Friday essay: I was enthralled by Crime and Punishment at 14. Rereading it after 60 years, I’m still awed
Sonya makes the only reply possible: “But that louse was a human being!” It was nearly…
Impacts of colonisation on dingoes are ‘written in their bones’, new research finds
Dingoes are no ordinary dogs. They trace their roots back to an ancient Asian lineage and…
The Roman empire built 300,000 kilometres of roads: new study
At its height, the Roman empire covered some 5 million square kilometres and was home to…
Hundreds of genes act differently in the brains of men and women
Differences between men and women in intelligence and behaviour have been proposed and disputed for decades….
Whale and dolphin migrations are being disrupted by climate change
For millennia, some of the world’s largest filter-feeding whales, including humpbacks, fin whales, and blue whales,…
And then there were none: Australia’s only shrew declared extinct
For many years the Christmas Island shrew prospered. When European naturalists first visited Christmas Island in…
Experts unpack ‘quadrobics’, the fitness trend that claims leaping around on all fours will make you fit
Recently, we’ve seen a growing number of social media users, particularly young users, posting their own…
Birds all over the world use the same sound to warn of threats
Language enables us to connect with each other and coordinate to achieve incredible feats. Our ability…
Many animals can reshape and shed their teeth – and now scientists have traced this ability back 380 million years
The first evidence of teeth in any vertebrate (back-boned animal) is in primitive armoured fishes called…
You’re likely not as immune to scams as you think – here’s why
What do Tiger Woods, Ben Stiller, Australian pensioners and dating app users have in common? Despite…
Warn, hide or stand out? How colour in the animal world is a battle for survival
The animal world is incredibly colourful, and behind this colour palette is a constant game of…
Fish ‘fingerprints’ in the ocean reveal which species are moving homes due to climate change
Species across the planet are on the move. Climate change has already caused more than 12,000…
Court rulings increasingly demand scientific certainty – but that’s not always possible
Last month, courts on both sides of the Atlantic delivered a clear verdict: when classifying titanium…
3D printed mini-placentas offer a new way to study pregnancy complications
Since then, scientists have grown organoids from a wide range of human organs by taking stem…
Australia has some new marsupial species – but they’re already extinct
You are probably familiar with kangaroos. Wallabies too, and most likely quokkas as well. Less famous…
Why grow plants in space? They can improve how we produce food and medicine on Earth
Sometime in the 2040s, humans may well reach a new frontier – Mars. To get there,…
The discovery of an extinct shelduck highlights the rich ancient biodiversity of the remote Rēkohu Chatham Islands
Islands are natural laboratories where evolution can run rampant as plants and animals adapt to new…
Whales and dolphins regularly hang out with each other – new study
As the annual humpback whale migration is underway with thousands of whales passing by the Australian…
An underwater observatory keeping the pulse of the Southern Ocean for nearly 30 years yields fresh results
In a world affected by climate change, the Southern Ocean plays an outsized role. It absorbs…
Is US beef safe to eat? How worried should we be about ‘mad cow disease’, growth hormones and fatty meat?
So, if beef from the US is mainly grain-fed, does this make it less healthy? Other…
Five arms, no heart and a global family: what DNA revealed about the weird deep-sea world of brittle stars
You may have read that the deep sea is a very different environment from the land…
Birds use hidden black and white feathers to make themselves more colourful
Birds are perhaps the most colourful group of animals, bringing a splash of colour to the…
New study peers beneath the skin of iconic lizards to find ‘chainmail’ bone plates – and lots of them
Monitor lizards, also known in Australia as goannas, are some of the most iconic reptiles on…
Medieval preacher invoked chivalric hero as a meme in sermon
It’s the translation of the word “elves” that is central to their new analysis. Based on…