Science

HealthThe Times

Woman holding senior woman's hand on bed

Best hope to curb dementia

With no prospect of effective treatment in sight, international experts issue guidelines.

Chris Smyth

Science

In this image, a mosaic composed of many images taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and released by NASA on May 13, 2019, show wrinkle ridges in a region of the Moon called Mare Frigoris. - These ridges add to evidence that the Moon has an actively changing surface. (Photo by HO / NASA / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / NASA/ HO" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Shrinking moon gets wrinkly

The moon is steadily shrinking, causing wrinkling on its surface and quakes, according to an analysis.

The Times

This recent undated handout photograph obtained May 13, 2019 courtesy of the University of Akron shows the Hyptiotes cavatus spider holding its web in tension, the anchor line at left, and the trap line (connected to main web) at right. - The ability to store and amplify muscular energy in external devices like bows, bolt-throwers and catapults was long thought to be unique to humans. Now, though, we can add the triangle-weaver spider, or Hyptiotes cavatus, to the list, according to a study published Monday, May 13, 2019 that describes how the creature winds up its web to launch itself at prey. (Photo by S.I. HAN / UNIVERSITY OF AKRON / AFP) / With AFP Story by Issam AHMED: Spider species uses web to catapult itself at prey: study == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / S.I. HAN" / NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==

Spider weaves a killer catapult

The flies don’t have time to see their nemesis spring its trap.

TOM WHIPPLE

Going rogueThe Wall Street Journal

FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2018, file photo, He Jiankui is reflected in a glass panel as he works at a computer at a laboratory in Shenzhen in southern China's Guangdong province. A Chinese investigation says Chinese scientist He, behind the reported birth of two babies whose genes had been edited in hopes of making them resistant to the AIDS virus, acted on his own and will be punished for any violations of the law. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

Glory seeking scientist vanishes

Dr He Jiankui broke all the rules to create the world’s first gene-edited babies.

Preetika Rana

cancer breakthroughNation

Olivia Newton-John Cancer Wellness and Research Centre. Olivia visited the ONJ Centre in Heidelberg today, saying hello to some current patients benefiting from the programs at the Wellness Centre. Picture- Nicole Cleary

Blood test for breast cancer

A blood test to detect breast cancer could replace mammograms.

AGENCIES

Climate changeThe Times

ESCAPE: BEST FOR 2016 .. CLASSIC V NEW .. The Arctic - Two polar bears on a small ice floe surrounded by water and ice. Mother and two years old cub. Picture: Getty

Scientists’ radical solution

Scientists have experimental plans to ‘repair’ the climate by refreezing the Arctic.

Rhys Blakely

World

Penguin, seal poop fuel Antarctica

Nitrogen-rich droppings from colonies of cute penguins and seals are the foundation of Antarctica’s biodiversity.

VACCINATION DEBATEThe Times

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 10: Robert Kennedy Jr., heads up to a meeting at Trump Tower on January 10, 2017 in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump continues to hold meetings at his New York residence to fill the remaining positions in his administration. Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Kennedy family anti-vax feud

Three members of America’s Kennedy clan have publicly rebuked Robert Jr for his anti-vaccination stance.

Will Pavia

Space travelTechnology

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announces Blue Moon, a lunar landing vehicle for the Moon, during a Blue Origin event in Washington, DC, May 9, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

‘Time to go back to the moon’

Jeff Bezos has unveiled a lunar lander to fly equipment, and maybe humans, to the Moon by 2024.

The Times

Southern Bent wing bat. Photo by Steve Bourne.

Bat-like dinos prototype for birds

Tiny dinosaurs related to today’s birds grew bat-like wings as they grappled with the art of flying.

RHYS BLAKELY

Science

31/05/2005 PIRATE: Vancomycin resistant enterococci (VRE) bacteria, a life-threatening superbug as viewed under a microscope in 2005 image Pic. Supplied

Antibiotics aid superbug rise

Aged-care facilities and hospitals remain hotbeds for the overuse of antibiotics, fuelling the rise of superbugs.

