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Disturbed seabeds could be a potent source of carbon dioxide pollution, according to a new study. The research, published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, raises questions about the impact of fishing trawling, deep-sea mining, and other ocean activities. “Researchers have long assumed that physical disturbances of the seabed, such as from fishing equipment like […]

Poaching is being blamed for a dramatic loss of number of Sumatran tigers. Only 11 Sumatran tigers were spotted during Indonesian monitoring activities between 2020 and 2022, potentially indicating “severe” levels of poaching, a scientific study says. Dr Joe Figel a researcher at the Leuser International Foundation and co-director of Hutan Harimau (Tiger Forests) told […]

Human activities have caused a type of insect to change colour in Aotearoa New Zealand, according to a new study. The research, published in Science, shows that stoneflies have been driven to change their hue by deforestation. “In natural forested regions, a native species has evolved ‘warning’ colours that mimic those of a poisonous forest […]

Water scarcity is becoming an urgent global crisis, affecting billions of people. According to the UN World Water Development Report 2024, approximately 2.2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and half of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least some of the year. Amid these alarming statistics, the recycling of wastewater is emerging as […]

As part of the Ultramarine project we are diving into our archives and republishing some paid content for free. In the December 2022 Cosmos print magazine, David Hancock wrote about the scientists and Indigenous rangers collaborating to gather knowledge about the large marine animals in Australia’s north, which are thought to be in decline. We recorded […]

How did mammal ancestors evolve from a sprawled posture like a lizard to the upright locomotion we see today? A new study sheds light on the puzzle. The research, published in Science Advances, shows that the shift was a complex one that didn’t develop in a straight line. Mammals diverged from reptiles about 325 million […]

A large communications satellite has broken up in orbit, affecting users in Europe, Central Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, and adding to the growing swarm of space junk clouding our planet’s neighbourhood. The Intelsat 33e satellite provided broadband communication from a point some 35,000km above the Indian Ocean, in a geostationary orbit around […]

It might sound like science fiction, but bioengineers want to bypass photosynthesis and grow crops in tall, dark towers surrounded by solar panels. They estimate that their new strategy for “electro-agriculture” could reduce the land needed for food production by 88%. For hundreds of millions of years, plants have used photosynthesis to capture energy from […]

An 800-year-old Norse story about a military raid has been verified by analysis of ancient DNA. Sverris Saga is one of the Kings’ sagas – a series of Old Norse tales which tell the lives of Nordic kings. Work on Sverris Saga began in 1185 CE under direct supervision of the king it describes: Sverre […]

A number with more than 40 million digits has been discovered to be the largest known prime number by a network of amateurs. The number is 2136279841-1. It has 41,024,320 digits. It was found by 36-year-old researcher and former NVIDIA employee Luke Durant on 12 October. The number was tested on other computers using different […]

A species of crustacean with unique panda-like black and white stripes has been confirmed as a separate species, decades after it was first found in Japan. The discovery highlights the importance of identifying species in order to protect them. The Melita panda was first found in the 1990s. It is described for the first time […]

A supernova seen by astronomers more than 800 years ago has had its remnants thoroughly examined – and they’re weird. Researchers have found a “zombie star” remaining at the centre of the supernova explosion, with dandelion-like filaments peeling away from it. They’ve published their description in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. The supernova was spotted by […]

With a milestone in its development looming large, the Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) is expected to take the stage in the middle of next year, but health bodies and experts are saying that funding for the permanent centre can’t wait. Australia is the only OECD country without a CDC. The Labor Party committed […]

The risks and ethical considerations associated with the data used to train Artificial Intelligence (AI) in health care have been outlined by an international expert at a health conference in Adelaide. The problem, says Professor Alastair Denniston, director of the Centre for Regulatory Science and Innovation at the University of Birmingham, in the UK, is […]

Palaeontologists studying fossils of corals and algae from 385 million years ago have found  a symbiotic relationship between the organisms today was present in the ancient past as well. Photosynthetic algae recycle nutrients and are important for corals living in nutrient-poor waters. Research published in Nature shows that this relationship was around nearly 400 million […]

For the first time, a black hole has been discovered with two orbiting stars, leading astrophysicists to suggest a surprising way such systems could form. Many black holes have been discovered in binary systems. These pairs involve a central black hole and another object such as a star, denser neutron star or another black hole. […]

A study of two coastal landmarks in the southwest corner of Australia has traced their complex history over thousands of years and how they will change in the future. Samples collected from locations along the coastline of Western Australia’s capital city Perth were analysed by geologists from Curtin University. Their findings are published in the […]

Palaeontologists have turned to robotics in an unusual attempt to recreate ancient life. The aptly named “palaeo-robots” could help scientists reconstruct how fish evolved to walk. Four-legged land animals such as frogs, humans and dinosaurs all evolved from a marine ancestor. The fossil record shows that this transition from water to land occurred about 390 […]

A public health physician and planetary health expert says that healthcare workers now have a “duty of care to both their patients and the planet”. “We have to change our mindset in healthcare, because climate change is harming health,” says Professor Tony Capon, director of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute in Australia, whose work has […]

Researchers in Berkeley, California have created a new material they believe might hold the key to capturing carbon from the atmosphere more cheaply and efficiently.   Carbon capture technologies exist but mostly only work well for concentrated sources of carbon like emissions from power plant exhausts and flues. These methods don’t translate efficiently or cheaply […]

Researchers have found the body traits which help ethnic Tibetan women reproduce in the oxygen-scarce, highest region on Earth. Women with the most live births had a combination of blood and cardiovascular characteristics which enhance oxygen delivery to the body’s tissues. “Understanding how populations like these adapt gives us a better grasp of the processes […]

A Pacific region academy of science has been launched with a promise that science can make the region more prosperous. The Pacific Academy of Sciences was launched in Samoa at a side event during the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The Pacific Islands was the only region in the world without a science academy. […]

Ice core samples collected in Greenland, spanning 120,000 years of climate history, reveal abrupt “tipping points,” related to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation which plunged Earth into the last ice age. The last ice age, known as the Last Glacial Period (LGP), spanned the period 115,000–11,700 years ago. It’s believed it was triggered by changes […]

New global research has revealed that people don’t want developing countries left out of the climate change debate. Climate change brought about by the burning of fossil fuels is largely driven by the wealthiest nations, while the burden – rising temperatures, sea level increase, food insecurity and environmental degradation – is most keenly felt in […]