Southern Cross University is a contemporary and connected regional research university, with remarkable campus locations - Coffs Harbour and Lismore in New South Wales and the uniquely situated Gold Coast Airport campus in southern Queensland. Our regional environs provide living laboratories for learning and research and creative hubs for artistic endeavour. Southern Cross University has a growing research profile, with 24 research areas identified ‘at or above world standard’ in the most recent Excellence in Research Australia (ERA) national evaluation. Our research strengths include disciplines as diverse as plant genetics, zoology, geoscience, oceanography, engineering, nursing, and complementary and alternative medicine.
The Antarctic blue whale was exploited to near extinction because it continued to be hunted opportunistically alongside other whale species.
Isabel Beasley
Exploitation is one of the major causes of extinction. More than 120 species have become extinct at least in part because of hunting, fishing and logging, including the famous Passenger Pigeon. Wildlife…
Babies’ milk teeth carry their early food history, and this remains stable for tens of thousands of years.
Allygirl520
We know at least six months of exclusive breastfeeding is the best start to a baby’s life. What’s amazing is it seems ancient hominids knew that too. In a paper published today in Nature, we analysed the…
Monitoring radon could reveal whether coal seam gas extraction is messing with the soil’s structure.
Jeremy Buckingham
Two recent peer reviewed studies on opposite sides of the globe have shed light on how monitoring of earthquakes and determining greenhouse gas emissions from the coal seam gas (CSG) industry may be connected…
Guidelines for sharing spaces can encourage the growth of exercising communities.
Ahmad Hashim
Recent criticism of the use of public spaces for group-based exercise programs seems driven by opinion, not data. It also appears to be confounding the exercising with the management of public spaces…
Storing and creating advanced care directives on mobile phones would give doctors easier access to end-of-life care wishes.
Image from shutterstock.com
Mobile phones should be used to express and store our end-of-life medical care preferences, experts say. Advance care directives (ACDs) are legal documents that allow people to detail the quality of life…
More than 400 amphibian species are in decline, but at least one - the Fleay’s barred frog - is showing strong signs of recovery.
Froggydarb/Wikimedia Commons
Globally, amphibians have suffered serious declines and extinctions over the last 30 years. But our research, published today, shows that at least one subtropical rainforest frog is recovering. The most…
As CSG development races ahead in Queensland and NSW, even supporters want to make sure the industry is safe and well-regulated.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
With the debate increasing over coal seam gas (CSG) exploration, and all sides claiming the moral high ground, how do you find out what the community really thinks about the issue? Well you could do what…
Are displays of emotion from sportspeople about convincing us that it’s not just about the money?
fox2mike/flickr
Any major sporting triumph without euphoric emotion or a serious opening of the floodgates would seem strange. Commentators tell us that tears show “passion”. Fans seem to demand them. It wasn’t always…
Artworks by Mic Eales from the Inspired Lives exhibition at The Dax Centre. ‘End of statistics’ in the foreground.
Mic Eales
My doctoral studies in visual arts entails working with people who are not necessarily visual artists, but see the value in artistically expressing their story to expand our understanding of suicide. Suicide…
There will always be conflict over how water is used, but we seem to be getting closer to agreement.
augustusoz/Flickr
Sharing water between different groups in society is almost inevitably a very contentious issue. Throughout the world, there are daily conflicts between people about how water can be used; at an individual…
Teaching children the importance of healthy eating has never been more important.
AAP
A growing body of evidence suggests being obese as a child or adolescent may have a larger effect on future health than previously thought. In a new meta-analysis of 63 studies including nearly 50,000…
As I write this, the Paralympic opening ceremony is in full throes with the athletes streaming into the stadium in the traditional march-on. This year will see 4,200 athletes and 166 national Paralympic…
Australian Paralympian Kurt Fearnley has unparalleled exposure as a Paralympic athlete.
AAP
When triple Paralympic gold mediallist Evan O'Hanlon steps up to the track for the 100m this week, you might notice something odd about his racing apparel. The 24-year-old, who is Australia’s fastest disabled…
Some of the celebrations witnessed at these Olympics have been sensational. The bewildered surprise of Mo Farah as he took gold for the second time in the 5 000 metres; Sally Pearson’s shrieking relief…
The past twelve days have seen me happy as the proverbial “pig in mud”. I’ve gone nocturnal, camped on the couch desperately trying to stay awake in the midst of an onslaught of sporting fare the like…
Great moments for Australian sport this morning as Anna Meares and Sally Pearson added to Tom Sligsby’s individual gold of 24 hours earlier. Firstly in the depths of the Australian night, Anna Meares took…
I’ve taken a few hours to write this blog piece as I am still recovering with gobsmacked astonishment at the Olympic sport of the last 24 hours. ‘Super Saturday’s’ often become oxymoronic but with 25 gold…
While the Australian public and the media that feeds them continue to lament a lack of medals, the celebration of victory will be all the more meaningful in the context of the hard work and tremendous…
The London Olympic Games has been dubbed the Socialympics by many. It is the first to be held under the microscopic deconstruction provided particularly by Twitter but also by Face book and others. The…
No simple matter: logging and conservation are not polar opposites, and controlled harvesting can fund the protection of forests.
AAP/Greenpeace/Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert
Is there a role for logging in ensuring the future of the world’s tropical forests and their rich diversity of plants and animals? For many this idea is absurd, because timber production achieving conservation…