Cover Story
Is It a Bird or a Dinosaur?
Is it a bird? Is it a dinosaur? The exact position of Archaeopteryx in the evolutionary tree remains debated. Main Illustration by Nobumichi Tamura. Inset photo by Michael Lee
By Michael Lee
As a new specimen of Archaeopteryx is unveiled, scientists argue whether this famous creature is a true bird or just another bird-like dinosaur.
Michael Lee is senior research scientist at the South Australian Museum and the University of Adelaide.
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Artificial Photosynthesis: Feeding and Fuelling the Future
Image: iStockphoto
By Thomas Faunce
A global scientific project using nanotechnology and synthetic biology to re-engineer photosynthesis may help solve our energy, food, water and greenhouse gas problems.
A/Prof Thomas Faunce is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the Australian National University. He was the scientific and administrative coordinator of the first international conference dedicated to creating a Global Artificial Photosynthesis project at Lord Howe Island in August 2011.
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How Was the Universe Born?
Image: iStockphoto
By Geraint Lewis
Modern cosmology tells us that the universe as we know it arose 13.7 billion years ago in the fiery birth of the Big Bang, but our understanding of the laws of physics is incomplete and we are currently unable to answer the questions of where the universe actually came from. Cosmologists have many ideas, ranging from the reasonably strange to the extremely outlandish.
Geraint Lewis is Professor of Astrophysics at The University of Sydney.
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How HIV Hides in the Brain
HIV-positive people are particularly susceptible to the early onset of dementia. Credit: Mehau Kulyk/Science Photo Library
By Lachlan Gray
With the introduction of the latest drugs and treatments, infection with HIV no longer represents a death sentence. However, HIV-positive people are particularly susceptible to the early onset of dementia and several other conditions of ageing, such as cardiovascular disease, frailty, cancers and bone disease. New research has found that when the HIV virus gets into the brain, it infects a key cell type, the astrocyte, leading to its dysfunction. This, in turn, triggers the development of HIV dementia, and at the same time provides HIV with a hideout where it is protected from the immune system and antiviral drugs.
Lachlan Gray is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Burnet Institute and Monash University.
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The Olympic Dam Story
It’s easy to think that the sheer size of Olympic Dam made its discovery inevitable. Image courtesy BHP Billiton
By David Upton
The discovery of the Olympic Dam mine is a story of innovative geologists who defied conventional thinking, and the corporate leaders who maintained faith in them.
David Upton is author of The Olympic Dam Story. This is an extract.
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Bloody Battle
Image © Commonwealth of Australia Department of Defence
By Geoffrey P. Dobson
Soldiers suffering catastrophic blood loss often die on the battlefield before they can be evacuated, but emerging science is targeting new ways to stabilise the heart and circulation to buy time and save lives.
Geoffrey P. Dobson is Personal Chair of the Heart Research Laboratory at James Cook University. He is the founding director of Hibernation Therapeutics Global Pty Ltd (www.adenocaine.com) and is the sole inventor on nine patents (issued and pending) relating to adenocaine. The research described here was recognised at the American Heart Association’s Resuscitation Science Symposium last year when he and MSc student Hayley Letson were awarded the best-of-the-best abstracts (trauma), and this year he was invited to present the resuscitation research at NATO’s Operations Medical Conference.
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The Mouse Is Not Enough
The invasive nature of embryo retrieval has necessitated the use of a mammalian species that reproduces rapidly and is inexpensive to house – the mouse.
By Peter Pfeffer and Debra Berg
Fundamental differences in embryonic development mean that research using mice may not be reliably applied to other mammals, and that cattle embryos may be a better model for stem cell studies in humans.
Peter Pfeffer and Debra Berg are Senior Scientists at Agresearch in Hamilton, New Zealand.
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It’s Evolution – But Not As We Know It
Perhaps some other process, not natural selection, is responsible for the evolved acceleration of the toad invasion.
By Rick Shine
The accelerating pace of the cane toad’s advance through tropical Australia has revealed a new mechanism of evolution.
Rick Shine is a Professor in Biology at the University of Sydney.
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The Evolution of the Inadequate Modern Male
The weak have inherited the Earth.
By Peter McAllister
The superior strength, endurance and eyesight of ancient humans reveals that the weak have now inherited the Earth.
Peter McAllister is an archaeologist and lecturer at Griffith University, and author of Manthropology (Hachette Australia).
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A Nation of Creationists
Most Australian adults believe in divine creation over Darwinian evolution.
By David Wilson
A survey of beliefs in the origin of life and the universe has found that the majority of Australians believe in creationism and theistic evolution.
David Wilson is Head of the Surveillance and Evaluation Program for Public Health at the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research, University of NSW. He carried out this study while at the University of Newcastle.
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