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Mysterious repeating sounds emanating from the depths of the Southern Ocean continue to baffle marine scientists since they were first heard by submariners in the 1960s, when they were dubbed “bio-duck” noises. The ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and off the Australian west coast. The 4 short bursts of quack-like sounds were also […]

A giant planet orbiting a very young star could be the youngest transiting exoplanet found. Its discovery could shed light on how planets form. More than a dozen exoplanets have been found transiting stars that are 10–40 million years old. For comparison, our Sun is about 4.6 billion years old. Until now no planets have […]

A new quantum theory explaining how light and matter interact has also provided the first ever depiction of the shape of a single light particle, a photon. Understanding these fundamental aspects of photon-matter interactions could open up new possibilities in quantum physics and material science. It could pave the way for new and improved nanophotonic […]

Palaeontologists have identified a new species of dinosaur from a Chinese fossil which was dug up in 1986. Huaxiazhoulong shouwen is a member of the ankylosaurid group, which most famously includes Ankylosaurus. These “walking tanks” had rows of fused bones protruding out of their skins, thought to make them virtually impenetrable. Some species, including Huaxiazhoulong […]

Researchers have done a “deep dive” into the most venomous fish species on Earth and revealed “surprising” new insights that might lead to better treatment for stings, and could be used to treat diseases such as cancer. The estuarine (Synanceia horrida) and reef (Synanceia verrucosa) stonefish are found throughout the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific and […]

They’re called “forever chemicals” for a reason: PFAS are diabolically difficult to break down. But 2 different teams of chemists have found new ways to break them up – with light. Both studies have just been published in Nature. The stability of PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, comes from fluorine atoms bonded to carbon […]

Across the UK and Ireland, people from Belfast are best at detecting when someone is faking their accent – while people from London are worst at it, according to a new study. The study, published in Evolutionary Human Sciences, also finds that people from Glasgow, Dublin and the northeast of England could find an “accent […]

Researchers have compiled a map of 6 million galaxies in the most precise test of how gravity works on large scales in the universe. The survey, detailed in several pre-print papers on the arXiv server, uses data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI). It tracks how gravitational forces have shaped the universe over the […]

Marine and ocean researchers in Australia and the US have developed an innovative open-source framework which they say transforms how research image datasets are managed, processed and shared, setting a new standard for scientific collaboration, citizen science and data accessibility. The work builds on various projects which are opening up the underwater world for scientists […]

New research has found at least 257 million people now live in places where climate warming could cause dengue incidence to double in the next 25 years in Asia and the Americas Mild cases of dengue may be asymptomatic or cause fever and flu-like symptoms. Severe cases can cause serious bleeding, a sudden drop in […]

People see humble scientists as more trustworthy, according to a new study. The study, published in Nature Human Behaviour, finds that scientists who display “intellectual humility” seem more reliable than those who don’t. “Research has shown that having intellectual humility – which is an awareness that one’s knowledge or beliefs might be incomplete or wrong […]

The deadly impact of climate change bringing more intense marine heatwaves and cyclones to the Great Barrier Reef has been revealed by initial results from the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences’ (AIMS) Long-Term Monitoring Program (LTMP). The in-water surveys found that coral cover has declined between 11% in some places to as much as 72% […]

In some very neat science, electron imaging has captured the atomic structure of the outermost layer of electrons on a material’s surface. Understanding the structure of surface atoms is useful for engineers and chemists. The research could aid in fabrication, growth, and controlling electronic and mechanical properties of nano-scale materials. The imaging of atomic structure […]

Palaeontologists have uncovered a fossilised worm-like creature at Nilpena Ediacara National Park in South Australia. The discovery is the first to date ecdysozoans – a group of animals which today includes arthropods and nematode worms – back to the Ediacaran period, when complex life first evolved. “Scientists have hypothesized for decades that this group must […]

A new pterosaur fossil from southern Germany has shed light on how pterosaurs went from species with eagle-sized wingspans to the most enormous animals ever to fly in Earth’s skies.  “This is an incredible find,” says David Hone from Queen Mary University of London. “It really helps us piece together how these amazing flying animals […]

A team of Japanese researchers has filmed a giant virus infecting a cell using just a light microscope, a tool familiar to high school and university students. The team found evidence that their video enhances student understanding of the virus life cycle.  Infected amoeba cells rupture and explode, spreading the Mimivirus. HPI stands for hours […]

