Melbourne researchers are doing rocket science with clay.
They have developed a cheaper and more efficient way of making the complex, heat-resistant, ceramic parts needed to build tomorrow’s rockets and hypersonic airliners.
Using clever chemistry to modify a standard method of casting ceramics in a mould, they have developed an alternative to the traditional technique of forming these ceramics as blocks at high temperatures and pressures. And their new method, a form of slip casting, allows them to generate ultra-high-temparture ceramic components at lower temperatures and pressures, which do not require extensive machining, hence saving time and energy. [read more...]
Port Lincoln tuna are bigger, healthier and happier when they are kilometres offshore, according to a study by University of Tasmania researchers.
Tuna are normally farmed near the shore, but a study published in the international journal PLoS ONE found that southern bluefin tuna thrive when they’re raised further out to sea.
The researchers collaborated on the world’s first commercial-scale trial of offshore fish development, finding that tuna farmed in deep, turbulent waters gained weight twice as fast as fish reared closer in. They also had better survival rates and superior health. [read more...]
Black carrots have revealed how fruit and vegetables help maintain gut health and reduce the risk of developing cancer.
The antioxidant compounds they contain combine with fibre to play an important role in protecting the colon from cancer, Dr Anneline Padayachee from the University of Queensland has discovered.
[read more...]
Join us at the pub to hear some of Australia’s top young scientists talk about their discoveries over a drink.
Last year we heard about smart bandages, the sawfish saw, printable solar cells, wallabies immune tricks, ocean arteries, backward planets and more.
So come and hear what’s fresh in science this year. [read more...]
This year, thanks to funding from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science, Research and Tertiary Education through the Inspiring Australia initiative, and partners in other states, we’ve expanded the program to include state finals in:
Here’s the state finalists – we’ll announce the national finalists in the next week or so. [read more...]
This year, we are able to open Fresh Science to a wider number of participants and audiences by introducing state-based finals in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
As a part of each state final, we’ll be holding science-in-the-pub events which are open to the public.
This year there will be state finals in:
- Queensland on 27 August
- Victoria on 5 September
- New South Wales on 10 September and;
- South Australia on 12 September
The national final will be in Melbourne from 15-18 October, shortly after the Victorian school holidays.
This year, Fresh Science, a communication boot camp for researchers no more than five years out from their PhD, will be supported by the Inspiring Australia Program.
The Fresh Science program teaches early-career researchers essential communication skills and gets their stories out to local, national and international media.
Nominations for Fresh Science have now closed.
For more information about Fresh Science and its history click here.
Genetics can be used to shape plants underground so they absorb water better
Recent discoveries by a University of Queensland agricultural scientist provide the basis for custom designing plant roots. Her discovery is already being used by plant breeders to develop drought-resistant sorghum crops. [read more...]
Two thymus glands fast-track immune defences
Baby wallaby photos available
Until now, it was a mystery why many marsupials have two thymuses—key organs in the immune system—instead of the one typical of other mammals. Now postdoctoral researcher Dr Emily Wong from the University of Sydney and her colleagues have found that the two organs are identical, which suggests why they are there. [read more...]
A new technology to stop falls before they happen could help the elderly stay in their own homes longer.
Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have developed a simple way of predicting the likelihood of an elderly person falling in the near future, allowing action to reduce the chances of it happening. [read more...]
Australian researchers have revealed a new pattern of ocean circulation which will change our understanding of marine events.
Research at the University of Melbourne and the Bureau of Meteorology has overturned conventional ideas of ocean circulation. [read more...]
Cell death genes essential for cancer therapy identified.
New research has uncovered why certain cancers don’t respond to conventional chemotherapy, highlighting the need to match treatments to cancers better. [read more...]
HIV can hide out in the brain, protected from the immune system and antiviral drugs, Dr Lachlan Gray and his colleagues at Monash University and the Burnet Institute have found. [read more...]
Australian researchers have invented nanotech solar cells that are thin, flexible and use 1/100th the materials of conventional solar cells.
Printable, flexible solar cells that could dramatically decrease the cost of renewable energy have been developed by PhD student Brandon MacDonald in collaboration with his colleagues from CSIRO’s Future Manufacturing Flagship and the University of Melbourne’s Bio21 Institute. [read more...]
Soil has the answer to burning climate questions
Decreasing the frequency of wild fires in northern Australia would lead to an increase in the amount of carbon stored in the soil, significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions, according to CSIRO ecologist, Dr Anna Richards. [read more...]
