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A serendipitous image taken by the European Space Agency’s Euclid telescope allowed astronomers to spot a stunning new example of an Einstein ring. This extremely rare phenomenon occurs when a large space object acts like a lens and magnifies light from another object directly behind it. This was first predicted by Einstein’s general theory of […]

How do you look for something that doesn’t absorb, reflect, or emit light? A team of researchers has developed a new way to use atomic clocks aboard GPS satellites and a network of ultra-stable lasers to search for dark matter. “Despite many theories and experiments scientists are yet to find dark matter, which we think […]

A previously unknown phenomenon discovered deep inside the ice streaming from the Greenland ice sheet will change the way scientists model ice melt and rising sea levels. The ice streams of Antarctica and Greenland are major contributors to sea level rise, carrying ice from inland ice sheets to the sea. So, accurately predicting their behaviour […]

What can we expect from Monday’s Super Bowl? Emeritus Professor David Rowe, from Western Sydney University’s Institute for Culture and Society, weighs in on everything from the game itself, Trump’s attendance, the Aussie who’s after the title and of course, Taylor Swift, ahead of Monday’s Super Bowl. “The annual Super Bowl is, for many people […]

Astronomers have discovered a massive galaxy, LEDA 1313424, with the most rings ever seen. The ring galaxy, which is 2.5 times larger than the Milky Way, has been nicknamed “the Bullseye”. A relatively tiny blue dwarf galaxy punched straight through its centre about 50 million years ago and, like a stone dropped into a pond, […]

Mantis shrimps dole out a punch powerful enough to break mollusc shells and even crack aquarium glass, while somehow avoiding injuring itself in the process. These carnivorous marine crustaceans of the order Stomatopoda come in 2 flavours – “spearers” and “smashers”. Spearers impale prey on their toothed claws, while smashers clobber theirs. There are more […]

The mere mention of Leonardo da Vinci evokes genius. We know him as a polymath whose interests spanned astronomy, geology, hydrology, engineering and physics. As a painter, his Mona Lisa and Last Supper are considered works of mastery. Yet one great achievement that frequently goes unrecognised is his studies of human anatomy. More than 500 […]

Scientists have closed the data gap that will transform the cultivation of Asparagopsis, a seaweed set to revolutionise methane reduction in livestock. Asparagopsis armata is a red seaweed being used as an emerging solution to reduce livestock methane production. The seaweed is endemic to southern Australia and New Zealand and occurs on shallow coastal reefs around […]

Scientists from France and Spain have applied the maths of fluid dynamics to human crowds, creating better predictions for crowd behaviour and a protocol for improved safety. Dense crowds create some of the most dangerous environments in modern society with dangers to individuals including suffocation, stampedes, and getting pressed against walls. Published in the prestigious […]

Early humans underwent adaptive genetic changes in their blood groups after leaving Africa, according to new ancient DNA analysis. Researchers analysed the blood groups of 22 Homo sapiens (modern human), 14 Neanderthals and one offspring of a Neanderthal and a Denisovan – another archaic human species. The individuals lived between 120,000 and 20,000 years ago. […]

In recent months, Americans looking for eggs have faced empty shelves in their grocery stores. The escalating threat of avian flu has forced farmers to kill millions of chickens to prevent its spread. Nearly 70 years ago, Maurice Hilleman, an expert in influenza, also worried about finding eggs. Hilleman, however, needed eggs not for his […]

In an analysis of a century’s worth of data on botanical gardens and arboreta, researchers reveal that global living plant collections have reached capacity, impacting their ability to meet scientific and conservation goals. The researchers argue for a global “meta-collection” in which the estimated 3,500 botanic gardens and arboreta worldwide work more closely to conserve […]

A new review has outlined the potentially deadly consequences of extreme heat if global warming reaches 2°C above the preindustrial average. Climate change is increasing the frequency and magnitude of heat extremes worldwide, with cascading effects on human life – from crops, to infrastructure, and health. According to the new research, the areas of the […]

Hundreds of 52-million-year-old eucalyptus leaf fossils show the tell-tale signs that they were munched on by leaf-eating insects. The trail marks left on the leaves are identical to those found on eucalypts today in Australia. But these fossils were found in Argentina. Today, there are more than 700 species of eucalyptus. These flowering plants – […]

Australia’s sea surface temperatures were the warmest on record last year, according to a snapshot of the nation’s climate which underscores the perilous state of the world’s oceans. The Bureau of Meteorology on Thursday released its annual climate statement for 2024 – the official record of temperature, rainfall, water resources, oceans, atmosphere and notable weather. […]

A new climate modeling study published in the journal Science Advances by researchers from the IBS Center for Climate Physics (ICCP) at Pusan National University in South Korea presents a new scenario of how climate and life on our planet would change in response to a potential future strike of a medium-sized (~500 m) asteroid. […]

SUMMER READ: John Read – Australian ecologist and author whose conservation research has featured in more than 120 scientific articles – became obsessed with animals as a child and his journey since – around the world and back again to his home in outback South Australia – has brought exhilaration and despair. An unexpected encounter […]

The nearly complete fossilised skull of an ancient extinct bird might lay to rest controversial debate amongst palaeontologists about the first avians. The extinct species, Vegavis iaai, lived in what is now Antarctica about 69 million years ago, during the late Cretaceous Period. The newly described fossil places the earliest known modern bird firmly as […]

New research suggests that 2 massive canyons on the Moon were carved out by streams of impacting rocks travelling at about a kilometre a second. The canyons, Vallis Schrödinger and Vallis Planck – at 270km long and 2.7km deep, 280km long and 3.5km deep, respectively – are comparable in size to the Grand Canyon in […]

A new study has found that reusing lithium-ion battery materials has a much lower environmental impact than mining the raw material – particularly if it’s done with renewable energy. The study, published in Nature Communications, found that recycling batteries emits less than half the greenhouse gases associated with mining and roughly a quarter of the […]

A new study of sediment cores from the Aegean Sea has found that lead pollution from human activities may have begun more than a thousand years earlier than previously thought. Lead is known to have a wide range of human health impacts, especially in children for whom low-level exposure is linked to cognitive decline. Researchers […]

Late last year, a group of 38 scientists sounded an alarm on a potential technology that could “cause unprecedented and irreversible harm” to the world. Their concern wasn’t weaponry, or pollution. It was asymmetry. The technology – called “mirror life” – is now sparking talks in the scientific community, looking at its risks and how […]

Ever noticed a white ring  forming in the bottom of your pasta pan? It’s salt, and physicists have figured out how to make the best one – providing insights into molecular behaviour. Unsurprisingly, the researchers, who published this crucial insight in Physics of Fluids, first started wondering about salt rings at a pasta dinner. “By […]

Quantum field theory suggests that the very structure of the universe could change, altering cosmos as we know it. A new quantum machine might help probe this elusive phenomenon, while also helping improve quantum computers. True or false? It’s a life-or-death question Nearly 50 years ago, quantum field theory researchers proposed that the universe exists […]