Category: Australia
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Australia from orbit
From December 19th last year, Chris Hadfield has been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in orbit roughly 400 km above planet Earth. Seeing 15 sunrises every day as the station tracks its way above our planet, the ISS, to quote Hadfield himself, “weighs 500 tonnes and is the size of 5 NHL hockey…
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Keeping the past in the future with world first 3D mobile mapping project
Australian researchers are using a novel mobile laser 3D mapping system called Zebedee to preserve some of the country’s oldest and most culturally significant heritage sites. The new joint research initiative between CSIRO and The University of Queensland aims to collect detailed 3D maps of historic sites of Moreton Bay. With the assistance of Queensland…
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The Schoolchild who Discovered a New Jellyfish Species
The thing I love the most about scientific discovery is that anyone can do it. Literally anyone could, tomorrow, turn over a stone or look at a seemingly empty spot in the night sky and find something which no human being has ever seen before. Or, perhaps more importantly, something which no one has full…
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India, Novartis, and Australia’s new patent law
April 1 — about the only thing on the internet that wasn’t a huge Poisson d’Avril was the “landmark” ruling that came from the Indian Supreme Court early on Monday. The result was delivered from a packed room, the two judges probably had to raise their voices to be heard. Poetry to the simple fact…
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FishMap – Mapping Marine Australian Fish
Ever gazed out over the sea and wondered what creatures great and small lie beneath? Wouldn’t it be great if the water was so transparent you could see all that swam by? The Australian fish world was abuzz this week with the release of FishMap, an online mapping tool that allows humans to check out where their…
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The Carbon Footprint of Australian Migrations
Measuring the impact of Australian migration on the Australian carbon footprint is a difficult task because of the complexity of the factors involved. However, a direct cause and effect relationship between the two exists, and it is related partially to population growth due to overseas migration, as well as to rural-urban migrations. Both of which…
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Perth established as one of world’s top five geothermal cities
Established in 2009 with funding support of A$2.3 million from the Government of Western Australia, WAGCOE brought researchers, industry, investors and government agencies together with the shared vision of creating zero-emission geothermal cities. Representatives from the partner organisations of The University of Western Australia, CSIRO and Curtin University, as well as state government agencies and industry groups…
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Australia’s first rainforest research ‘Supersite’ opens for business
Following three years of research and planning, CSIRO and the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN) have opened Australia’s first large-scale rainforest research plot. The plot, which is located at Robson Creek on the Atherton Tablelands near Cairns, will allow scientists to monitor the rainforest over the long term and answer questions about the health of…
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World solar expert to shine light in Australia
Dr Manuel J Blanco joins CSIRO as Director of the Australian Solar Thermal Research Initiative (ASTRI). ASTRI is an A$87 million, eight year international collaboration transforming the energy industry in Australia by bringing down the cost of solar thermal, a unique energy technology that can create electricity, heat and fuels. “Australia has one of the…
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Bumper Year for Whale Shark Sightings
It has been a big year for ECOCEAN’s whale shark whale shark photo identification library. There have been a record of 256 whale shark sightings at Western Australia’s most recently listed World Heritage site, Ningaloo. This has been due to more people signing up as citizen scientists to contribute to ECOCEAN’s whale shake monitoring program.…
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SoilMapp: one small step for apps one giant leap for soil science
Australia’s national soil databases can now be accessed in real time online through a new iPad app called SoilMapp. The new app provides open access to the best and most up-to-date information for soil at any location in the country within a matter of seconds. Information such as soil depth, acidity, salinity, soil carbon, soil…
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Hands on Science in the Early Years
Hands on science activities to engage students in scientific inquiry and investigation are key in the early years to develop skills and knowledge in all areas of science. No one knows this better than Mrs Suzanne Clarke who is the founder of the mini-scammers science club at Mitchelton State School, a feeder club for SC@M…
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Weekly Science Picks
The midlife crisis is more complicated than first thought. It might be time to stop blaming troubled marriages and feeling obsolete in a sea of younger colleagues. A study published in the Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences has revealed that chimpanzees and orangutans also experience a midlife crisis. Having a midlife crisis may…
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Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation awarded
Thursday 22 November 2012 Minister for Innovation, Services and Small Business Louise Asher today announced that two world leaders in storm-water management and bioinformatics, Professors Ana Deletic from Monash Water for Liveability and Terence Speed from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, have won the 2012 Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation. Professor Deletic is…