AI is going underwater with the development by Kiwi engineers of a smart marine drone for the aquaculture industry.   “To enable the expansion of our aquaculture sector, we need this technology,” says project leader Professor Richard Green of the University of Canterbury. “The natural progression is to figure out how we […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article appeared in December 2020. Antarctica’s most iconic animals depend on the tiny, prolific and surprisingly charismatic krill. Andrew Bain reports on the research into this seemingly invincible crustacean and its now uncertain future. In a laboratory beneath the long wings […]

As all sectors of society transition to net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, land managers are faced with the additional challenge of balancing farm production and profit with biodiversity, while ensuring continued social licence. Experts believe that “climate mandated disclosures”, such as labels which reveal products’ emissions intensity, will be in place for agriculture, fisheries and […]

Yes, you read that correctly… Researchers in Switzerland have designed a robot companion that can play badminton with humans. The robot so adept it can even maintain rallies up to 10 consecutive shots. And an even bigger surprise – the robot learns from its errors. They say their robot demonstrates “the feasibility of using legged mobile […]

Climate change and human interventions are threatening the water and food security of one of the most densely populated regions in the world – the Bengal delta in Bangladesh – and it’s a threat likely to be experienced around the world. As sea levels climb and weather grows more extreme, and as humans disrupt freshwater […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article appeared in December 2020. The sensory pleasures of taste and smell might have played a greater role in evolution than we imagine, writes Annamaria Talas. Ever wondered why some animals walk or fly for miles in search of salt? Or […]

Imagine you are planning the funeral music for a loved one who has died. You can’t remember their favourite song, so you try to login to their Spotify account. Then you realise the digital account login is inaccessible, and with it has gone their personal history of Spotify playlists, annual “wrapped” analytics, and liked songs […]

Scientists and policy experts are warning that, in the urgent struggle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which are driving climate change, there needs to be an eye cast on the social impact of “green” and “sustainable” initiatives. Otherwise, they say, we run the risk of ignoring the problem. Who bears the most responsibility? Experts warn […]

A clinical trial is set to explore the ancient Pacific tradition of kava drinking as a potential treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. PTSD affects nearly 4% of the global population at some point in their lives. Pacific island researchers believe that ceremonial drinking of kava—a plant-based beverage with calming properties— combined with talanoa, a form of open, […]

Whale bones dating to 20,000 years ago found at sites around Spain could be the earliest evidence that ancient humans used whale bones to make tools, according to a new study. The findings, presented in a paper published in Nature Communications, are based on analysis of 83 bone tools and another 90 bones. The results […]

Materials scientists have designed a fuel cell which they say could deliver 3 times as much energy per unit of weight as the lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles today. Unlike a battery, the liquid sodium-air device only needs to be refuelled, not recharged. Luckily, sodium (a constituent of table salt) is inexpensive and one […]

Astronomers have discovered that binary pairs of stars orbiting each other closely can have unusually high levels of magnetic activity which in our star, the Sun, is responsible for sunspots and solar flares. Magnetic activity in stars is usually the result of how fast the star is rotating. The faster a star spins, the more […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article appeared in December 2020. For maths YouTube sensation Toby Hendy, inspiration definitely exists, but it has to find you walking. Walking is a wonderful activity. Sometimes we walk for practical reasons, to get from point A to point B, although […]

The global transition to green technologies has dramatically increased the demand for the lithium battery.  This critical mineral, abundant but distributed unevenly, is essential for energy storage and transport electrification.  According to the International Energy Agency, by 2040, the demand for lithium could be up to 42 times its 2020 levels. Lithium-ion batteries are used to […]

Australia’s climate whiplash: what we know, and what we don’t While floodwaters rise in the east and drought grips the west, Australia finds itself caught in a troubling paradox. The role of climate change is undeniable — but its influence is complex, and the full picture is still coming into focus. NSW is currently experiencing […]

A “war cemetery” previously thought to be the result of the Roman conquest of Britain 2,000 years ago may not actually be the result of a single dramatic event, according to new analysis. The burial at Maiden Castle Iron Age hillfort in Dorset, in England’s southwest, was discovered in 1936. It includes more than 80 […]

We are taking a look back at stories from Cosmos Magazine in print. This article appeared in June 2020. Rage, power, danger, love… how fitting that red’s fiery, blood-soaked mark on the world was born in ochre, dangerous minerals and the crushed carcasses of countless bugs. The first time humans used pigments to make communicative […]

Human emissions of greenhouse gases have caused rapid global warming. This has made high-impact, heat extreme events around the globe more and more intense over the past 70 years. Heat extremes, such as heatwaves, can cause severe damage to infrastructure by damaging bridges and railways. They also harm ecosystems, and can lead to loss of […]