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Zinc-sulphur batteries are a promising way to ease the strain on lithium: they have very high energy density, but are made of more sustainable materials. But for now, while researchers have been able to design small zinc-based batteries, it’s been difficult to make zinc-sulphur batteries capable of competing with large commercial batteries. These aqueous zinc […]

More than 95% of Australian animal species are invertebrates (animals without backbones – spiders, snails, insects, crabs, worms and others). There are at least 300,000 species of invertebrate in Australia. Of these, two-thirds are unknown to western science. This means there are huge gaps in our knowledge of Australia’s invertebrates. Our new study, published today […]

Distractions from using a mobile phone while driving can cause fatalities. Tackling the problem will require a multi-disciplinary approach. We have all come across this type of headline: “Fatal car crash — driver was using mobile” Mobiles have become indispensable, yet their impact on road safety remains insufficiently examined, particularly the distractions associated with maladaptive […]

Superflares are violent solar tantrums that release immense amounts of energy, more powerful than the largest solar flares observed from the Sun, within a very short period. Scientists are trying to discover if our Sun can generate superflares and, if so, how often they might happen. But interesting, and somewhat scary, newresearch, has now revealed […]

Botanists have discovered a species of lipstick vine unknown to science in the Philippines. They found the plant, and its bright flowers, after days of trekking with machetes through the Barangay Balbalasang rainforest on the island of Luzon. The trek was part of a joint expedition between University of the Philippines Los Baños and Oxford […]

A lack of scientific attention has left large gaps in understanding the lives and habitats one of Africa’s most iconic megaherbivores, the hippopotamus. A new database of African hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) populations across southern Africa has revealed holes in the data which show where hippos are present  with some areas lacking population estimates altogether. “Without […]

Physicists have observed a “quasiparticle” that has mass when moving one way, and no mass when headed in another direction. The quasiparticle was theorised 16 years ago, but this is the first time it’s been directly detected. Called a “semi-Dirac fermion”, the quasiparticle was found by accident while the team was studying other quasiparticles. “Imagine […]

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has made more fascinating observations of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Messier 87 galaxy – M87*. “We were lucky to detect a gamma-ray flare from M87 during this EHT’s multi-wavelength campaign, ” says Giacomo Principe of the University of Trieste in Italy. “This marks the […]

The annual Geminid meteor shower is expected to light up Australian skies this weekend, peaking early Saturday morning. “It’s usually the best and brightest one of the year,” University of Sydney astrophysicist Dr Laura Driessen told Cosmos. “Rather than leftovers from a comet, it’s leftovers from an asteroid. So, they’re nice, big pieces that are […]

In a big day for planetary science, scientists have announced major news regarding the exploration of two different worlds in our solar system: Mars, and Jupiter’s moon Io. The findings from Io resolve one longstanding mystery…and create a new one.  When NASA’s two Voyager spacecraft visited Jupiter in 1979, scientists were stunned to discover that […]

Most non-African people today inherit 1-2% ancestry from Neanderthals, and researchers have long searched for clues about when our ancient ancestors were interbreeding with Neanderthals. Now 2 studies have independently dated the interbreeding to about 47,000 years ago. A study in Nature analysed the genomes of 7 Homo sapiens that lived about 45,000 years ago in what […]

A new gene therapy may give hope to the more than 64 million people living with heart failure worldwide. Robin Shaw, director of the Nora Eccles Harrison Cardiovascular Research and Training Institute (CVRTI) at the University of Utah says: “In the history of heart failure research, we have not seen efficacy like this.” Current treatment options […]

A new study investigating the female orgasm has found that women have more frequent and satisfying climaxes when they have high levels of “interoception” – the ability to focus on and sense body sensations such as heartbeat and touch.  “Our study empirically demonstrates that women need to get out of their heads and into their […]

We normally think of E. coli as something that makes us sick, but the bacteria also plays a huge role in making us better – by producing medicines. And a new study might help to make medical production more sustainable – by making E. coli stronger. The study is published in Nature Catalysis. A range […]

As the remaining carbon budget to limit global warming to 1.5°C dwindles – expected to run out in just 6 years – a new Nature Communications study has found that greenhouse gas emissions from tourism have been growing faster than global emissions. The new analysis, which considered data for international and domestic travel in 175 […]

Astronomers have trained the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) on a galaxy named “Firefly Sparkle.” But the young galaxy may not invite you to its birthday party as it is already accompanied by galaxies newly named “Firefly-Best Friend” and “Firefly-New Best Friend!” Firefly Sparkle does give astronomers a gift: the first glimpse of a typical […]

Climate change is putting the future of some seals at risk as icebergs on which they depend become smaller, and the movements of the ice in the oceans change. Recent research in the Johns Hopkins Glacier and Inlet in Alaska has revealed  how climate-driven changes are impacting the birthing season in seals. Harbour seals depend […]

Animals are known to go to great lengths for the opportunity to breed. A new study reports that an adult male humpback whale has traversed record-breaking distances on the quest to find new fish in the sea. The whale, which has its own profile on Happywhale.com, was initially spotted in 2013 in breeding areas off […]

As the Parker Solar Probe readies to dive to the Sun on Christmas Eve, scientists at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union, heard multiple reports of how the solar eclipse that stretched across North America earlier this year offered a rare opportunity to study the Sun and its interaction with Earth. What makes eclipses unique—as well […]

A jerking, lurching bus ride can be enough to put someone off their lunch – or even dissuade them from using public transport. But just how much do public buses jostle passengers? Measuring this, according to one team of researchers, might help to make the vehicles more comfortable. The researchers, from University of Technology Sydney, […]

An American-led research team has developed a new way to sequester more carbon dioxide at the bottom of the ocean. The technique leverages the ravenous appetite of microscopic zooplankton and their propensity to defecate at depth. Zooplankton are part of the biological carbon pump, the ocean’s natural cycle for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere […]

Astrophysicists have added further flames to a 20 year debate about what lies at the centre the largest star cluster in the Milky Way galaxy – Omega Centauri. The stars near its centre have long puzzled scientists because they move at higher-than-expected velocities. Scientists have sought to understand whether this is caused by a cluster […]

New findings, published in respected and influential British Journal of Sports Medicine, challenge the common claim that women are more likely than men to suffer ACL injuries. The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is one of the four main ligaments in the knee that connects the thin bone to the shin bone and prevents it from […]

As artificial intelligence becomes more pervasive, a new research institute in Adelaide, Australia will be looking for a way to make AI systems that can be trusted to “behave” and make “decisions” in a responsible manner. “How do we make sure that AI can actually explain what it’s doing?” asks Jon Whittle, Director of Data61 […]