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Complex language is something that sets humans apart from other animals. But when did this unique capacity for intricate communication emerge? Linguists have postulated that there may be an ancient language that sits at the root of all modern languages. This theory was strengthened in the 19th and 20th centuries with the discovery of links […]

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has released its State of the Global Climate 2024 report , confirming that key climate change indicators have once again reached record levels. The report galvanised climate scientists to again call for more urgent and coordinated global action to slow the emission of greenhouse gases. “I think I can speak […]

Now back on Earth thanks to Space X’s Dragon capsule, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore will be breathing fresh air again after a gruelling nine months onboard the International Space Station. Stranded in June 2024 after their experimental Boeing Starliner spacecraft malfunctioned and was deemed too risky to carry passengers back to Earth, their […]

Images of an embryo have for the first time been taken using cameras designed for making quantum measurements. Such techniques could be used to determine the success of treatments such as IVF. The research published in the journal APL Photonics explains how physicists used quantitative fluorescence microscopy –a digital camera that can count individual packets […]

Palaeontologists have discovered that volcanic deposits can turn the microscopic details of animal tissues into minerals – the first time this type of preservation has ever been seen. “The fossil record is continually surprising us, be it new fossil species, strange new body shapes, or in this case, new styles of fossil preservation,” says Maria […]

Iguanas are scattered across the Caribbean and Galápagos islands and throughout the tropical, subtropical and desert areas of North, Central and South America. How they managed to reach the isolated Fiji Islands, thousands of km away over the Pacific Ocean, has long puzzled scientists. New genetic analysis has now confirmed that their ancestors drifted a […]

Modern humans may have descended from at least two ancestral populations, which diverged 1.5 million years ago and then reconnected 300,000 years ago. Up until now, evidence has suggested that Homo sapiens descended from a single lineage, with some genetic mixing with two extinct human relatives (Neanderthals and Denisovans) around 50,000 years ago. But the […]

It seems inevitable there will be another pandemic so the real challenge is to back public health, researchers and to trust the evidence. Humans face future public health challenges, yet there is hope in potential medical breakthroughs, according to Nobel Laureate Professor Peter Doherty who spoke to Suzannah Lyons from 360info You’ve been paying attention […]

Decisions of the US government to reduce science capacity are already disrupting Australia’s meteorological capabilities, according to a statement by Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS). “The ability of the Bureau of Meteorology to produce accurate forecasts and warnings is built upon a global system of sharing data and expertise,” says Martin S. Singh, President of […]

More than 2 years into its construction, SKA-Low, the international SKA Observatory’s telescope in remote Australia, has revealed its first image of the universe. Although it appears to be just pinpricks of light resembling stars, the image is in fact of 85 of the brightest known galaxies in the region of space, all of which […]

Chemists have developed a new catalytic method to transform carbon dioxide into formate, a chemical compound with many uses from pesticides to preservatives. The team, led by researchers at Yale University in the US, say this method could help remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, and provide a new pathway to create useful chemical […]

Earlier this week, Saturn gained a whopping 128 new official moons, as the International Astronomical Union recognised discoveries from a team of astronomers led by Edward Ashton at the Academia Sinica in Taiwan. The sixth planet from the Sun now has a grand total of 274 moons, the most of any planet in the Solar […]

Extreme heat is behind 7.3% of the heart disease burden in Australia, according to new research. This translates to an average of 49,483 years of healthy life lost to cardiovascular disease each year – and this figure could more than double by 2050. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally and in Australia, […]

Trailblazers: Dr Michelle Wille is a world expert on avian influenza. She is a Senior Scientist at the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, and recipient of the Victorian 2024 Young Tall Poppy Science Award and 2024 Australian Biosecurity Award. She was desperately worried about a pandemic in 2020, but it wasn’t […]

How does the way we clap our hands effect the sounds we produce? A new study has figured out the physical mechanisms and fluid dynamics of clapping hands, which its authors say could be used one day to identify individuals by their claps alone. “Clapping hands is a daily, human activity and form of communication,” […]

Plenty of studies have found that being physically active is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease and early death, but new research suggests that it may be more complicated than that. A study which followed 22,750 Finnish twins over 3 decades investigated  the links between their leisure time physical activity, and mortality, genetic disease […]

In vital progress in the fight against high-grade serious carcinoma, one of the most aggressive and common forms of ovarian cancer, researchers have identified a subset of cells in the fallopian tubes that drive the disease. The findings, presented in a new study in the journal Cancer Discovery, provide a new target for developing ways […]

A small but decade-long study on the effects of fluoride in drinking water in Bangladesh, suggesting a link between the chemical and lower cognitive abilities in kids, has raised the eyebrows of other experts. The work was by a team from the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Sweden’s highly respected Karolinska Institute; the Department of […]

Dozens of 3-toed dinosaur footprints from nearly 200 million years ago could illuminate a mysterious period in the Australia’s ancient past. The footprints were identified on a rock which was on display at Queensland’s Biloela State High School for more than a decade. The boulder has the highest concentration of dinosaur tracks ever found on […]

Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is directly affecting the world’s food crops through changes to rainfall, but rising atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels also change crop quality at the cellular level — with far-reaching consequences for human and animal health. New research published in Engineering reveals the complex trade-off tied to elevated CO2 […]

Seabird chicks that ingest even small amounts of plastic are suffering from hidden but severe health issues, including cell damage, organ failure, and cognitive decline, new research from the University of Tasmania has found. The study, published in Science Advances, analysed changes in 745 proteins found in young seabirds with and without plastics in their stomachs. […]

A galaxy sitting in the background of the Lizard constellation is emitting a narrow jet of ionised matter near the speed of light. But the radiation spectrum of the object has astronomers scratching their heads. The object in question is BL Lacertae, first discovered in 1929. It was initially thought to be a star. Further […]

A new study looking at fossilised structures inside cells hints at our mammal ancestors’ nocturnal past when they lurked in the shadows of dinosaurs. The research, published in the journal Science, involved a comparative analysis of fossilised melanosomes – organelles inside cells which dictate pigments in the eyes and skin of animals. Unlike birds and […]

Northern Territory crocodile populations have grown from 1000 to 100,000 in the fifty-four years since commercial hunting was banned — a slow-motion population explosion of teeth, powerful jaws and tails. Crocodile densities have risen from less than 1 to more than 5 reptiles per kilometre of river, and they’ve shifted their main food from fish to […]