Posts tagged as:

environment

Crocodile eggs measure river health

12 November 2012

A new land management tool using Aboriginal knowledge Ngan’gi speakers know it’s time to look for freshwater crocodile eggs when the red kapok trees near the Northern Territory’s Daly River burst into flower. This can occur at a different time each year, but the environmental link is solid. A Darwin-based scientist has converted this link [...]

Read the full article →

Designer roots to counter drought

12 July 2011

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 the full article →

Printing solar cells

29 June 2011

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 [...]

Read the full article →

Samurai of the sea

9 June 2011

What sawfish really do with their saw Scientists thought that sawfish used their saw to probe the sea bottom for food.  But a Cairns researcher has found that these large (5 metres or more) and endangered fish actually use the saw to locate and dismember free-swimming fish – using a sixth sense that detects electric [...]

Read the full article →

Waste heat slashes fuel consumption

7 June 2011

A minor modification to your car could reduce fuel consumption by over seven per cent. The Deakin University invention uses waste heat to reduce friction by warming the engine oil. A prototype has been built and tested and the inventors are now talking to the car manufacturers and developing an aftermarket conversion kit.

Read the full article →

Bacteria munch up alumina impurities

19 July 2010

Previously unknown species of naturally-occurring bacteria have the potential to save the alumina and aluminium industries millions of dollars while helping to reduce their impact on the environment, microbiologist Naomi McSweeney has found in a collaborative project between Alcoa, CSIRO and the University of Western Australia.

Read the full article →

Waste is a waste: Pigs reduce the burden on the oceans

10 June 2010

A biotechnologist from the South Australian Research and Development Institute has taken using “everything but the pig’s squeal” to new lengths. Through clever recycling of pig waste, Andrew Ward has been able to produce feed for aquaculture, water for irrigation, and methane for energy. His ‘waste food chain’ can be applied to breweries, wineries and [...]

Read the full article →

Ancient eruptions warn of climate change and mass extinctions

4 June 2009

A Curtin University researcher has shown that some ancient periods of massive eruptions released green house gases so quickly that they caused rapid climate change and mass extinctions. But today we are adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere faster than even the most rapid sequence of eruptions. “We have carefully dated minerals contained in the [...]

Read the full article →

Bilbies bring new life to desert dunes

2 June 2009

Bilbies and bettongs-the desert forms of bandicoots and rat-kangaroos-can bring degraded desert landscape back to life, a new study at the University of New South Wales has found.

Read the full article →

Cleaner flights, smaller footprint

3 August 2008

Smarter air traffic control could save 500 kg of fuel and reduce airport noise by 35% for a typical Boeing 747 flight between Sydney and Melbourne according to a team of Canberra-based researchers.

Read the full article →

Ocean warming on the rise

19 June 2008

During the past four decades, the oceans have been soaking up heat, expanding and rising at a rate about 50 per cent faster than previously estimated by the IPCC, a team of Australian and US oceanographers has found.

Read the full article →

Australian orchids’ sneaky sex tricks: floral arms race seduces insects

20 August 2007

Australian orchids are engaged in an arms race, using sensory overload to seduce male insects.

Read the full article →

Slime wars: bacteria harnessed to fight biofouling

16 August 2007

Warfare between bacteria could provide an environmentally friendly solution to biofouling, according to Dhana Rao and her colleagues at the University of NSW.

Read the full article →

How sea slugs fall in love

14 August 2007

Scott Cummins and his colleagues at The University of Queensland have uncovered a potent mix of chemicals which acts like a cross between Chanel No 5 and Viagra-but only if you are a sea slug.

Read the full article →

Mercury Rising! Offices to stay cool and save dollars

29 August 2006

A Sydney research team has developed a sun and wind driven ventilation system to cool commercial buildings on the hottest summer days. They hope that the new system will reduce the power requirements of a commercial ventilation system by 15 to 20 per cent.

Read the full article →

Re-inventing nature for cheaper solar power

29 August 2006

A research team in Sydney has created molecules that mimic those in plants which harvest light and power life on Earth.  

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries