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“When we talk about quantum computing, a lot of the time we focus on quantum hardware. My message is that quantum software and quantum algorithms are equally important.” This is the message of Dr Muhammad Usman, head of quantum systems at the Data61 – an arm of Australia’s national science agency CSIRO focusing on everything […]

Human capacity for language and music-making may not be as unique as previously thought, say primatologists. Wild chimpanzees use call combinations to add nuance, mirroring human language complexity, and drum on tree buttresses to stay in touch. Take language. All apes, including chimpanzees and humans, use calls to communicate. For humans, those calls are combined […]

Discover how a CSIRO iPhD delivers the tools and connections of three institutions to help students produce research with immediate real-world impact

Researchers have created a soft robot that walks, hops, and swims using legs that resemble inflatable, wavey air dancers which grab customers’ attention on the roadside. The machine is powered only by a continuous stream of air but moves surprisingly quickly and can even avoid obstacles. All this is accomplished without the aid of a […]

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released nearly two decades worth of satellite data that will help us understand how forests shape our climate. This long-term record, which stretches from 2007 to 2022, contains global information about “above ground biomass”: the carbon-rich, woody parts of vegetation like trunks, branches and stems. Measuring total forest biomass […]

Female digger wasps seem to have far superior memory for scheduling important tasks than I do. A new study has found that mother wasps can remember the locations of up to 9 of their nests at once and can feed their offspring in age order – picking the nest that contains their eldest in 81% […]

A sponge-like device produced by engineers in Australia and China can capture water from thin air. The researchers say it could be used in arid regions of the world to collect water. A device, described in a paper published in the Journal of Cleaner Production, works in areas of low humidity where other technologies such […]

Queues outside the Apple Store whenever a new iPhone version is launched demonstrate society’s enthusiasm for innovation. We have lived through the transformative impact of the personal computer and the smartphone, while still trying to assess what changes AI will bring to our personal, social, working and political worlds. Every major innovation has impacts well […]

Canadian physicists may have found a way to get around temperature’s effects which have been barriers to green electronics. Bismuth is at the heart of the break-through. PhD candidate Oulin Yu of McGill University in Montreal and colleagues have discovered that this silvery metal can conduct electricity from near absolute zero (-273oC) to room temperature. […]

Over the last decade, humanity’s emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) have stabilised after a period of huge growth. Average growth is now down to just 0.6% per year, compared to 2% per year in the previous decade. But levelling off isn’t the same as declining – and we’ve levelled off at a very high rate […]

The humble termite might have a role to play in rainforest regeneration. Termites, famously destructive, particularly in the tropics, are not popular in regenerated forests.   But ecologist, Dr Baptiste Wijas, of the US-based Cary Institute and the University of Queensland, and a team of collaborators, have been using termites and fungi, both decomposers, to […]

Physicists have taken the first images of individual atoms interacting with each other, helping to prove theoretical correlations that had never been directly observed. The findings are published in the Physical Review Letters. Images of individual atoms have been taken before – but only ever in the context of a crystal-like structure or in strong […]

Despite covering 66% of the Earth’s surface, the deep ocean remains one of Earth’s great mysteries, and a new report has brought to light just how little we know about these vast regions. For example, it’s been determined that only 0.001% of the deep seafloor has been visually observed by humans. The estimated area, 2130km2, […]

Today’s children will endure exposure to more climate extremes in their lifetime than any generation before them, a new study published in Nature has projected. Climate extremes, including heatwaves, crop failures, river floods, tropical cyclones, wildfires and droughts, will increase in frequency and intensity with continued atmospheric warming. Global average temperatures are rising at unprecedented rates […]

A study of the 28 most populous cities in the US shows that all are sinking. The most common cause is groundwater extraction. But the authors present possible solutions. The fastest-sinking city is Houston, with more than 40% of it descending more than 5mm a year, and 12% sinking twice as quickly. Some localised spots […]

Spruce trees in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains may respond to solar eclipses say an international team of researchers. Much work has been done on connections between plants, especially over the last twenty years. Reams of papers and many books and documentaries have been produced on the subject, focussing particularly on the ‘Wood Wide Web’. We are […]

New research reveals that Neanderthal stone tool makers had to be extremely precise about the angle at which they would strike to produce hand tools hundreds of thousands of years ago. The study, published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, challenges the previously held belief that the angle of hammer strike was dependent on […]

Like long-term friendships between humans, African superb starlings become besties with individuals they are not related to and help each other repeatedly over time. These are the findings of a study which analysed more than 20 years of behavioural observations of starlings in east African savannahs. The starlings demonstrated “reciprocity” – helping each other with […]

Tyrannosaurus rex dominated North America just before the mass extinction 66 million years ago which spelled the end of the “Age of Dinosaurs”. But its ancestors came from Asia according to new research. T. rex is iconic. It is sometimes referred to as the “king of the dinosaurs” due to its massive size. It was […]

During the height of the Cold War in the 1960s and 1970s, the USSR launched 29 spacecraft towards Venus, the planet scientists call Earth’s “twin sister”. Three flew past Venus, and went into orbit around the Sun. Sixteen orbited or landed on Venus, where they experienced a climate often described as “hellish”. Ten got stuck […]

Among a suite of technological features on board Scenic Eclipse, the vessel’s GPS Dynamic Positioning (DP) system stands out as a skilful – and incredibly valuable, from an ocean conservation viewpoint – bit of kit. As the London-based Nautical Institute – an international representative body for maritime professionals that control sea-going ships – describes it, […]

AI is a rapidly developing technology, especially in the world of medicine. Its ability to take over time consuming processes, such as documentation, can allow healthcare workers to focus their attention towards the treatment of their patient to benefit patients and healthcare workers. Health experts say when AI is used to its full potential, it […]

Excited maritime archaeologists have confirmed the location of a long-lost shipwreck in South Australia. The Koning Willem de Tweede was found in relatively shallow waters 400m offshore of the main beach in Robe, in the south east of the state. Project lead and Acting Manager of Maritime Archaeology at the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM), […]

For decades, physicists have tried to unify gravity with the other fundamental forces of nature. This “holy grail” of theoretical physics may finally be within reach thanks to new research. There are 4 fundamental forces of nature: gravity, electromagnetism, the weak nuclear force (responsible for radioactive decay) and the strong nuclear force (responsible for holding […]