Irish researchers have discovered that individual gold nanorods could be used to detect mercury with high sensitivity, making them potentially suitable for use as portable analysers that can perform a rapid analysis in the field. [ + ]

Researchers have discovered a way to starve the malaria parasite, which in 2015 killed more than 400,000 people from an estimated 212 million cases. [ + ]

Arthur Sinodinos has announced $151.5 million to be invested in four new Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) — the winners of the 18th CRC selection round. [ + ]

It's no secret that people with ginger hair and pale skin are more at risk of damage from ultraviolet light, but as it turns out, that's not the only thing our redheaded brothers and sisters need to be wary of. [ + ]

If the Ice Age animated film franchise were to follow the descendants of Manny the mammoth for a few thousand years or so, viewers would see the species suffer a 'mutational meltdown' as a result of its dwindling and increasingly isolated populations. [ + ]

UK researchers are warning their fellow scientists to beware of contaminated commercial reagents, which could skew study results. [ + ]

If you thought Photoshop was the cutting edge when it came to editing software, you ain't seen nothing yet. [ + ]

If you're a pregnant woman looking to keep your unborn child safe and healthy, we've got some good news and some bad news for you. [ + ]

UWA's Zadko Telescope has captured the explosion that gave birth to a black hole 12 billion light years away, which took place before the Earth and Sun existed. [ + ]

Engineers at the Australian National University have built a microscope that can film moving blood cells and neurons in living animals. [ + ]

Instrumentation supplier Scitech has been appointed the authorised distributor in Australia and New Zealand for both German-based imaging company GreatEyes and US-based spectral sensing company BaySpec. [ + ]

The protein Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) plays an important role in controlling how a cell responds to damage. [ + ]

US scientists have found that Komodo dragon blood plasma contains a host of potentially viable antimicrobial peptides that could help lead to new therapeutics. [ + ]

A collaboration between CSIRO, Anatomics and British doctors has resulted in the world's first implementation of a 3D-printed titanium and polymer sternum into a patient. [ + ]

Australian and Scottish researchers have found that soils containing lead, manganese or aluminium — even in small amounts — contain bacteria with antibiotic resistance. [ + ]