Why marijuana can be madness
Bertha Madras, a leading expert on weed, outlines the science linking it to psychiatric disorders, permanent brain damage, and other serious harms.
Science
Scientists ‘should let thylacine stay extinct’
Fifty years after moving to Tasmania to find the thylacine, Bob Brown wants the world to finally accept it is extinct – and should not be genetically engineered back to life, as scientists plan.
Discovery may solve mystery behind Egypt’s pyramids
Archaeologists have long wondered why the ancient Egyptians built their pyramids on what is now a narrow, inhospitable strip of desert. New satellite images appear to solve the riddle.
Our giants of science sound alarm on research funding
Trailblazing Australian scientists newly elected to the prestigious Royal Society have vented their fears over shortfalls in research funding.
‘Next lunar landing will be far more tricky’
Artemis mission will be riskier because of the rougher terrain at the lunar south pole, according to Charlie Duke, who took part in the 1972 Apollo mission.
Magic mushrooms ‘could treat anorexia’
Magic mushrooms have undergone a serious reputation change, with research showing signs the psychedelic holds the key to anorexia treatment – but experts say we can’t rush just yet.
‘Cowboy behaviour a threat to patients’
Popular telehealth providers are being labelled ‘nothing but online pharmacies’ intent on circumventing Australia’s strict advertising and drug regulations in the relentless pursuit of profit.
Miles buries carbon capture project
Glencore says it is “disappointed” with Steven Miles’s comments that the miner’s Great Artesian Basin carbon storage project was unlikely to get state approval.
Covid vax withdrawn over side effects but ‘fear more deadly’
AstraZeneca withdrawn globally after manufacturer’s admission but leading infectious diseases physician says overblown fears probably caused more deaths.
Deep dive reveals complex language of sperm whales
However, the scientists have yet to decipher what the cetacean were saying.
Moderna takes the plunge on AI
The US firm is completing 13 drug trials in Australia – a process expected to move faster after it partnered with OpenAI to unleash artificial intelligence across its operations.
Declaration on feral cats ‘just a phony war’
Tanya Plibersek last year ‘declared war on feral cats’, but there has been little action and a much-lauded island eradication project knocked-back for funding.
Orangutan’s use of first-aid a first for animal kingdom
Scientist speculate he could have first chewed the plant and then found the juice offered pain relief when accidentally touching it to a wound.
Red meat emissions down 78pc
The red meat industry has been targeted by activists who say it contributes too much to climate change. But the sector’s carbon emissions are down 78 per cent since 2005.
NASA forecasts weather on distant planet
Measurements from a powerful space telescope have allowed astronomers to produce a weather map for Wasp-43b, a Jupiter-like planet 280 light years away.
Bloodsucking fly sparked ‘game-changing’ clot drug
Australian scientists discovered a new drug potentially capable of preventing blood clots and fatal bleeding during surgery, thanks to the African tsetse fly.
T. rex an intellectual? Well d’oh
We know Tyrannosaurus rex was ferocious, with powerful bone-crunching jaws. But was the king of the dinosaurs also an intellectual?
Calls for expansion of HIV self-testing
Grindr’s geolocating and language preference features have enabled health authorities to target at-risk groups with advertising for HIV self-tests.
UN dives into heritage-harbour salmon row
The United Nations has asked the Albanese government to answer claims salmon farming in Macquarie Harbour is damaging the values of the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
Jobs threat: recruitment bots’ backfire in the works
Algorithms are penalising exceptional candidates and, ultimately, the companies that miss out with hires of ill-suited staff sifted by AI.
The low fat, high nutrient nut we’re all sleeping on
These native Australian nuts are an energy and nutrient dense food with huge commercial potential.
Deadly drug sparks testing centres push
Experts are calling for more drug taking centres and testing sites to deal with a new synthetic opioid, stronger than fentanyl, that has already contributed to the deaths of 16 Victorians.
Scientists declare animals conscious
Scientists have issued a declaration that animals should be considered as conscious beings – and even bees can play like us
Astronaut first ‘to make next giant leap’ for Australia
A small number of Aussies have trained as astronauts and gone to space, representing other nations. But on Monday, Katherine Bennell-Pegg becomes the first ever Australian-badged astronaut.
New fire ant threat sparks fears of food bowl contamination
A new fire ant infestation on the edge of the Murray Darling Basin has raised fears they could swiftly spread through NSW, Victoria and South Australia.
It’s on for young and old as schoolgirl finds giant fossil
Ruby Reynolds was just 11 when she found part of a 200 million-year-old ichthyosaur’s jawbone on a Somerset beach — a discovery that has made her a published scientist.
El Nino is officially over, bureau declares
The El Nino weather pattern has officially ended, but record high global sea surface temperatures are making it hard to predict what will come next.
‘Thermal mirage hid iceberg from Titanic’s view’
Freshly examined archival material suggests a freak weather event may have occurred on the night of the disaster, meaning hazards lurking in the ocean were harder to spot.
Cancer therapy offers hope for more
CAR T-cell therapy is a one-off treatment that has fewer side-effects than chemotherapy but currently suffers from very low efficacy rates on solid tumours.
Nobel laureate who proposed the Higgs boson dies at 94
Peter Higgs disliked fame, complaining he would be beset by people seeking selfies and that if he went to the school of physics at Edinburgh.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/science/page/6