A chemical produced naturally by cane toad tadpoles may one day be used to help control the invasive species, according to new research published today. Cane toads are native to South America but have…
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Displaying 301 - 325 of 340 articles
Many university students use scholarly databases like they would Google, revealing an astonishingly poor understanding of how to refine searches for better research results, a US study has found. The Ethnographic…
Want to avoid getting eaten? If you’re a butterfly, it seems it pays to team up with another foul-tasting species and copy each others markings. Scientists have unlocked the genetic mechanism by which…
Methane has been floating into the atmosphere at a slower rate over the last three decades but two new papers published in the journal Nature put forward very different theories as to why it’s happening…
Experts in epidemiology have described as weak a study that found high levels of exposure to magnetic fields during pregnancy may triple the risk the child will develop asthma. The California study, published…
Global average sea levels continue to rise but readings vary greatly depending on when and where they are taken, a leading expert on coastal impacts of climate change has said, warning that selective sea…
Scientists have discovered the largest surviving population of the critically endangered white-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys), counting around 455 individuals in a Vietnamese national park…
Wild parrots name their chicks by teaching them an individual sound to identify them, researchers have found. Humans and dolphins create unique sounds by which individuals are identified and there was…
A ‘rainbow toad’ not seen in 87 years has been spotted in the forests of Borneo and photographed for the very first time. The Sambas Stream Toad, or Bornean Rainbow Toad (Ansonia latidisca) was listed…
The ability of land ecosystems like crops and soils to slow down climate change may have been overestimated because some of these ‘carbon sinks’ actually emit more greenhouse gases than first thought…
Scientists today said they were appalled and disappointed by Greenpeace protesters who whippersnippered a genetically modified wheat crop being grown as part of a CSIRO trial. The trial crop was part of…
A survey of 145 economists released today found that 60% believe the Gillard government’s carbon tax is good economic policy. The carbon tax package, announced on Sunday, penalises 500 heavy polluters…
Scientists have unlocked the complex genetic code of the potato, paving the way for new techniques to breed a tougher, more disease-resistant tuber. Potatoes are crucial to global food security but are…
Somali pirates roaming the seas in the Gulf of Aden have claimed another victim: climate research. Climate scientists hoping to collect data on monsoonal wind patterns off the Somali coast have been thwarted…
For only the second time in history, scientists have eliminated a disease from the face of the Earth, saving billions of dollars and boosting food security in the process. Rinderpest, a deadly cattle disease…
Crows can remember human faces associated with stressful situations for up to five years and they’ll also warn their friends, a study has found. Crows are known for their extraordinary smarts and have…
Personal attacks on scientists by climate change skeptics could have a chilling effect on research that policymakers need to solve global problems, a leading U.S scientific body has warned. Climate change…
Scientists have created a glucose-powered biofuel cell that is five to 10 times more powerful than existing cells and lasts weeks longer, paving the way for implanted medical devices that run on the body’s…
A Tasmanian devil genome mapping project by U.S. researchers has revealed how a tiny gene pool helped spread a deadly facial tumour disease throughout the population but also uncovered the first ever devil…
A giant river shark, rainbow fish and a lurid blue monitor lizard are among the 1,060 new species discovered in the relatively untouched forests of New Guinea, according to a new report by conservationist…
One of the most comprehensive greenhouse gas calculators ever was launched today, allowing members of the public to add up the total carbon cost of their their household set-up, food choices and travel…
That tangled collection of chargers could one day be obsolete, as Australian researchers report a breakthrough that brings us closer to a world where gadgets are recharged every time you press them. Scientists…
A new website launched today allows the public to see how greenhouse gas emissions have risen steadily over the past 35 years. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) launched…
The magnitude 9 earthquake that occurred in Japan in March this year caused a 400km long land rupture, releasing centuries of pent up energy caused by two tectonic plates pushing slowly against each other…
The ash cloud produced by Chile’s Puyehue volcanic eruption, which has disrupted flights and left thousands of passengers stranded, could circumnavigate the globe several times, volcanologists say. Eruptions…