SEAN PARNELL

The Times

(FILES) In this file photo taken on August 1, 2018, female panda Huan Huan eats bamboo inside her enclosure at the Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan-sur-Cher, central France. - Some animals strike a chord with humans, prompting them to donate millions towards their conservation, while others draw little more than disgust? Size, intelligence, behaviour, rarity, how closely an animal resembles the human form -- all play a part in our reaction to various endangered creatures. (Photo by GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP)

Million species at risk of extinction

A million species are at risk of extinction as a result of human activity, according to a United Nations report on biodiversity.

TOM WHIPPLE

magazineWeekend Australian Magazine

TWAM-20190504 EMBARGO FOR TWAM 4 MAY 2019NO REUSE WITHOUT PERMISSION FEE APPLIESScientist Veena Sahajwalla Pic ; Nick Cubbin

Turning trash into treasure

The weekly rubbish truck should not be the solution to our waste, says Veena Sahajwalla. There’s cash in that trash.

Greg Bearup

Fossil findThe Wall Street Journal

A handout photo made available by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology on April 29, 2019 shows the Xiahe mandible, only represented by its right half, was found in 1980 in Baishiya Karst Cave. - The Denisovan mandible likely represents the earliest hominin fossil on the Tibetan Plateau. (Photo by Dongju ZHANG / the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology / Jean-Jacques HUBLIN" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Find bites scent of man

A fossil jaw found in the Himalayan highlands of Tibet belongs to a vanished human species called Denisovans.

Robert Lee Hotz

SCIENCEThe Times

The Japanese space probe Hayabusa, which was launched in 05/2003 on an unprecedented mission to land on asteroid 25143 Itokawa, a 535m-long lump obriting near Mars, and collect samples from the surface. Hayabusa has been making its return journey since 09/2005 and is now about 17 million kilometres away.

Is this where Earth’s water came from?

Analysis of dust gathered from an asteroid may have cleared up one of science’s biggest mysteries.

Rhys Blakely

Higher Education

During a recent botanical expedition to the northern Kimberley, several thousand ‘aquatic venus flytrap’ plants, Aldrovanda vesiculosa, were found growing in a billabong on Theda Station, located east of the Mitchell Plateau, by Dr Adam Cross and Honours student Thilo Krueger, from the ARC Centre for Mine Site Restoration in Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences. Supplied: Curtin University

Killer plant found in far north

The trigger-happy species was once found worldwide but has disappeared from 42 countries and almost everywhere in Australia.

VICTORIA LAURIE

The Times

Ultrasound Examination In Doctors Office. Woman and her man in doctors office doing ultrasound examination Picture: Istock

Hopeful parents urged to test DNA

People should test their partner’s DNA before starting a family to minimise the risk of inherited disease.

magazineWeekend Australian Magazine

TWAM-20190427 EMBARGO FOR TWAM 27 APRIL 2019Macquarie island pic : Ryan Osland

The miracle of Macquarie Island

Once overrun by rabbits and rats, Macquarie Island was declared pest-free only five years ago. Would this wild treasure ever recover?

Matthew Denholm

Macquarie IslandScience

2019 Macquarie Island resupply - 19-03-19 - Annie Phillips looking for burrowing petrels on North Head. This are is a special Management Area of the island. Only a handful of researchers are permitted in this area. Picture By Ryan Osland/TheAustralian

Annie’s career in the extreme

Women are finally cracking the “ice ceiling” of Australia’s once all-too-blokey Antarctic stations.

Matthew Denholm

CancerInquirer

Prime Minister Scott Morrison (second left), Liberal candidate for Higgins Katie Allen (second right) and Minister for Health Greg Hunt (right) are seen during a tour of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Monday, March 25th, 2019. (AAP Image/Ellen Smith) NO ARCHIVING

Science of a very human war

Cancer is now a major election issue, but there’s a much bigger story being missed.

Paul Monk

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/page/113