Science
How scientists got wind of airborne germs at 3km altitude
Hundreds of different types of fungi and bacteria have been caught for the first time in the atmosphere and researchers think they know where they come from.
- by Carl Zimmer
Latest
The Sydney suburbs where 5G struggles – and why reception bars lie
NSW is blighted by 4000 mobile black spots, including one that seems to rob commuters of cellular data as trains cross the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
- by Angus Dalton
How Victoria’s pill tests will work – both in the lab and at music festivals
Legislation to allow a pill-testing trial will be introduced to Victorian parliament on Tuesday. The government wants the first mobile sites up and running for the summer festival season.
- by Liam Mannix and Rachel Eddie
Her stomach ached. A subconscious suggestion helped it heal
Hypnosis is often associated with silly stunts, but medicine is now starting to embrace it, spurred on by studies showing it can help with chronic pain – even if we don’t understand why.
- by Liam Mannix
‘Living window’: Food dye found in Doritos lets scientists see through mice
It may sound like magic, but using basic optics, scientists have taken a major step in the long quest to see what’s under the skin without a scalpel.
- by Carolyn Y. Johnson
Exclusive
Palaeontology
Scientists dissolved a boulder in acid – and a thylacine jumped out
The bone-crushing fossilised jaws were one of three Tasmanian tiger ancestors uncovered by palaeontologists, amid a contentious effort to resurrect the marsupial carnivore.
- by Angus Dalton
Red-light therapy. Cryotherapy. Hyperbaric chambers: The race to stay forever young
Want to live 20, 30, 50 years beyond the norm? Some with wealth and ambition are eagerly pursuing that dream to the extreme.
- by Tim Elliott
Mice follow their noses. To stop them damaging crops, farmers are turning to smell
What if a mouse couldn’t smell the wheatgerm it feeds on? What if a feral cat couldn’t smell the native bird it hunted?
- by Liam Mannix
Aussie scientists found a ‘doughnut’ in Earth’s core – and it’s helping keep us alive
By tuning in to the rumble of earthquakes, scientists took an X-ray of the Earth – and discovered something extraordinary.
- by Angus Dalton
Exclusive
China
Concerns raised over Australians doing research on ethnic minorities in China
Australian researchers have collaborated with Chinese colleagues on several studies involving Uyghurs in Xinjiang, but this has thrown up questions about consent and ethics.
- by Liam Mannix
‘Why can’t we talk about the part between the knees and the belly button?’
Karl Kruszelnicki on bodily functions, the relationship between religion and science, the poorest he’s been – and what awes him.
- by Benjamin Law