Belief in the paranormal is linked with stress – but only for certain beliefs, according to a new study on UK residents. The study, published in PLOS One, found those with “traditional” paranormal beliefs had higher levels of distress, while those with “new age” beliefs did not. “Historically, research suggests that paranormal beliefs such as […]

Geoengineering – always a controversial topic – has been in the lens on Antarctic research this year, as a bold proposal to try and slow melting has captured public interest. While the technological and environmental risks of the large-scale environmental engineering suggestion has been hotly debated, researchers say that the geopolitical risks have – so […]

Meta will make its generative artificial intelligence (AI) models available to the United States’ government, the tech giant has announced, in a controversial move that raises a moral dilemma for everyone who uses the software. Meta last week revealed it would make the models, known as Llama, available to government agencies, “including those that are […]

Ancient pollen and charcoal remains uncovered from islands north of Tasmania (Lutruwita) suggest that human fire management practices were happening in the region 41,600 years ago. This predates the oldest archaeological evidence of people in Tasmania by roughly 2,000 years. The study, published in Science Advances, draws on 2 sediment records collected from islands in […]

Microbiologists have developed a new technique that can separate the DNA of living microbes from that of the dead. The new life detection method has been tested in the extremely arid Atacama Desert in Chile and has the potential for use in other hostile environments, including on other planets. The Atacama is the driest hot […]

If they’re past re-using, textiles are difficult to recycle – with individual fabrics needing different conditions. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of textiles end up in Australian landfill every year. A better destination, according to some engineers, might be concrete. A team, based at RMIT University in Melbourne, has been trialling ways to add fibres […]

In some fascinating research involving training birds, scientists have added to our understanding of social learning in animal groups. Immigration, it seems, is a major driver of social learning in wild great tits (Parus major), a small songbird that can learn new behaviours from others of its species. A new PLOS Biology study has found […]

A remarkably well-preserved fossil skull of a bird which lived 80 million years ago has been discovered in Brazil. It fills a 70-million-year gap in our understanding of how bird brains evolved. The bird belongs to a newly described species called Navaornis hestiae. The finding is reported in a paper published in Nature. The earliest […]

An asteroid struck Mars 10.7 million years ago, sending pieces of rock hurtling into space. One of those chunks landed on Earth – scientists analysing it have made an interesting discovery. The Martian rock landed somewhere in the US state of Indiana. It was rediscovered in a drawer at Purdue University in 1931 and named […]

Are they right – the experts who argue that digital technologies are rewiring children’s brains? As digital platforms become ingrained in daily life, concerns about social media’s impact on mental health and behaviour—particularly among young people—have intensified, sparking debates over the need for stricter regulation. In response, governments are considering policies to limit social media use. Australia, […]

Two years ago, scientists from around the world met in Dublin in Ireland, to discuss the state of the science regarding meat production and animal husbandry. “They are too precious to society to become the victim of simplification, reductionism or zealotry,” they wrote in what has become known as the Dublin Declaration, ultimately signed by […]

Chemists have made a substance that can absorb carbon dioxide at the high temperatures used in industrial processes, like cement or steel-making. The study, published in Science, could eventually help to lower the emissions of these hard-to-abate industries. While fossil fuels burned for energy can be readily replaced with low- or zero-emissions technology, it’s trickier […]

The Sun took about 10–20 million years to form according to an analysis of stardust left behind from the dawn of our solar system. Findings published in Nature show how long it took the molecular cloud of gas and dust to come together to create the Sun about 4.6 billion years ago. It is the […]

Space is huge and explaining the vastness of space can be a tall order, especially to kids. The team at Double Helix, our partner publication, has brought this big concept down to Earth by creating a scale model of our inner solar system. You can create your own scale model using materials from around your […]

People living in areas with higher levels of air pollution within the US are more likely to have eczema, new research in the journal PLOSE ONE has found. Outdoor air pollution its estimated to cause more than 4 million deaths per year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This is mainly due to fine […]

Quality journalism is not just for adults. Young writers and readers seek science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) news that is relevant and fact-based. In a move that supports the future of STEM journalism, CSIRO Double Helix magazine and Letterly will host a “Young STEM Journalism Bootcamp”. The Bootcamp is to run through January 2025, […]

Teenage mutant ninja turtles may not lurk in city sewers worldwide, but fatbergs do. These conglomerations of non-biodegradable solids, fat, oil and grease form rock-like masses, which cling to and clog the inside of sewer pipes. They cause 40% of all sewer blockages in Australia and cost A$100 million each year to deal with. Some […]

