The smell of fresh-cut grass is an attack warning
We love the smell of fresh-cut grass. But in reality what we are smelling is a warning signal being released by plants under attack. The pheromones emitted by freshly-mown grass are known as…
What is the world’s most toxic tree?
“I recently say a sign in Wingham Brush Nature Reserve, warning of giant stinging trees. Are there any trees more toxic than these?” The various species of Dendrocnide, such as the Dendrocnide excela…
Australia’s new leader in botanical science
Australia has a new scientific institute that brings together an astoundingly broad sweep of botanic research organisations and collections, services and facilities. The Australian Institute of Botanical Science is positioned to become a…
Your vaccines are ready – how they did it in under a year
More than 180 different COVID-19 vaccines were in the initial pipeline – and the majority of them can be placed in one of four vaccine categories. One is a classic. Two are comparatively…
Why do our eyes water when we chop up onions?
Onions emit a sulphur-containing gas when they are chopped. The gas irritates the cells of the eye, which react by producing tears that are intended to clear away the substance. In ordinary onions,…
Aussie lungfish has largest animal genome known to science
Scientists are teasing out the secrets that place the Australian lungfish near a critical moment of evolution. A team of researchers at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna has sequenced…
UNSW Sydney launches virtual Museum of Human Disease
Staff at the Museum of Human Disease at UNSW Sydney have used their lockdown time wisely, by creating a virtual version of their collection of real organs and body parts, which constitute the…
‘Crazy beast’ from the age of dinosaurs discovered
A new mammal from an essentially unknown group found only in the Southern Hemisphere has been revealed by international research involving palaeontologists from Monash University. The full fossil skeleton allows a reconstruction of…
Dogs: a caveman’s best friend
A 33,000-year-old dog skull found in Siberia presents some of the oldest evidence of dog domestication.
Mysterious old dwarf found in the Philippines
Scientists from the Australian National University have discovered bones and teeth that could add a new chapter to human history. Although the finds from the Callao cave in the Philippines are scarce, there…
