Australasian Science Magazine Issue June 2010
Meeting the Missing Link
The cranium of the juvenile skeleton. Photo: Brett Eloff courtesy Wits University
By Paul Dirks
Paul Dirks gives a first-hand account of the expedition that found a new species of hominid linking humans and apes.
Professor Paul Dirks is Head of the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at James Cook University, and former Head of the School of GeoSciences at Wits University in South Africa.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
Entropy Theories in State of Disorder
Stephen Hawking in freefall flight on board a modified Boeing 727 jet that completes a series of steep ascents and dives to create short periods of weightlessness due to freefall. During this flight Hawking experienced eight such periods. Now one of his theories about entropy is in freefall too. Photo: NASA
By Stephen Luntz
Australian researchers have found that there is more disorder in the universe than previously realised – and that one of Stephen Hawking’s assumptions is probably wrong.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
Fresh Water Using Geothermal Heat
By Hal GurGenci
Geothermal heat can provide cheap fresh water to homesteads and small townships in the outback by removing salt from brackish aquifers.
Hal Gurgenci is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Queensland, and the Director of the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence, which was established last year by a $15 million grant from the Queensland government.
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Reef Emissions Affect Climate
Reefs produce aerosols that affect rainfall locally.
By Graham Jones & Zoran Ristovski
Coral reefs produce a natural aerosol that creates clouds over the ocean and keeps sea surface temperatures stable – with implications for both reefs and rainforests.
Graham Jones is an Associate Professor in climate science at Southern Cross University, Lismore. Zoran Ristovski is an Associate Professor in atmospheric science at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane.
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The First Breath
The cranial ribs in the Australian lungfish Neoceratodus forsteri are needed to anchor the pectoral girdle, allowing the fish to raise its head to gulp air. Image adapted from Johanson et al. 2005.
By Alice Clement
A new fossil find shows that a global decline in oxygen millions of years ago drove the evolution of air-breathing in lungfishes.
Alice Clement is a PhD student at the Research School of Earth Sciences of the Australian National University and Museum Victoria, where she is studying lungfish evolution and anatomy.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
Freaks of the Sea
In 1978 the German cargo vessel MS München was struck by a freak wave 24–30 metres high. Image from Horizon – Freak Wave courtesy of BBC Worldwide. © BBC/Monkey Experiment
By Murray Rudman
Once the stuff of maritime legend, rogue waves up to 30 metres high have been detected by satellites, posing a significant threat to shipping and oil rigs. Now computational scientists are smashing virtual rogue waves into virtual oil and gas platforms to help design stronger, safer structures.
Dr Murray Rudman is Program Leader of Computational and Mathematical Modelling at CSIRO Mathematics, Informatics and Statistics in Melbourne.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
How Australia Dried Out
Sediments of the ancient Lake Bungunnia near Rufus River in western NSW. The white horizon is the dust layer marking the start of arid climatic regimes. Photo: Richard Stanaway
By Sandra McLaren & Malcolm Wallace
Lake Bungunnia, a megalake that existed 1–2 million years ago in today’s Murray–Darling Basin, reveals the story and timing of the onset of arid climatic conditions in south-eastern Australia.
Dr Sandra McLaren and Dr Malcolm Wallace are from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Melbourne. This article is based on their research published recently in the journal Global and Planetary Change.
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Slime Moulds Get Smart
Dr Tanya Latty has never lost her childhood fascination with “creepy crawlies”.
By Stephen Luntz
How can slime moulds make complex decisions when they don’t have a brain?
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
Rules of Engagement
Conserving large carnivores in the Northern Hemisphere is a major issue that researchers are having to deal with. The issues are different but the approaches are the same as those being pioneered in Australia. Credit: iStockphoto
By Prof Hugh Possingham
Approaches to conservation may differ around the world but the challenges are similar.
Prof Hugh Possingham is the Director of the Applied Environmental Decision Analysis centre at the University of Queensland.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
The New Nuclear
Nuclear energy is a contentious issue.
By Ian Lowe
Will new technology make nuclear energy viable?
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
Misremembering the Past
By Peter Bowditch
It is quite simple to build false memories, even ones as serious as sexual abuse.
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Out of This World
The PacMan-shaped hot spot has baffled scientists. Image: NASA/JPL
By David Reneke
Dave Reneke brings news from the space and astronomy communities around the world.
