Plant drought alarm signal discovery could help establish natural drought resistance in food crops
20 January, 2012Researchers from The Australian National University have discovered a cellular communication process used by plants to respond to drought. They discovered evidence of a process called retrograde signalling - where chemical signals move between different cellular compartments in the plant Arabidopsis. The movement of these signals switches on a defence mechanism which could help plants cope with drought conditions.
Seismometers reveal Australia’s geological history
13 January, 2012Researchers from The Australian National University have used the latest earthquake-measuring technology to image the tectonic plate beneath south-east Australia and reveal for the first time the continent’s geological building blocks.
Mars rover finds signs of water
02 January, 2012In the eighth year of its Mars expedition, rover Opportunity has found evidence that water once existed on Mars.
Non-therapeutic use of antibiotics adding to antibiotic resistance loads
01 December, 2011The evidence that non-therapeutic use of antibiotics is contributing to antibiotic resistance in the broader community is growing and researchers are now arguing for stricter regulation of the practice in the interest of public health.
Take a virtual ‘journey to the centre of the Earth’ with beam-line science
23 November, 2011Scientists can now take a virtual look 400 km below the Earth’s surface to the upper mantle, the source of most magma or molten rock.
World's most bio-secure lab opens for business
18 November, 2011The world’s most advanced bio-secure laboratory, the ACBRF, was officially opened at CSIRO’s Australian Animal Health Laboratory in Geelong.
Cycad is not a ‘dinosaur plant’
21 October, 2011The widely held belief that cycads are ‘dinosaur plants’ and were around during dinosaur times has been categorically debunked in a breakthrough study of international significance.
Researchers sequence complete genome of cynomolgus monkey
27 September, 2011A team of researchers from Roche reported in Genome Research that they have generated the first draft genome sequence of the cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis).
First gravity wave detector step closer to development
14 September, 2011Physicists have made a breakthrough in the development of the world’s first gravity wave detector.
Technology tethers free radicals
16 August, 2011A new platform technology may be used in areas as diverse as disease detection through to biofuel production.
Scientists find new Australian desert frog
27 July, 2011A new miniature frog species or ‘toadlet’ has been discovered.
Macquarie Uni student helps discover new planetary nebula
27 July, 2011Macquarie University PhD student Dimitri Douchin has helped discover a new planetary nebula in our Milky Way.
Chemistry of atmosphere more complicated than previously understood
03 June, 2011Chemists from the University of Sydney have shed light on the sun's role in mixing up molecules, with implications for the extent that pollutants are dispersed across the Earth's surface and how quickly they are removed.
Less waste in waste monitoring
05 May, 2011The US spends around 2 billion dollars a year on remediation at hazardous waste sites, with a large portion of this used for groundwater monitoring. Yet according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, the information gathered is often of limited value.
Anticancer compounds from the sea
05 May, 2011Marine molluscs are a potential source of new anticancer drugs and other medicines, according to Dr Kirsten Benkendorff of Southern Cross University.
