Clearing mulga woodland in Queensland to open up land for cattle during drought.
M. Venterriven
We’re going to have to adapt to climate change, but some of the options on the table could do more harm than good if they destroy the ecosystems that protect us.
Fires are increasing: time to prepare.
Fire image from www.shutterstock.com
New data analysis shows bushfires have increased by 40% in the past five years.
The urban landscape is complex and ever-changing in cities such as Perth, but digital aerial photography can now monitor even the smallest changes.
Wikimedia Commons
Constant, complex changes in cities and mine sites are hard to monitor. Drawing on digital aerial photography, it’s now possible to track land-use and vegetation changes in areas as small as 10-20cm.
The land may be dry, but Western Australia’s waters are full of life.
Russ Babcock
The Great Barrier Reef might get all the attention, but what about our western coral reefs? Warmer waters and human impacts mean these reefs are in trouble.
A hoverfly on a sunflower.
David Kleijn
Next time you reach for the honey, spare a thought for the other vital insects that pollinate our crops.
CSIRO’s Compact Array telescope under the Milky Way.
Alex Cherney
Astronomers think they may have found evidence within our galaxy of some of the missing matter thought to make up our universe.
Record global temperatures, driven by El Nino, contributed to devastating fires in Australia.
EPA/Department of Fire and Emergency Services
2015 was the world’s hottest year ever by a long shot. But what drove the record temperatures, and what role did climate change play?
116 houses were lost at Wye River in Victoria, but nobody was killed.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
The Christmas Day fires that struck the Victorian town of Wye River are an example of how to get emergency responses right.
Why do mosquitoes not suffer from the infections they pass on?
Shutterstock/chakkrachai nicharat
There’s something about mosquitoes that means they don’t get sick from the infections they carry. So can we turn that function off, genetically?
Some of the most common painful stingers in the Australian bush are bulldog ants of the genus Myrmecia .
David Remsen/Flickr
Bees, wasps and ants – a group known as Hymenoptera – can claim the title of deadliest insects. How did they evolve to be so painful?
The blue-ringed octopus is just one of many venomous creatures found in Australian waters.
Amber Hansen
From stingers to swans, Australia’s oceans are full of (potentially) deadly wildlife.
A golden-tailed gecko – one of the inhabitants of the Brigalow Belt.
Eric Vanderduys
How do you balance coal and conservation? New research from Queensland hints at an answer.
The moon can be used to help in the hunt for high energy particles.
Flickr/Neil Hall
When looking for evidence of some of the universe’s mysterious high energy particles, why not enlist the help of our nearest neighbour: the moon.
New elements were discovered in early thermonuclear bomb tests.
Pixabay
New elements found in the reactions of nuclear tests during World War II sparked the hunt for additions to the periodic table.
So it turns out you can thaw out meat and refreeze it. Who knew?
Osseous/Flickr
What are some of those food safety myths we’ve long come to believe that aren’t actually true?
Leaders celebrate the adoption of the Paris Agreement on Saturday.
Stephane Mahe/Reuters
The Paris Agreement is an extraordinary achievement. But there is much work to be done to ensure global warming does not exceed dangerous levels.
Job done: COP21 president Laurent Fabius.
Reuters/Stephane Mahe
December 12, 2015
Robyn Eckersley , The University of Melbourne ; Catherine Gautier , University of California, Santa Barbara ; Cathy Alexander , The University of Melbourne ; Clive Hamilton , Charles Sturt University ; David Hodgkinson , The University of Western Australia ; Frank Jotzo , Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University ; Jessica Hellmann , University of Minnesota ; Katharine Hayhoe , Texas Tech University ; Matt McDonald , The University of Queensland ; Pep Canadell , CSIRO , and Peter Christoff , The University of Melbourne
At the Paris climate talks, the world has signed up to the first truly global treaty to tackle global warming. Our experts react.
Coal consumption is down in China, slowing growth in global carbon emissions from fossil fuels.
Coal image from www.shutterstock.com
Despite robust global economic growth over the past two years, worldwide carbon emissions from fossil fuels grew very little in 2014, and might even fall this year.
Planting trees is one way to pull carbon out of the atmosphere – but is limited if it competes with food production.
CIFOR/Flickr
To prevent dangerous climate change, it’s likely we’ll have to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But that’s looking less and less promising.
Malcolm Turnbull has now announced his strategy to promote innovation and science in Australia.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull today announced the National Innovation and Science Agenda (NISA). Here’s what it means for science, commercialisation and industry in Australia.