This Month
Can’t picture things in your mind’s eye? You’re not alone
A tweet about visualising a red apple went viral in 2020 but my mind was just black. It changed my understanding of myself and the world around me.
- Yolanda Redrup
October
Was Oppenheimer a communist? The debate has exploded again
The evidence suggests to some that the father of the atom bomb joined Stalin’s party, others contend he was merely a sympathiser and a wavering one at that.
- William J. Broad
‘Godfather of AI’ wins Nobel Prize
The Nobel for Physics has gone to scientists John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton, who was widely credited as a pioneer of artificial intelligence.
- Niklas Pollard and Johan Ahlander
The Aussie who helped discover how to weigh the universe
World renowned astrophysicist Professor Matthew Bailes has won the 2024 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science.
- Julie Hare
MicroRNA pioneers win Nobel Prize for medicine
US scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered tiny pieces of genetic material that could help detect and treat disease.
- Daniel Niemann, Maria Cheng and Mike Corder
Like it or not, you’re already being cloned
We’re not all as photogenic as Demi Moore, but genetic data-doubles are becoming par for the course.
- Simon Ings
July
PsiQuantum promises US a computer after $US500m investment
Three months after inking almost $1 billion worth of deals with the federal and Qld governments, the tech start-up has signed up to build another quantum computer in Chicago.
- Paul Smith
Fortescue, Playground-backed hydrogen flight start-up collapses
Universal Hydrogen had attracted almost $150 million in funding, including from Aussie Peter Barrett’s Playground Global, but it wasn’t enough for it to take flight.
- Yolanda Redrup
June
- Exclusive
- Quantum Computing
Cashed-up Diraq says it can win the quantum computing race
It hasn’t got as much money as government-backed PsiQuantum, but the UNSW start-up says it makes up for that in qubit size, as it banks a big funding round.
- John Davidson
How China became a scientific superpower
From plant biology to superconductor physics, the country is at the cutting edge.
- The Economist
This physicist can prove that economics has it all wrong
J. Doyne Farmer, an American complex systems scientist says the world is more predictable than we think, and he can prove it.
- Will Dunn
May
- Exclusive
- Funding
Blackbird-backed deep tech start-up faces liquidation
The Supreme Court of Victoria has ordered food waste recycler Bardee be wound up for unpaid bills, but it has already sold a large part of its assets.
- John Davidson
- Exclusive
- Quantum Computing
UK’s bet on PsiQuantum is one-fiftieth the size of Australia’s
Leading British quantum computing specialists have expressed surprise at the Albanese government’s decision to invest nearly $1 billion in backing the start-up.
- Hans van Leeuwen
Blue-sky thinkers block the sun to fight climate change
It might sound like science fiction, but a mix of scientists and venture capitalists are working on plans to block the sun to slow global warming.
- Peter Ker and Lap Phan
- Exclusive
- Quantum Computing
PsiQuantum in talks for bipartisan support but Coalition not swayed
PsiQuantum is confident of winning over sceptical politicians by highlighting its backing from both major parties in the US, where it has defence contracts.
- Tess Bennett
- Opinion
- Quantum Computing
Answers emerge slowly to government’s $1b quantum questions
Questions are mounting over how PsiQuantum was backed when we have been told so often to marvel at local tech stars.
- Paul Smith
Don’t swat fruit flies – they’re smarter than you probably think
Researchers say many species, from insects to invertebrates, have consciousness. It turns out humans aren’t so special, after all.
- Ed Cumming
April
‘Country mile ahead’: How PsiQuantum won a $1b investment
Chief scientist Cathy Foley said US-based PsiQuantum showed it was a “country mile” ahead of other Aussie companies in trying to build a world-first quantum computer.
- Paul Smith, John Davidson and Tess Bennett
- Exclusive
- Venture capital
Made in Australia ‘over-due’ as Sydney VC forms $US150m fund in Singapore
Sydney-based VC fund Investible has secured Indonesia’s biggest bank as an investor, its CEO says Australia has ground to make up on regional peers.
- Paul Smith
- Analysis
- Analysis
Eclipse that ended a war and opened door to forecasting
In contrast to today, solar eclipses were feared as portents of calamity in ancient times. Then, superstition gave way to rational prediction.
- William J. Broad