An international research team has found that primitive hominids lived in Africa at around the same time as early humans — a discovery that could have a significant impact on our knowledge of evolution. [ + ]

Reactions to the 2017–18 Budget, delivered on the evening of 9 May, seem to indicate that the federal government is taking a safe and steady approach to science this year. [ + ]

The European XFEL, the biggest X-ray laser in the world, has reached the last major milestone before its official opening in September — the generation of its first X-ray laser light. [ + ]

Researchers from Monash University have "answered one of the biggest questions in autoimmune disease" by determining the mechanism underlying the key genetic risk factors that lead to a raft of autoimmune diseases including: Crohn's disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and various forms of kidney disease. [ + ]

Researchers have unravelled the mystery of how mitochondria — the energy generators within cells — withstand attacks on their DNA from rogue molecules. [ + ]

What we need are true scientist-entrepreneurs who are able to navigate the complex pathway from the lab to the market with integrity, passion and determination, often in partnership with others, said Dr Cameron Ferris. [ + ]

Forget about bed rest — the best thing for fighting off infections is hitting the gym, according to a team of researchers from Griffith University. [ + ]

Researchers are one step closer to breaking the so-called 'colour barrier' of light microscopy for biological systems, allowing for more comprehensive labelling and imaging of biomolecules in living cells and tissues than is currently attainable. [ + ]

European scientists have designed what is claimed to be the first light-activated drug for the treatment of pain, making a major step for the discipline of optopharmacology (the use of light to control drug activity). [ + ]

Around 25,000 Australians are diagnosed with epilepsy each year. [ + ]

It has long been assumed that the structure of the human brain is organised by the parts of the body that each region controls, but new research indicates that there is more plasticity in this structure than we realise. [ + ]

US researchers have developed a wristband-type sweat sensor that could transform diagnostics and drug evaluation for cystic fibrosis (CF), diabetes and other diseases. [ + ]

A research team led by Stanford University has developed tiny microbubbles that bind to malignant tumours, making them visible to ultrasound imaging. [ + ]

Researchers from Sydney's Westmead Institute for Medical Research have good news for the 6 million Australians suffering from liver disease. [ + ]

US scientists have turned a simple glass tube into a sensor to measure the mass, volume and density of microgram-sized biological samples in fluid. [ + ]