In the early hours of this morning, the tranquility of the remote Gobi desert was shattered by the sound of a brand new spacecraft hurtling towards the sky. The rocket, Shenzhou-8 or “Divine Vessel”, is…
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Displaying 6201 - 6225 of 6586 articles
Last week, the English High Court ordered British Telecom (BT) to block access to a members-only website that offers links to pirated films. NewzBin2, the site in question, offers links to pirated films…
Many of us live our lives through our online identities using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But what happens when we die? Uncomfortably for some, our digital lives have the potential…
High-profile hacktivist group [Anonymous](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(group) has turned its attention to fighting child pornography. As a sign of what it pledges will become more widespread…
When people think about taking a new drug that can enhance who they are, or consider giving it to their child, their most immediate and appropriate concern centres on the potential health dangers. While…
Universities pride themselves on the quality of their teaching. They spruik superior teachers, superior facilities, superior learning experiences, superior learning outcomes. High scores on these four…
When you read the word “bacteria” you probably think about illness, advertisements for “probiotic” food supplements, and maybe about brushing your teeth. Chances are, you probably don’t think about electricity…
My intention with this article is to give an intuitive and non-technical introduction to the field of evolutionary algorithms, particularly with regards to optimisation. If I get you interested, I think…
A few days ago, senior FBI official Shawn Henry called for the creation of a new and secure “alternative internet” to secure key infrastructure and financial systems. He assessed the process of connecting…
For researchers, not least those in the sciences, being published in the right sort of journals is no vanity project. It’s a matter of huge importance, with very real implications for people’s careers…
How have humans and mice changed since we diverged about 75 million years ago from a small, furry common ancestor? Apart from the obvious, of course. As a starting point, it’s worth noting there’s nothing…
In one vision of the future, every “thing” is connected to the internet. This “Internet of Things” will bring about revolutionary change in how we interact with our environment and, more importantly, how…
Let’s talk numbers for a moment. The moon is approximately 384,000 kilometres away, and the sun is approximately 150 million kilometres away. The mean distance between Earth and the sun is known as the…
It’s hard to know what to think about Google these days. Financially, the company is booming, but its reputation has suffered following the lukewarm reception for Google+, and an embarrassing outburst…
Twenty years ago, Jared Diamond’s book “The Third Chimpanzee” highlighted a startling fact. If we adhere to the scientific rules for classifying species (taxonomy), humans should be classified as a third…
The year is 1990. For 85 grueling minutes, Italian crowds have watched West Germany battle Argentina in the World Cup Final. The score is tied, 0-0. The collective breath is held. Suddenly, the Germans…
One of the best tricks of making a horror movie is not to show too much, allowing the imagination to create the monster. We can’t see molecules, which is what makes them scary. We fill this vacuum with…
Last night, SBS screened the first instalment of a three-part documentary by Adam Curtis, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace. The program attracted intense debate when broadcast in the UK earlier…
Research published in this month’s BioEssays confirms something many of us have always known: women have stronger immune systems than men. We fight off infections more readily, are less likely to develop…
CYCLING IN AUSTRALIA: What are you paying for when you buy a new bike? Materials … sure. Design … without doubt. Manufacture … yes, of course. But beyond that, what’s going on? Why can these objects, beautiful…
Newly-minted Nobel Laureate Professor Brian Schmidt reflects on the state of Australian science. The feted astronomer is optimistic about the future and the contribution science can make to improving lives…
The recent release of the Apple iPhone 4S was met with some disappointment because it wasn’t the iPhone 5. Curiously, people seemed to be most disappointed that the shape of the phone hadn’t changed. What…
Features are not friends. That’s the simple message to Google+ from 40 University of Queensland students after using the system since its invite-only launch in July. To say the service’s fortunes to date…
Could we have found the first artist’s studio in human history? We may well have. We all recognise the material signs of wealth. Fast cars, large yachts and sparkling bling all tell us who has more. Crowns…
The idea of doctors deploying miniscule robots in your body to diagnose and treat medical conditions is closer to reality today with the development of artificial muscles small and strong enough to push…