Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938
Australasian Science Magazine Issue May 2010
Cover Story:
Inside the Minds of the Trendsetters
Brain scans have revealed which personality types are the most influential in the widespread
adoption of new trends and technologies. |
Feature:
A Matter Of Time
Successful treatment of cancer may depend on the accurate timing of chemotherapy or vaccine therapies to match fluctuations in each patient’s immune system. |
Feature:
Can Mimicking Nature Quench Our Thirst?
Patterned polymer surfaces based on the African Stenocara beetle could be applied to our roofs to collect drinking water from the atmosphere. |
Feature:
NASA's Uncharted Future
What does the scrapping of NASA's plans to revisit the Moon mean for space exploration? |
Feature:
Sea Slugs Turn up Heat on Bleaching
Symbiotic sea slugs employ similar zooxanthellae species as corals, offering fresh insights into why heat-stressed corals bleach. |
Feature:
Rise of the Machines
The cells in our body work because of the many "molecular machines" within them – but where did these machines comes from? |
Feature:
A Mystery of Astronomical Proportions
At least one-third of all red giant stars have a mysterious variation in brightness that has astronomers stumped. |
Feature:
Neutrino Hint from Radioactivity Puzzle
The discovery that the decay rates of radioactive isotopes may not be immutable "constants of nature" could open fresh ways of detecting neutrinos and protecting astronauts and satellites in space. |
conSCIENCE:
Deadly Concerns Over Herbal Medicines
Just how safe are herbal medicines, and how well are we evaluating their possible contribution to illness and death? |
Cool Careers:
The Smelly Side of Forensics
The bacteria in decomposing bodies can help to determine when
a person died – even if only a skeleton remains. |
Eco Logic:
Real Conservation Targets
We have a lot to learn from Swedish conservation efforts. |
Lowe Tech:
Road to Nowhere
Innovation in New Zealand is following Australia's lead. |
Naked Skeptic:
Courts Immune to Anti-Vaccine Lobby
The anti-vaccination lobby has been dealt some crucial blows in
the US courts. |
Out of this World:
Europa: Our Best Bet for Earth-Like Life
If a 100-km deep ocean existed below the ice shell of Europa, the sixth of Jupiter's many moons, it would be 10 times deeper than any ocean on Earth and would contain twice as much water as Earth's oceans and rivers combined! |
Quandary:
Plastinated People
Exhibits of "plastinated" human remains in garish poses raise issues of human dignity. |
Simon Says:
Mad Cow Backflip Denies Science
Politicians have given in to public fears about the safety of beef
imports rather than doing “what the science tells us”. |
reminiSCIENCE:
A Lover of Animals, Living and Dead
Michael Archer's life-long attachment to animals as research subjects and personal pets matches his passion for the records they have left in the unique fossil beds of the Australian outback. |