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Hopes that life ever existed on Venus are thinning, after a new study has suggested the planet has always been too dry to support it. The research, published in Nature Astronomy, examined water signatures in Venus’ atmosphere to learn how wet it was over its history. “We won’t know for sure whether Venus can or […]

Lacking the drama of storm or fire, droughts often go under-noticed in the pantheon of natural disasters. But they’re extremely destructive, with wide-ranging effects – from long-term changes to a continent’s water ecology, through to computer chip shortages. And droughts are becoming more common as the climate warms. According to a new report by the […]

A recent study which might have implications for how mammals respond to climate change has shown that for one Costa Rican monkey, higher temperatures resulted in weaker immune systems. According to the University of Michigan study of capuchin monkeys, published in Science Advances, when the monkeys experience about two weeks of warmer temperatures, the performance […]

Children on farms are less likely to develop allergies. A new study suggests that exposure to certain bacteria associated with animals in the first few weeks of life may explain this pattern. Scientists have identified infancy as a critical window for both gut microbiome diversity and immune system development. However few studies have focused on […]

The starlet sea anemone (Nematostella vectensis) is a pro regenerator: capable of regrowing a lost body part, or even into 2 new anemones, when cut or injured. A new study has found that the anemone remodels its whole body to do this – all to preserve its body shape. The study is published in Developmental […]

A nanoscale “dinosaur” built using the new technique, imaged using the Thermo Glacios cryo-electron microscope at the University of Sydney Microscopy and Microanalysis facility. The object – just 250 nanometres wide – was created as a proof of principle object in research by Dr Minh Tri Lu and Dr Shelley Wickham from the University of […]

Earlier this year, a caver was poring over satellite images of the Nullarbor Plain in Australia’s outback when he came across something unexpected: an enormous, mysterious scar etched into the barren landscape. The find intrigued scientists, including my colleagues and I. Upon closer investigation, we realised the scar was created by a ferocious tornado that […]

Jasper de Bie, Griffith University This year’s humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) season in Australia has almost come to an end. The beloved mammals are on their way to Antarctica for a summer of feeding. Next year from April onwards, millions of people will again witness their movements and acrobatic displays – either from the coast […]

In what appears to be very good news for a hungry planet, agricultural productivity seems set to help meet the needs of a growing global population, which is expected to reach a peak of around 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s. The analysis of worldwide food production has found that global crop yields have continued to […]

A leading UNSW computer scientist says a touted solution to a big problem for generative AI is better suited for other forms of artificial intelligence. UNSW Computer Science Professor Claude Sammut says AI chatbots, like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, are running out of data to “eat.” Generative AI models have swallowed up most of the data […]

NASA’s space telescope Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a “hot Neptune desert” exoplanet in a tight orbit around its host star The planet, TOI-3261 b, is only the fourth such planet found. Researchers say it’s an ideal candidate for studying how planets such as these form. It’s behaviour is described in a paper […]

The proposed social media ban for under-16-year-old Australians has passed the Senate, and will come into force in 12 months’ time. Experts in psychology, communications, and education have mixed opinions about the ban, with many – although not all – considering it a bad idea. “It is clear that parents are calling for regulation that […]

A pod of killer whales in the Gulf of California is believed to have learned a unique set of skills to hunt the world’s largest fish: the whale shark. Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are known to prey on other marine mammals, turtles and fish. They can grow to about 8m. But whale sharks can grow […]

An interdisciplinary team of biologists and software engineers have developed a virtual reality arena for small animals that simulates real world environments. The new setup is designed for experiments that precisely measure animal behaviour and visual decision making. The method combines the control afforded by laboratory settings with the ecological relevance of natural settings, albeit […]

Newly discovered fossil footprints in Kenya’s Turkana Basin shows at least 2 different early human species walking on the edge of a lake at the same time. The hominin footprints were made 1.5 million years ago. The age and shape of the impressions suggests that they were left by Homo erectus and Paranthropus boisei. It […]

Stretchy, self-healing lithium-ion batteries could be a viable power source for wearable mobile phones, soft robotics, and electronic skin, according to a new study. The researchers have made small, stretching batteries that can power an LED light – but they say their work is shows “high promise” for building future stretchable and wearable electronics. They’ve […]

Experts are also calling for urgent work to understand the effects on humans and plants of a new chemical increasingly being used to replace TNT in explosives. DNAN (2,4-dinitroanisole) is being increasingly used in explosive mixtures because it can be cast and melted more safely than TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene). But comparatively little is known about its […]

Biologists have analysed the traits of all 216 bird species that have become extinct since 1500 in a bid to inform the conservation of endangered birds. They found that species more likely to go extinct sooner were endemic to islands; unable to fly; had larger bodies; had sharply angled wings and were highly specialised in […]

New research has identified several regions of the globe where heatwaves are increasing at a rate far higher than state-of-the-art climate models have been projecting.  These regions include eastern Australia, central China, Japan, Korea, the Arabian Peninsula, parts of South America, the Arctic, and, most intensely, northwestern Europe. “In most areas, the hottest days of […]

An analysis of more than 500 fossils from central Europe’s Polish Basin has shown how dinosaurs became the dominant lifeforms on land by the beginning of the Jurassic period. The fossils, however, are not bones, teeth or even footprints. They’re bromalites – the fossilised remains of digestive material such as faeces or vomit. To be […]

Earth-sized magnetic tornadoes at Jupiter’s poles have astronomers scratching their heads. The dark ovals were first seen by the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s. Images of Jupiter taken in 2015 and 2022 also show the storms. The Cassini spacecraft also spotted the dark objects during its flyby in 2000. But they drew little attention. […]

Researchers know there’s a connection between menstruation and mental health, but it’s a complicated one – with the cause and effect between various conditions poorly defined. A genetic study has found that depression is linked to a higher risk of period pain. According to the study, published in Briefings in Bioinformatics, depression is the culprit: […]

A leading Australian commentator says Australia should build on its space industry capabilities in areas where it excels on the global stage – ground and data space infrastructure. Over the past few years there has been uncertainty about the direction of the Australian space industry. Cassandra Steer, the Chair and Founder of the Australian Centre […]

The latest weapon in the war against invasive pests might be – you! A new report has identified that over a 12-month period, the alerts from members of the public who placed images on one website resulted in notifications for more than 150 species to 32 different agencies across Australia. Now two independent teams of […]