The Lost Giants of Tasmania
New evidence reveals that megafauna survived in Tasmania until soon after a land bridge across Bass Strait enabled humans to cross from the mainland.
Communicating in Colour
Rather than blending into the background, dwarf chameleons change colour to stand out from the crowd and attract mates and intimidate their rivals.
Walking with Hobbits
The ancestors of the miniature hominins found on the Indonesian island of Flores may have spread out of Africa even before the ancestors of modern humans.
2008: Year of the Virus?
2007 brought equine influenza to Australia as well as rising threats from avian flu, foot-and-mouth disease and a number of mosquito-borne viruses that are threatening to make the species jump to humans. What might 2008 bring?
Memories of Tomorrow
Do animals remember the past and plan for the future? Studies of scrub-jays dispute the notion that humans are unique in the ability of their minds to travel in time.
Why Would ET Evolve Human-like Intelligence?
Human-like intelligence is not a convergent feature of evolution on Earth, so why should we expect to find extraterrestrials that can build radio telescopes?
Natural Insecticides from Spiders
Glenn King argues that insecticide chemists might do well to take lessons from spiders, the most efficient insect killers on the planet.
Walking with Ancestors
Simon Grose reports that the recent discovery of two hominid fossils in Kenya has stirred the debate about the identification of our ancestors
One Powerful Idea
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Sir Macfarlane Burnet’s publication of his ground-breaking “clonal selection theory” in the Australian Journal of Science – which is now published as Australasian Science. Stephen Turner explains the impacts of Burnet’s theory on the consequent and ongoing discoveries made in immunology.
Toad Kill (457 kb PDF)
The cane toad invasion could spread as far as Melbourne and Perth, but Rick Shine says their ecological impact may not be as apocalyptic as has been feared.
What Makes Us Human? (268 kb PDF)
Vanessa Woods compares the violence of chimpanzees with the peaceful communities of our other close relatives, the bonobos.
A Queen Is Made, Not Born (337 kb PDF)
Ryszard Maleszka explains how the bees took an ancient gene and, via multiple duplications, created a specialised family of proteins that serve their most important social need: raising a queen.
Alley Cats & Sex Kittens (384 kb PDF)
One of the most common human parasite infections in the world can affect our mental state, including our sexual attractiveness, IQ, schizophrenia and the likelihood of being in a car accident. Nicky Boulter reports.
Sea Change Threatened by Climate Change (321 kb PDF)
John Church and colleagues warn that sea level rise will have serious consequences during the 21st century and beyond, and will impact the lives of tens of millions of people.
CSIRO Innovation Goes Up in Smoke
(372 kb PDF)
Fred Prata developed a volcanic ash detector that could save the airline industry millions of dollars, and potentially the lives of their passengers, but says that CSIRO tried to commercialise the technology before the science was ready.
Distress a Normal Part of Life for a Damsel (357 kb PDF)
The stress of being around too many other females causes pregnant female fish to have smaller babies. Mark McCormick discusses the implications for reef resilience.
Malaria Treatment Is Not
Just a Cosmetic Fix (173 kb PDF)
The future weapon against malaria may be a common ingredient found in shampoo. Fenja Theden reports.
Dugongs Are Both Hoons & Homebodies (366 kb PDF)
The sedentary appearance of the dugong may be deceptive, according to a satellite tracking study by James Sheppard.
Safe Pesticides from Spider Venom
(494 kb PDF)
The venomous eastern mouse spider doesn't share the reputation of the infamous funnel-web, but it could change the future of insecticides. Youmie Chong puts its venom to the test.
Bees Never Forget a Face
(420 kb PDF)
Honeybees can be trained to recognise stimuli representing human faces. Adrian Dyer explains this seemingly difficult visual task and its implications.
Light on a Leash:
Reinventing Optical Fibres (448 kb PDF)
Maryanne Large explains how light can be guided through air cores, opening the way for polymer optical fibres that are cheaper and easier to use.
Thinking about Drinking:
The Power of Expectation
(413 kb PDF)
Most of the effects of alcohol result from our expectations, not from the actual chemical. Someone who thinks they're drinking alcohol, but isn't, will act almost as drunk as someone who is drinking the real thing, says Sitharthan Thiagarajan.
21st Century Food (492kb PDF)
While doctors are calling for a national audit of Australia 's eating habits and nutritional needs, food companies are preparing for an era of "personalised nutrition" in which diet is matched to an individual's metabolism. Guy Nolch reports.
Herbicide-resitant Sting in Honeybee's Tail
(246 kb PDF)
Honeybees can carry pollen over large distances, raising concerns that they may transfer herbicide resistance from genetically modified crops to closely related weed species. However, Jeanine Baker finds that overuse of existing herbicides is more likely to spread herbicide resistance to weeds.
Tiny Particles, Big Risks
(756 kb PDF)
Scientists face a long journey on the road to answering consumer and occupational health and safety questions surrounding the emerging field of nanotechnology. Sarah Belfield reports.
Australian Beamline to Expose Antimatter
(428 kb PDF)
Antimatter research is coming to Australia with the construction of state-of the-art research facilities in Canberra . Simon Grose reports.
Dolphins Join the Culture Club
(349 kb PDF)
Genetic analyses show that tool use is culturally transmitted by bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay . Michael Krützen says that this makes dolphins the only marine mammals that have demonstrated a material culture.
Conquering Chytrid
(267 kb PDF)
The habitat of frogs and the company they keep may expose them to a deadly fungus, reveals Jodi Rowley.
Why Did the Koala Cross the Forest Floor?
(407 kb PDF)
Koalas are fussy eaters. Ben Moore discovers why.
How Rusting Iron Can Clean Up Toxic Spills
(159 kb PDF)
Rusting iron could offer an environmentally friendly way to stop toxic chemical spills and make further clean-up safer, reveals Andrew Feitz.
