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Australia’s first ‘iPod’ marks 60th birthday...

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:16:22 +1100

Australia’s first ‘iPod’ marks 60th birthday

The world’s oldest intact computer is turning 60 in Victoria. The CSIRAC - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research organisation Automatic Computer - is housed in the state’s museum and has today been granted heritage listing as part of its birthday celebrations.

In pictures: Monsters of the deep

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:28:05 +1100

In pictures: Monsters of the deep

Nasa Cassini spacecraft sends pictures of Saturn’s moon

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:18:50 +1100

Nasa Cassini spacecraft sends pictures of Saturn’s moon

BBC News - In pictures: Darwin photo competition

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:55:50 +1100

BBC News - In pictures: Darwin photo competition

"Every time I run those numbers I have to double check. Australians are spending nearly a third of..."

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:09 +1100

““Every time I run those numbers I have to double check. Australians are spending nearly a third of all their time browsing the internet on Facebook alone.””

- Bebo Australian operations killed by Facebook

How to explore Mars and have fun The site is just the latest to...

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:04:00 +1100

How to explore Mars and have fun

The site is just the latest to use crowdsourcing as a tool to do science.

Darwin’s finches tracked to reveal evolution in action A...

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:19:07 +1100

Darwin’s finches tracked to reveal evolution in action

A husband and wife team has spotted what could be the beginning of a new species of finch on one of the Galapagos Islands, where Charles Darwin developed his ideas about evolution.

Forest park given Dark Sky honour The award, announced by the...

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:02:07 +1100

Forest park given Dark Sky honour

The award, announced by the International Dark Sky Association, confirmed Galloway as one of the best places for stargazing in the world.

Devils doomed unless island home found Time is running out to...

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:03:07 +1100

Devils doomed unless island home found

Time is running out to save the tasmanian devil from a deadly cancer that has killed more than 70 per cent of the population.

Bees fight to death over females Bundles of male bees form,...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:09:52 +1100

Bees fight to death over females

Bundles of male bees form, with each trying to bite and sting another to death. The result is mass murder, with whole generations of male bees wiping each other out to mate with females.

Crikey! Snail named after Steve Irwin Queensland Museum...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:50:05 +1100

Crikey! Snail named after Steve Irwin

Queensland Museum scientist Dr John Stanisic has named the rare species of tree snail Crikey steveirwini.

Mr Garrett said he had made the decision based on science and...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:12:58 +1100

Mr Garrett said he had made the decision based on science and the “unacceptable impact” it would have on threatened species, including the Mary River turtle and Australian lungfish.

Traveston Dam proposal rejected by Peter Garrett

Plant experts unveil DNA barcode Hundreds of experts from 50...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:50:11 +1100

Plant experts unveil DNA barcode

Hundreds of experts from 50 nations are set to agree on a “DNA barcode” system that gives every plant on Earth a unique genetic fingerprint.

Koala considered for endangered list Ms Tabart says there has...

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:33:35 +1100

Koala considered for endangered list

Ms Tabart says there has been political reluctance to declare the koala a threatened species because it could hamper developments and infrastructure projects.

“The quality of the data we put in is not reflected in the documents that come back out,” she said.

“Developers fear them. Politicians fear them because they think it’s going to stop projects.

“The power of the development industry is very great. There has been a great deal of opposition to the protection of the koala over many years and I think that still exists.”

Earth News - In pictures: Yucatan wonders

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:57:38 +1100

Earth News - In pictures: Yucatan wonders

Tiny metal particles have been shown to cause changes to DNA...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:21:49 +1100

Tiny metal particles have been shown to cause changes to DNA across a cellular barrier - without having to cross it.

Tiny tech sparks cell signal find

A sharp-eyed camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:44:40 +1100

A sharp-eyed camera aboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has spotted the Phoenix lander encased in dry ice in the depths of winter on the northern polar plains of Mars.

Orbiter camera sees ice-covered Phoenix lander

Although Pratchett has publicly raged against Alzheimer’s...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:31:27 +1100

Although Pratchett has publicly raged against Alzheimer’s and announced at the Alzheimer’s Research Trust Conference last year that he would “eat a dead mole’s arse” if he thought it would cure him, he says he has come to terms with death.

Fighting to keep the fantasy alive

Argleton: the phantom town that Google created

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:02:51 +1100

Argleton: the phantom town that Google created:

Neither Google, nor the company that supplies its mapping data for this part of Britain, were able to explain how the phantom town made its way on to Google Maps, The Telegraph said.

“This study has important implications for estimates of...

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:16:11 +1100

“This study has important implications for estimates of the total biodiversity of free-living micro-organisms,” says Thierry Heger of the Swiss Federal Research Institute in Lausanne, Switzerland. The fact that microbes can travel huge distances makes it less likely that there are large numbers of endemic species, Heger says.

Microbes’ globe-trotting has made them less diverse