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A new study shows that teens who vape often have twice as much uranium and 30% more lead in their urine. The research, published in the journal Tobacco Control, sought to understand if any potentially toxic metals could be linked with vaping frequency or flavour. Sweet flavours, they found, led to even higher levels of […]

French and Australian scientists have modelled the evolving landscape of the ancient supercontinent Sahul to work out how quickly humans were able to populate the landmass that would eventually become Australia. It turns out these first people to arrive via entry points at West Papua and the Timor Sea more than 65,000 years ago were […]

DNA analysis of more than 400 skeletons, covering 9 generations, has allowed researchers to map out the relationships within a mysterious warrior clan. The Avars were a warrior culture which lived in the Carpathian Basin in modern-day Hungary about 1,500 years ago. The core of the Avar society was a khagan, a political leader surrounded […]

“Imagine a world that we could simply ‘print’ neurological diseases out of existence using bio inks and cheap desktop printers.” Well hello future, or at least one that Matthew Griffith, a biophysicist at the University of South Australia, is willing to entertain. He heads up a cross-institutional project team working to take the basic premise […]

The role that a specific gene plays in developing resistance to the fungal pathogen has been demonstrated by a Chinese-Australian research team. As climate change causes more humid conditions, the risk of fusarium head blight is increasing. The blight – sometimes called ‘head scab’ – is caused mainly by the fungus Fusarium graminearum. The disease […]

Researchers in the US are the first to successfully create hybrid brains of 2 different species using a technique called blastocyst complementation. According to a new study published in the journal Cell, the team has created mice that can sense odours with their rat neurons, which successfully integrated into part of the olfactory system. This […]

A male squid’s birthday influences its mating behaviour Forget star signs, the date a male spear quid hatches determines which mating tactic he uses throughout his life. Japanese researchers studying the squid species Heterololigo bleekeri found male individuals that hatch earlier in the season (between early April and mid-July) become “consorts”. These squid fight off […]

Climbing stairs is associated with a longer life, according to research presented this week at an annual meeting of Europe’s leading cardiologists. The systematic review of 9 previous studies covering nearly 500,000 participants investigated whether climbing stairs as a form of physical activity could play a role in reducing the risks of cardiovascular diseases and […]

By Dr Rebecca Green UNSW Sydney. Edited by Sam Hendricks 360info Senior Commissioning Editor Warmth, vulnerability, improved communication, and an openness to admit errors – these are some of the things being demanded of scientists as a way to build greater public trust. It’s a big ask of people who spend their days working to […]

Australia’s threatened species are experiencing widespread habitat declines thanks to more frequent fires and a reduction in unburnt areas according to Aussie researchers who say their findings paint a sobering picture for threatened species in fire-prone landscapes. The study looked at fire patterns across southern Australia from 1980 – 2021, spanning 415 reserves (21.5m hectares) […]

A study of Swedish Long COVID patients has revealed the symptoms most commonly associated with the afflication include dyspnoea and fatigue. The research led Umeå University and published in the BMG Public Health Journal found that dyspnoea – or a shortness of breath – occurred in around 1 in 8 Long COVID patients among around […]

  Semaglutide (sold as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus) was initially developed to treat diabetes. It works by stimulating the production of insulin to keep blood sugar levels in check. This type of drug is increasingly being prescribed for weight loss, despite the fact it was initially approved for another purpose. Recently, there has been growing […]

New research has found that targeted surveillance and culling of crown-of-thorns starfish (CoTS) can effectively suppress outbreaks to protect coral reef health and resilience on the Great Barrier Reef. While crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris) are native to the reef, outbreaks are a major driver of coral mortality and reef degradation on top of other […]

Some mammals, like the Australian marsupial sugar glider, have special adaptations to glide through the air or even move about using powered flight like bats. How did this ability evolve? “We don’t quite understand how novel traits and adaptations originate from a molecular and genetic perspective,” says Princeton University assistant professor Ricardo Mallarino. “We wanted […]

Despite the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer, vital for obstructing UV radiation from the sun, isn’t fully repaired. This spells danger to Antarctic plant and animal species. The warning comes from 4 members of the UN’s Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, who write in the journal Global Change Biology that the annual ‘hole’ that widens in […]

Massive dinosaur fossil footprints have been found in southern China. They were left behind by a raptor which might be among the largest ever. Raptor is the term commonly given to members of the Dromaeosauridae and Troodontidae groups of bipedal dinosaurs. Analysis of their skulls indicates that these were pack-hunters and the smartest of dinosaurs, […]

Soft drink manufacturers Coca-Cola and Pepsi account for a sixth of the world’s branded plastic waste and more than half can be traced to just 56 companies according to a global study. The 5-year study spanning more than 1,500 audits across 84 countries is part of a global citizen science collaboration, involving audit submissions from […]

A new study reveals the complex dynamics of black holes in the centres of galaxies, how they slow down and interact with each other. This could help explain when and where black hole mergers occur. Led by researchers at Melbourne’s Monash University, the study is published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. […]

New South Wales researchers have been commissioned to design a medical drone. The specialised drone is to be equipped with a “medical capsule” to deliver cargo to remote regions. It will be able to transport pathology specimens, blood products, anti-venom, medications, medical supplies and other equipment. The drone will complement local primary health networks, telehealth […]

Reanalysis of the largest ever salmon, which lived several million years ago, shows that it sported tusk-like teeth which might have been used for fighting. Oncorhynchus rastrosus was first described in the 1970s. It’s the largest species of salmon, reaching up to 2.7 metres in length and weighing between 200 and 400kg, roughly the size […]

Astronomers have witnessed a rare giant flare from a magnetar about 12 million light-years away. Such events release huge amounts of energy in the form of gamma rays and are therefore known as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). These GRBs usually last less than a second and originate from neutron stars – the dense remains of a […]

Warming ocean temperatures caused by climate change could have a direct effect on octopus’ sight according to new research from South Australia and California. Marine biologist Dr Qiaz Hua and a team at The University of Adelaide Environment Institute and University of California Davis, tested embryos of the Southern Keeled Octopus (Octopus berrima) in water […]

Double-glazed windows are often seen as a useful, if expensive, measure to insulate Australian homes and shave quarterly power bills, now materials scientists are hopeful they’ve cracked a way to introduce similar properties to bricks. The researchers in Melbourne engineered clay bricks containing 15% reclaimed glass dust, which would have otherwise been unrecyclable, as part […]

Researchers have linked 4 genes to birds’ innate rhythmic ability in song, according to a new study in Nature Communications. Rhythm, which involves song elements being regularly distributed in time, is an essential component of communication that mediates key social behaviours, such as recognition of different individuals and mate selection. Of the genes identified, 2 […]