Last month, when the crew of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-8 International Space Station mission finally returned from a mission that was extended from 180 days to 235 days, the splashdown and recovery were initially described as safe and apparently uneventful. Then, hours later, NASA announced that all four of members of the crew—NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, […]

A reaction between 2 simple molecules might be the secret to uncovering how the building blocks of life were first encapsulated in a cell membrane, according to new research. There are a few ingredients needed for life on Earth. Most obviously, there’s the genetic material which governs the production of proteins and reproduction. That is […]

Astronomers have spotted massive red galaxies dating back to the first billion years of the universe’s life. Some are almost as large as the Milky Way. This suggests stars and galaxies grew more quickly in the early universe than previously thought. The discovery was made using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and […]

There’s new hope for the survival of frogs facing the threat of a fungal disease ravaging their populations. After nearly being wiped out by the disease chytridiomycosis, populations of yellow-legged frogs are again thriving across Yosemite National Park in the US. The frogs have developed some resistance to infection by the fungus that causes chytrid, […]

Researchers have grown a genetically modified tomato with 30% more sugar – without sacrificing size. Over centuries of domestication, tomatoes have become 10 to 100 times larger than their wild counterparts. But these big tomatoes have lost their sweetness on the way. The first commercially available genetically modified crop was a tomato, released in the […]

On 14 November 1949, Australia’s first computer was switched on. CSIR Mk1 (later renamed CSIRAC) was designed and built by Trevor Pearcey with help from Maston Beard and Geoff Hill. Pearcey, a radar scientist, began working on the machine in 1947 after emigrating to Australia from the UK. He joined the Council for Scientific and […]

A tooth from a 1.77-million-year-old fossil child has given new insights into the process of how a unique aging process evolved in humans. Analysis of the teeth from Georgia in Eastern Europe shows that ancient human ancestors aged in a combination of ape-like early maturity, and human-like delayed development. The research, published in Nature, looked […]

An extreme rise in sea levels driven by the Indian Ocean Dipole have caused some Maldivian islands to lose more than half of their mangrove cover since 2020, a new Scientific Reports study has found. Lead author Lucy Carruthers of East Carolina University in the US says the findings are a warning for coastal areas […]

In 1961, US radio astronomer Frank Drake came up with an equation for estimating the number of intelligent civilisations in the galaxy. Called the Drake Equation, the formula combines a variety of different numbers – such as the fraction of stars with planets, and the time a civilisation would need to develop space-signalling technology – […]

Global fossil fuel emissions are projected to reach a new record of 37.4 billion tonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide this year – a growth of 0.8% relative to 2023 – according to the latest report by the Global Carbon Project. “It is a smaller growth than we had seen [in the] previous year of 1.4% […]

A New Zealand company has become the first in the nation’s history to turn on a fusion machine. OpenStar technologies reached a crucial milestone in the development of nuclear fusion-first plasma. This is the moment a fusion device creates and confines a super-hot cloud of ionised gas. Nuclear fusion is the process by which stars […]

More than 700 million years ago, the entire globe was covered in ice in a period called “Snowball Earth”. At least, that’s what scientists think. Now geologists believe they’ve found the best evidence that the “Snowball Earth” was really a global event. For reasons which remain unclear, a runaway chain of events caused a massive […]

Researchers have developed a new microscopic technique that allows them to image biological processes as they occur, with enough detail to see protein complexes move. They have demonstrated the method by showing for the first time how calcium deposits into a form that may lead to calcification of the arteries and aortic valve. “If you […]

A huge, stinking corpse flower is blooming in Geelong – an event that only lasts for a few days, roughly every 5 years. The corpse flower, also called the titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum, has become a public spectacle for botanic gardens over the last decade. The rare bloom is accompanied by rare “thermogenesis” – […]

A long-running Pacific culture education initiative that has given hundreds of Kiwi teachers the chance to experience life in a Samoan village is now the subject of new research.  In 2003, Leali’ie’e Dr Tufulasi Taleni, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Education at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC), […]

Across the world, there are thousands of public universities that are open for members of the public to explore, to just walk in and experience firsthand the breathtaking scientific developments that are happening in their city.  But how often do we take up this opportunity, to just simply walk into a building that we know […]

A week after former president Donald Trump again won office in the USA, the world’s countries are gathering to talk climate change. The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) began in Baku, Azerbaijan, yesterday, and will run until 22 November. It’s the 29th annual meeting of the 198 parties to the United Nations Framework Convention […]