David Reneke is an astronomy educator, writer and broadcaster who represents Australasian Science on more than 60 networked radio stations across Australia. He also produces a range of educational CD-ROMS on astronomy and space exploration for beginners, and runs an astronomy outreach program for schools throughout NSW. Subscribe to David’s free Astro-Space newsletter at www.davidreneke.com
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
If You’re Not a Criminal, You’ve Got Nothing to Worry About
Over-reliance on DNA profiles in crime investigation is just one facet of a growing acceptance of genetic determinism – the assumption that we are our DNA. Credit: Jamie Tufrey
By Michael Cook
When the DNA profiles of innocent people are kept by law enforcement agencies it places them at risk of a lifetime of genetic surveillance.
Michael Cook is editor of the bioethics newsletter BioEdge.
This article is available exclusively to Australasian Science Magazine subscription holders. Subscribe here.
A Very Public Scientist
By Peter Pockley
Ian Lowe is proof of the value of scientists who apply their scientific training and experience to issues at the interfaces of science, technology, society and policy.
reminiScience draws on extended biographical interviews recorded by Peter Pockley for the Oral History Archives of the National Library of Australia. This is the 43rd interview in the series, which is progressively coming online at www.nla.gov.au/digcoll/audio.
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In Space No One Can Hear You Sneeze
Space is a harsh environment that presents several serious health risks to astronauts
By Elizabeth Blaber, Helder Marcal, John Foster & Brendan Burns
The altered gravity conditions of space can have serious detrimental effects on the health of astronauts. Understanding the cellular basis of this phenomenon could lead to better medical treatments on Earth.
Humans have gazed into the night sky for thousands of years and wondered what the billions of twinkling spots were that they could see. Different cultures have assigned their own meaning to the universe throughout the millennia, but rapid advances in research and technology are only just beginning to further our understanding of the nature and mysteries of the cosmos.
Homeopathy Costs Us All
Natrum muriaticum is homeopathic salt.
By Ken Harvey
There is no evidence for homeopathy yet medical insurance companies – subsidised by the government – are extending their cover due to client demand, and health authorities lack the power to act on misleading claims.
Homeopathy has been in the news of late. Earlier this year, a homeopath and his wife were found guilty of manslaughter after their baby daughter died when they treated her severe eczema with homeopathic remedies rather than conventional medicines.
Dwarf Planets Are Not So Rare
By Stephen Luntz
The number of dwarf planets in the solar system may be ten times higher than previously thought.
The point at which objects in the solar system become dwarf planets has been wrongly estimated, a new study has found, potentially increasing the number of these objects in the solar system.
Ancient Human DNA Sequenced
By Stephen Luntz
The oldest complete sequence of human DNA has been determined from 4000-year-old human hair.
The oldest complete sequence of human DNA has been determined from 4000-year-old human hair found in Greenland. The male individual from which it was taken was
part of the Saqqaq, a cultural grouping that disappeared almost 3000 years ago.
Science Academy Awards Peter Pockley
Peter Pockley has been awarded the 2010 Australian Academy of Science Medal.
By Guy Nolch
Australasian Science writer Peter Pockley has been recognised for his service to science journalism over four decades.
Australasian Science’s senior correspondent, Dr Peter Pockley, has been awarded the 2010 Australian Academy of Science Medal.
Pockley has been with Australasian Science since it merged in 1998 with Search, for which he had been writing since 1991.
Pockley completed a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Melbourne, and obtained first-class honours in chemistry. After a Diploma of Education (first-class honours again) he taught science at Melbourne Grammar before completing a PhD in Geology at Oxford.
Homeopathy Evidence Diluted
By Stephen Luntz
A study has poured more cold water on the evidence for homeopathy.
A study published in the Medical Journal of Australia has confirmed the mountain of evidence that homeopathy is scam, not science.
Although many studies have found that homeopathy lacks any benefits other than those offered by placebos, including a review by the UK’s House of Commons Science and Technology Committee (see p.38), a few have been used by the alternative medicine industry to make claims of scientific evidence. These claims have provided a fig leaf to medical insurers that have bowed to consumer demand for coverage of homeopathic treatments as part of their policies.
Salinity Changes Confirm Warming
By Stephen Luntz
Variations in salinity are intensifying, indicating that the Earth’s cycle of evaporation and rainfall has pumped up during the 20th century.
A study of ocean salinity in the American Journal of Climate confirms that variations in salinity are intensifying, indicating that the Earth’s cycle of evaporation and rainfall has pumped up during the 20th century.
It Is Rocket Science
By Simon Grose
Obama boosts space exploration beyond the Moon to Mars.
A few months after Barack Obama became America’s 44th President, a US commentator noted that it was a welcome change to “have a grown-up in charge”.
Change is what Obama promised. The hard-won reform of America’s health care system that crunched through Congress a year after he took office is the headline example so far.
