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Tanya Latty

Senior lecturer, University of Sydney

I am a Senior Lecturer in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. I am interested in understanding how simple organisms like ants, bees, and slime moulds, are able to solve problems by working together as a group. Amazingly, slime moulds can solve mazes, anticipate events and can make ‘clever’ dining decisions. Ant colonies can build efficient transportation networks and can rapidly adapt to changes in the environment. Understanding how these simple creature accomplish such astonishing feats may help us design better and smarter computer systems. I am also broadly interested in slime mould ecology and insect behaviour.

I am also interested in insect pollination and bee ecology, especially in urban and agricultural environments.

People worry Christmas beetles are disappearing. We're gathering citizen data to see the full picture

Dec 12, 2023 15:53 pm UTC| Life

In eastern Australia, the arrival of the summer holidays has traditionally been heralded by big iridescent beetles known as Christmas beetles due to their appearance during the Christmas season. In recent years, public...

Best books of 2023: our experts share the books that have stayed with them

Dec 05, 2023 05:36 am UTC| Entertainment

We asked 20 of our regular contributors to nominate their favourite books of the year. Their choices were diverse, intriguing and sometimes surprising. Whether youre looking for something relaxing or stimulating,...

‘Phantom decoys’ manipulate human shoppers – but bees may be immune to their charms

Oct 11, 2023 03:37 am UTC| Nature

Have you ever waited in a long queue only to find the ice cream flavour you wanted is gone? What did you choose instead? In the field of behavioural economics, researchers have shown that people make very predictable...

Our 'bee-eye camera' helps us support bees, grow food and protect the environment

Feb 05, 2019 09:32 am UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Walking through our gardens in Australia, we may not realise that buzzing around us is one of our greatest natural resources. Bees are responsible for pollinating about a third of food for human consumption, and data on...

We've got apps and radars – but can ants predict rain?

Sep 09, 2018 20:45 pm UTC| Insights & Views Nature

Its often said that ants can predict impending rain and respond by changing their behaviour. Some people say that if you see ants building their mounds higher, or building them from different materials, this might...

Economy

BOJ to Hold Rates Steady Amid Tariff Uncertainty, May Cut Growth Outlook

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is expected to keep its short-term interest rate unchanged at 0.5% on Thursday, while cutting its economic growth forecasts due to rising uncertainty from U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump....

Japan’s Factory Activity Contracts for 10th Month as Export Demand Weakens

Japans manufacturing sector shrank for the 10th consecutive month in April, as global demand softened and concerns over U.S. trade tariffs intensified. The final au Jibun Bank Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index...

Oil Prices Rebound Slightly After Sharp Drop on Saudi Supply Signals

Oil prices edged higher on Thursday following a steep decline the previous day, as investors weighed signals of potential increased output from Saudi Arabia and a weaker U.S. economic outlook. Brent crude futures rose by...

Dollar Stabilizes Amid Trade War Easing Hopes and Yen Waits on BOJ Decision

The U.S. dollar held steady on Thursday, shrugging off weak domestic data as markets turned hopeful over signs of easing global trade tensions. Despite suffering its steepest monthly decline in over two years through...

US Stock Futures Surge as Microsoft and Meta Earnings Beat Forecasts

U.S. stock futures rose sharply Wednesday night, driven by strong earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft and Meta Platforms. This positive momentum came after a choppy regular session where Wall Street posted modest...

Politics

Australia’s Labor Government Poised for Narrow Election Win Amid Trump Policy Backlash

Australias center-left Labor government appears on track to secure re-election in a tightly contested national vote this weekend, according to two opinion polls released Thursday. A RedBridge-Accent poll conducted April...

Trump Administration Open to Boosting North American Manufacturing with Canada’s PM Carney

The Trump administration is prepared to collaborate with Canadas newly appointed Prime Minister Mark Carney to strengthen North American manufacturing, according to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. In a televised...

Trump Deflects Blame as US GDP Shrinks, Cites Tariffs and Future Rebound

President Donald Trump responded to a surprise first-quarter economic contraction by blaming past policies and emphasizing a potential rebound. Despite a drop in GDPthe first in three yearsTrump described the dip as...

Trump Hints at Trade Deals with India, South Korea, and Japan

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday that potential trade agreements with India, South Korea, and Japan are in the works, as he looks to transform his tariff strategy into formal trade pacts. Speaking during a...

U.S. Approves $425M Patriot Missile System Sale to Kuwait

The U.S. State Department has cleared a potential $425 million sale of Patriot missile system equipment and support services to Kuwait, a move aimed at bolstering defense ties between the two nations. The announcement was...

Science

Kennedy Sets September Deadline to Uncover Autism Causes Amid Controversy

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a bold plan to identify the cause of autism by September 2025. Speaking at a cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump, Kennedy declared a global...

AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi Gets US Approval for Bladder Cancer Treatment

AstraZenecas drug Imfinzi (NASDAQ: AZN) has received U.S. approval to treat adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, a significant advancement in cancer therapy. The approval allows Imfinzi to be used in...

Sanofi’s New Hemophilia Drug Qfitlia Gains FDA Approval with Breakthrough Bimonthly Dosing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Qfitlia, a groundbreaking hemophilia treatment by French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi (NASDAQ: SNY). Designed for patients aged 12 and older with hemophilia A or B,...

FDA Vaccine Chief Peter Marks Resigns Amid Controversy Over Transparency

Peter Marks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned after reportedly being forced out by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to The Wall Street Journal....

Museums have tons of data, and AI could make it more accessible − but standardizing and organizing it across fields won’t be easy

Ice cores in freezers, dinosaurs on display, fish in jars, birds in boxes, human remains and ancient artifacts from long gone civilizations that few people ever see museum collections are filled with all this and more....

Technology

Microsoft Stock Soars on Strong Azure Growth and AI Momentum

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) surged 7% in after-hours trading after reporting stronger-than-expected Q3 results, driven by robust growth in its Azure cloud business and rising demand for AI services. Azure revenue grew 33% in...

Amazon Launches Nova Premier AI to Compete with GPT-4o and Gemini

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has unveiled Nova Premier, its most advanced artificial intelligence model to date, at the AWS re:Invent conference, signaling a bold push into the competitive generative AI market. Delivered through...

Xiaomi Unveils MiMo AI Model, Shares Surge 5% on Breakthrough Launch

Xiaomi Corp (HK:1810) launched its first open-source large language model, MiMo, on Wednesday, marking its official entry into the competitive artificial intelligence space. The debut sent Xiaomis Hong Kong-listed shares...

Alibaba Launches Qwen 3 AI Model Amid Intensifying China Tech Competition

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group (NYSE:BABA) unveiled Qwen 3 on Tuesday, a next-generation AI model featuring hybrid reasoning capabilities aimed at boosting performance and adaptability. The move underscores Alibabas...

Amazon Enters Satellite Internet Race with First Kuiper Deployment

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has officially entered the satellite broadband market with the successful launch of 27 operational satellites for Project Kuiper, its high-speed internet initiative aimed at rivaling SpaceXs Starlink....