It doesn't take a genius to know that if you knock a glass of water on its side, the liquid will spill out. However, if you happened to be drinking your water through a thin straw, some of the liquid will be retained within this straw. [ + ]

When it comes to laboratory research the degree of required disclosure is relatively transparent, but some local scientists have been looking at the way industry funding for patient advocacy groups is shaping opinion — and the results are insidious. [ + ]

At first glance, many evolutionary adaptations appear to be unfavourable. However, a closer look at sickle cell disease and other adaptations reveals that in some cases they are advantageous and that this may be the reason the adaptations persist. [ + ]

Researchers from Tokyo Tech sent tiny Japanese rice fish to the International Space Station (ISS), where they were exposed to microgravity. [ + ]

An experimental Ebola vaccine has proven highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial conducted in Guinea. [ + ]

The United Kingdom has become the first country to officially authorise the clinical use of mitochondrial donation IVF to enable healthy babies to be born to women carrying deadly mitochondrial disease. [ + ]

South Australian researchers are leading an international effort to determine how our genetic make-up affects our responses to stressful situations and the likelihood that this will lead to major depressive disorder (MDD). [ + ]

Scientists have discovered that cool jets of plasma stimulate cells in the bodies of mice, helping to close wounds or kill tumours. [ + ]

Christmas is the time of year where families get together to indulge in excessively large meals, before lying around for hours on end in a fuzzy-headed stupor. But have you ever wondered about the exact cause of the infamous 'food coma'? [ + ]

Flinders University researchers have questioned the traditionally held belief that we vertebrates descended from the archaic armoured jawed fish known as placoderms. [ + ]

Researchers from Monash University have wasted no time getting into the spirit of summer, releasing two separate stories with a distinctly sea-flavoured theme to them. [ + ]

It may sound like something from the plot of a Johnny Depp movie, but overcooked vegetables have been identified as the primary culprit behind a recent Australian outbreak of scurvy! [ + ]

Australian and Norwegian scientists have developed the first general principles on the impact dietary balance plays on microbiota, helping us predict the ideal diet for optimal gut health. [ + ]

A research team led by Okayama University has discovered the gene mutation and enzyme that determine whether the dormancy of barley is long (better for food crops) or short (better for beer-making). [ + ]

Our ability to know where our limbs are in space is important for making accurate movements. [ + ]