Researchers have found that alcohol exposure in early pregnancy can change gene function during embryonic development and consequently cause developmental disorders. [ + ]

Researchers discovered that people with obesity or diabetes who consume 20% or more of their daily calories from fast food have severely elevated levels of fat in their liver. [ + ]

Scientists at Lund University have discovered a rare form of antibody binding that leads to an effective immune response against group A streptococcus bacteria. [ + ]

Brisbane startup company Valiant Space, which has been supported by the Queensland Government's Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub, has sent a component from its new rocket thruster into orbit. [ + ]

Over 200 projects will share in $241m through the latest NHMRC Ideas Grants, while NSW's Innovation Research Acceleration Program will improve vital infrastructure and equipment for scientists. [ + ]

Researchers have revealed new ways in which nature encodes biological information in a DNA sequence. [ + ]

Astronomers have uncovered a nearby galaxy with characteristics that are more like galaxies in the distant, early universe. [ + ]

Scientists had previously noticed that leukaemia patients were also likely to develop an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis or aplastic anaemia. [ + ]

Dutch researchers say they have delivered the most extensive evidence to date of a relationship between the composition of the microbiome and instances of depression. [ + ]

Scientists say that a key to cellular movement is to regulate the electrical charge on the interior side of the cell membrane, paving the way for understanding various types of cell motion. [ + ]

Professor Georgia Chenevix-Trench won the GSK Award for Research Excellence for her research investigating genetic predispositions to breast and ovarian cancer. [ + ]

The test sequences clinical samples that have been heated in order to isolate cancer-specific signatures found in a patient's blood, in a non-invasive alternative to tissue biopsies. [ + ]

Sanofi has partnered with the Queensland Government, The University of Queensland and Griffith University to inject $280 million into a next-generation mRNA vaccine research hub. [ + ]

US researchers have developed a miniaturised plasmonic spectrometer that creates a rainbow pattern that shifts in the presence of a chemical or biological sample. [ + ]

Astronomers have determined the source of an incredibly bright X-ray signal appearing from halfway across the universe, claiming it is a luminous jet of matter streaking out from a supermassive black hole. [ + ]