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A new quantum device might help discover new, complex materials that can be used to design high-performance electronics. Next generation electronics will be made using faster, more powerful and more energy efficient materials. This includes semiconductors, insulators and superconductors. Findings such new materials can be laborious. Scientists spend a lot of time, energy and resources […]

Quantum science is so fundamental to the future of society that the United Nations has proclaimed 2025 “The International Year of Quantum Science and Technology.” It commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Schrödinger equation– often considered the key development in the birth of quantum mechanics. The UN’s educational arm UNESCO says the year-long, worldwide initiative […]

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a composite picture of the Dark Wolf Nebula – which is 5,300 light-years away and, as its name suggests, is shaped like a wolf. Dark nebulae are star-forming regions, filled with cold dust. Unlike other nebulae, they don’t emit visible light – leading to these dark shapes seen […]

A whopping 16-centimetre-long tadpole fossil has been found – dating to the heyday of the dinosaurs. The find, described in a paper published in Nature today, represents the oldest tadpole in the world, adding to our understanding of the evolution of frogs and toads. It dates to 161–168 million years ago – the middle of […]

A new study has uncovered the missing science behind why some lakes around the world emit such large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2). Lakes are unlikely sources of substantial amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. But the exact mechanisms at work hadn’t been fully understood, hampering efforts to identify sources and sinks of carbon in the […]

An Australian, Dr Clare Weeden, has been awarded a fellowship and will return to Australia to set up a lab focusing on lung cancer, particularly in non-smokers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Australia and about 25% of lung cancers occur in people who have never smoked. “I am fascinated by […]

More extreme heat events, a drier south and a wetter north, drier streams, a longer fire season, fewer tropical cyclones and less snow. All of these trends have been recorded in Australia over the past half-century; all are projected to get worse from global warming. That’s the bleak, but unsurprising, conclusion of the 2024 State […]

DNA from 131 ancient individuals throughout the Caucasus region between Europe and Asia has been analysed, pointing to a split into two populations – one group became farmers, while the others continued living a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. The region is known as one of the earliest places people practiced animal husbandry. The new study adds insight […]

New satellite technology might help to measure the extent of the global plastic pollution crisis by better detecting plastics washed up on remote beaches. The technology, which has been successfully field tested on a remote stretch of Australian coastline, distinguishes the differences in reflection of infrared light by sand, water, and plastic. An estimated 19 […]

Most of the universe still isn’t accounted for – the solution might be in black holes. Ordinary matter makes up only about 5% of the universe. This includes everything we can see and interact with, from stars and planets to dust, gas and you. About 25% of the universe is made up of dark matter. […]

Researchers have discovered a new species of flea toad in which one of the adults measured just 6.95mm in length – the second smallest adult vertebrate ever described. Vertebrates are animals with a spine, which includes all fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. But this new flea toad, Brachycephalus dacnis, which was found in the […]

When two-time Olympic marathoner Des Linden steps onto the course at this year’s New York City Marathon, she won’t be alone. In addition to the more than 50,000 other runners competing with her, she will be accompanied by a “digital twin” of her heart. Not that she’ll be able to see it during the race. […]

Trained giant rats could fight illegal wildlife trafficking by sniffing out shipping containers at transport hubs to detect four common illicit products: elephant tusks, rhino horn, pangolin scales and African blackwood. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth up to US$23 billion each year and represents a major conservation threat. African giant pouched […]

A new report in the influential Lancet medical journal finds people around the world are facing imminent, record-breaking threats to their wellbeing, health, and survival due to “inadequate and unjust” action on climate change. Published today, The 2024 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change provides the most up-to-date assessment of the […]

The 2022 heatwaves in Europe saw record-breaking temperatures and a surge in heat-related deaths across the continent. According to a new study in npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, more than half of the almost 70,000 deaths can be attributed to human-caused climate change. “Our study urgently calls on governments and national authorities in Europe to […]

A spectacular golden fossil has been discovered preserved in iron pyrite, otherwise known as fool’s gold, in the US state of New York. The new species, Lomankus edgecombei, was an arthropod – an animal with a hard exoskeleton. It is distantly related to today’s spiders, scorpions, insects, and crustaceans. “As well as having their beautiful […]

We’ve come a long way from the fantastical idea that birds migrate to the Moon when they disappear each northern hemisphere winter. But while migratory bird behaviour in Europe and North America is widely studied, comparatively little is known about the southern hemisphere. Now, scientists have finally revealed the existence of a structured bird migration […]

Ever felt the need to post something like:  ‘Anyone doubting the science is an idiot’? Or ‘You either agree with the science, or you’re against us?’ It’s best to leave it in drafts – even when they’re in favour of science, polarising statements can damage its cause. Instead of reinforcing extreme viewpoints, good online science […]

What’s keeping Australia’s health researchers awake at night? That was the question to be answered by some of Australia’s leading health funding bodies and thinkers on a panel in Adelaide last week. The answers covered problems like stresses on the health system, climate change, the need for investment in innovation, ageing and population growth and […]

A study of ancient volcanism shows that dinosaurs took over the Earth about 200 million years ago because they thrived in the cold. This challenges long-standing theories that heating of the Earth was the principal impact on evolution of the dinosaurs. The earliest dinosaurs evolved about 230–240 million years ago during the Triassic period (252–201 […]

The explosion in generative AI could be responsible for an extra 5 million tonnes of e-waste by 2030, according to a new study. The report, published in Nature Computational Science, estimates that without changes to regulation, generative AI technology alone will produce 1.2-5.0 million tonnes of e-waste by the end of the decade. The study […]

How many Wikipedia tabs do you have open at the moment? I’ve got 12 lined up on mobile, with topics ranging from the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon, to penicillin, to the 1999 film Cruel Intentions. According to a new study, this means I have very strong “busybody” tendencies. Researchers have analysed the Wikipedia history […]

“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.” These romantic words attributed to Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman may be closer to the truth than she realised. Scientists have been trying to figure out where kissing came from for a long time. New research suggests that the answer […]

Following a “disappointing” inaugural Nature Positive Summit in Sydney, a team of researchers say that current laws are not sufficient to achieve the summit’s lofty goal. In a perspective in Science, Australian researchers argue that “net gain” legislation – that is, legislation that doesn’t allow for any loss – is required to make the world, […]