Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938
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Feature article
The Evolving Story of Heredity
A female neriid fly (bottom right) lays eggs on rotten tree bark while her mate fights off an interloper. Credit: Russell Bonduriansky
By Angela Crean & Russell Bonduriansky
Biologists are discovering that there is a lot more to heredity than genes. In the latest twist, it turns out that offspring size in an Australian fly species can be determined by the diet of its mother’s previous mating partner.
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The High Price of Obsolete Science
Misplaced fear of radiation and accidents is impacting our response to climate destabilisation.
By Geoff Russell
The anti-nuclear movement co-opted the environment movement on the strength of theories about DNA, radiation and cancer that have long been proven false.
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The Ancient African Coins of Arnhem Land
With the Kilwa coins, we have potential evidence of much earlier contacts that challenge the Captain Cook-centred view of Australian history that prioritises English and some Dutch discoveries.
By Ian McIntosh
Indigenous knowledge is informing a scientific expedition that hopes to uncover the origins of medieval African coins that may have been left in Arnhem Land hundreds of years before the arrival of Cook.
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Organs by Inkjet
Inkjet printers can already print living cells.
By Cameron Ferris
The development of a new biological ink takes us one step closer to the goal of printing living cells in three dimensions to create whole organs.
Cameron Ferris is an Associate Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science, University of Wollongong (http://www.electromaterials.edu.au).
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Gene Drives: A Fork in the Road for the GMO Debate
By Charles Robin
What are the moral and ethical concerns about gene drives, and how should the technology be regulated?
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Early and Delayed Motherhood Linked to Schizophrenia Risk
Credit: Monkey Business
By Sang Hong Lee
A mother’s age when she gives birth is associated with her child’s likelihood of developing schizophrenia, but is this because psychosocial factors associated with the mother's age affect her child's risk, or because women with a higher genetic risk for schizophrenia are more likely to have their first child at an early or late age?
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The Ethics of Online Genomics Tests
Credit: Syda Productions/adobe
By Jacqueline Savard
There is a significant difference between the expectation and reality of direct-to-consumer personal genome testing, creating a gap where interesting tensions and ethical dilemmas sit.
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What’s the Key to Chronic Fatigue?
Credit: alphaspirit/Adobe
By Donald Staines & Sonya Marshall-Gradisnik
Chronic fatigue has a range of debilitating symptoms that have defied a pathological explanation. Now researchers are zeroing in on receptors with a role in the immune system.
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The Devil Is in the DNA
Credit: Menna Jones
By Anna Brüniche-Olsen & Jeremy J. Austin
DNA analysis reveals that Tasmanian devils survived a major population decline thousands of years ago, leaving them with low genetic diversity to withstand devil facial tumour disease.
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Survival of the Littlest
Jinfengopteryx, a feathered bird-like dinosaur. © Peter Schouten from Feathered Dinosaurs: The Origin of Birds
By Michael Lee
Birds co-existed with their dinosaur ancestors for nearly 100 million years, but eventually outlived them. Two new studies have revealed why.
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