Author: Editorial Board

A new campaign to encourage more girls to take up careers in computing and information technology has been launched at The Australian National University by the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash. Female participation in IT stands at a mere 25 per cent, against 45 percent for other careers.…

Researchers from CSIRO have unveiled a new online tool developed for the Black Dog Institute, in partnership with Amazon Web Services, called ‘We Feel’ which analyses the words from millions of tweets to display a real-time view of our emotions. The tool will help researchers understand how our emotions fluctuate over time due to changes…

New WHO report provides the most comprehensive picture of antibiotic resistance to date, with data from 114 countries. A new report by WHO–its first to look at antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance, globally–reveals that this serious threat is no longer a prediction for the future, it is happening right now in every region of the…

A Queensland high school teacher is swapping suburban Brisbane for New York City after winning the 2014 Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt Fellowship valued at $19,000. Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Art Minister Ian Walker congratulated Kelvin Grove State College teacher, Terry Deen, who would soon be heading off to one of the world’s most renowned design education departments at…

Each year brings us a new list of words that, once hip or subcultural, signal their admission into the mainstream by entering the pages—print or online—of the Oxford English Dictionary or Merriam Webster’s. Many of those come from the world of hip hop. The form is a veritable laboratory of linguistic innovation, spawning dozens of…

Mastering the art of unselfconscious presence. “Because of the dog’s joyfulness,” Mary Oliver wrote in her exquisite Dog Songs, “our own is increased. It is no small gift.” Dogs have inspired literature, been muses to art, and garnered the label of “genius.” But the true gift of Dog — the gentle and ineffable essence of…

Give “The London Evolution Animation” seven minutes, and it will show you the historical development of London over the course of 2,000 years. The animation moves from the Roman port city of Londinium (circa 50 AD) through the Anglo-Saxon, Tudor, Stuart, Early Georgian, Late Georgian, Early Victorian and Late Victorian periods. It then brings you…

New ANU-led research has explained why Antarctica is not warming as much as other continents, and why southern Australia is recording more droughts. Researchers have found rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are strengthening the stormy Southern Ocean winds which deliver rain to southern Australia, but pushing them further south towards Antarctica. Lead…

Construction of the unique Biosecure Immunology Laboratory in Victoria will improve Australia’s ability to develop new treatments for highly infectious viruses such as influenza and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). CSIRO and Deakin University today officially open the new high-tech national research facility, located inside the Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong. Dr Kurt…

A new 3D printed device is set to end the suffering for thousands of sleep apnoea patients. Using a 3D scanner to map a patient’s mouth, CSIRO researchers and Australian dental company, Oventus, can now print a mouthpiece which prevents dangerous pauses in breath during sleep. Printed from titanium and coated with a medical grade…

From a recent survey on media usage among 12-13 year olds in Ireland, it came as no surprise to learn that the most common reason cited for going online was fun. However, findings also revealed that school work scored just as highly, as did social networking. Not discounting social desirability implications of the ‘school work’…

“Like it or not, we’re all in sales right now… whether we’re teachers or art directors or in healthcare.” “Temperament, whether individual or collective, is not amenable to persuasion,” Joseph Conrad wrote in his reflection on writing and the role of the artist. And yet it seems to be through our temperaments, not our rational…

Tomorrow’s hackers could shut down infrastructure and defraud public sector of billions according to a new report released by CSIRO at CeBIT’s Cyber Security Conference. Many of these future attacks could take advantage of vulnerabilities similar to “Heartbleed”, a major internet security flaw which allows attackers to gain access to encrypted passwords, credit card details,…

Recently we have received the news from Airbus Defence & Space saying that Kazakhstan’s first Earth observation satellite has been placed successfully in orbit. Now we would like to explain what it is all about. KazEOSat-1, the Republic of Kazakhstan’s first Earth observation satellite, was successfully launched in night on 29th of April 2014 on…