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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 […]