Science & Nature

Last call for planet Earth?

Volume 10 Number 2 February 10 - March 9 2014

 

The second Transitions Film Festival, supported by the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, promises to again challenge viewers on environmental issues. By Katherine Smith.

What’s the buzz? Why flies and mozzies plague our summers

Volume 10 Number 2 February 10 - March 9 2014

 

Andi Horvath finds the reasons behind summer’s curse, the mozzies who harass us just as we’re ready to wind down in the evening.

Accountants and botanists join quest to help cities breathe

Volume 10 Number 2 February 10 - March 9 2014

 

An unlikely pairing of accountants and botanists from the University of Melbourne, the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and the Institute of Chartered Accountants is expanding our knowledge on how plants and trees can help us in the battle against global warming. By Eoin Hahessy.

Debunking the sixth sense

Volume 10 Number 2 February 10 - March 9 2014

 

Liz Banks-Anderson reports on new research that posts a more rational explanation for ESP than the notion of a sixth sense.

Learning from the night sky

Volume 10 Number 2 February 10 - March 9 2014

 

Andi Horvath checks in with the second year of the Telescopes in Schools program, to find it is sowing the seeds of curiosity about astrophysics among young observers of the night sky, their parents and teachers.

Scottish accolade for Melbourne head of Design’s architectural firm

Volume 10 Number 1 January 13 - February 9 2014

 

Melbourne’s head of Design Alan Pert has won Scotland’s most prestigious architectural award. By Niamh Cremins and Rebecca Scott.

Mathematicians, the unsung heroes of research

Volume 9 Number 12 December 9 2013 - January 12 2014

Andi Horvath finds that mathematicians are often the behind-the-scenes heroes of scientific breakthroughs. 

Tackling climate change and changing energy systems

Volume 9 Number 12 December 9 2013 - January 12 2014

 

With the world facing climate challenges, PhD students at Melbourne’s Australian-German College of Climate & Energy Transitions (TRACE) hope to develop new strategies and solutions. By Monique Edwards

Winning Melbourne research

Volume 9 Number 11 November 11 - December 9 2013

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Annie Rahilly, Andi Horvath and Camilla Orr-Thompson report on a range of science and technology awards and prizes won by Melbourne researchers recently.

Home is where the heart of the Amazon is

Volume 9 Number 11 November 11 - December 9 2013

 

For international students it can be hard living away from family and home, especially when political upheaval or civil unrest strikes. For two Ecuadorian students at the University of Melbourne, trouble at home became a motivating force for action in Australia. Clemmie Wetherall reports.

GM food will be essential for a hungry world

Volume 9 Number 11 November 11 - December 9 2013

 

During the recent Festival of Ideas hosted by the University of Melbourne a distinguished panel of researchers working at the forefront of food security discussed the often controversial issue of genetic modification for food crops. Katherine Smith canvasses the views they shared with their audience.

Animal watcher wins 3 Minute Thesis

Volume 9 Number 10 October 14 - November 10 2013

 

Each year PhD candidates from Australian universities compete against their fellows in a competition to see who can best translate complex research ideas into three pithy minutes of communication.  Liz Banks-Anderson catches up with this year’s winner, Sally Sherwen.