The ultimate dream of nanotechnology is to be able to manipulate matter atom by atom. To do that, we first need to know what they look like. In what could be a major step in that direction, researchers…
There was chaos on the streets of Halajba in March 1988. In this corner of Iraq, at the time Iraqi Kurdistan, people had suddenly started experiencing cold-like symptoms – tight chest and nasal congestion…
At least 14 people – including a number of emergency services crew – died in an massive explosion on Wednesday night at a fertiliser plant in the small town of West near Waco, Texas. So what made the blaze…
Do you buy expensive moisturisers in a bid to combat the ravages of age, or does catching a mid-afternoon whiff of your pits have you reaching for the roll-on? We smear various lotions and potions on our…
You may not immediately think of world records when you consider chemistry, but that’s exactly what some chemists are thinking about during their research. Many, working on something called metal-organic…
Two US scientists have been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the receptors that transmit signals such as light, taste or smell to cells. Robert Lefkowitz (of Duke University…
The reason we can see, taste and smell, and even why our heart races when we get excited or scared, can be explained by the actions of a family of “gatekeeper” proteins known as G protein-coupled receptors…
SAVING THE OZONE: Part six in our series exploring the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer – dubbed “the world’s most successful environmental agreement” – looks at the atmosphere…
Australian science is “generally in good health”, but faces major challenges in the form of falling science participation and literacy in high schools, mostly stagnant enrolments at universities, and diminishing…
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb’s Health of Australian Science report, launched today at the National Press Club, starts on an optimistic note. Australian science is generally in good health: school students…
There is much concern that Iran is in the process of developing nuclear weapons. Such a development, we’re told, could induce Israel to launch a unilateral military strike with all types of unpredictable…
You know the feeling: your heart’s beating faster, your pupils dilate, your palms are sweaty, and you’ve got a belly-full of butterflies. You’re in love and, yes, you’re “all shook up”. The euphoria of…
The Federal Department of Education says it advised the Australian Academy of Science’s authors of a break in the series of student-numbers when it supplied the data. The lead author, Professor Denis Goodrum…
As the great spectre of climate change continues to loom large over the future, the search for viable, renewable energy sources is becoming ever more important. Solar power has long been seen as a vital…