Message from aliens or colliding objects? The hunt for engimatic radio bursts is about to get real

Mar 09, 2016 22:31 pm UTC| Science

Astronomers are getting ever closer to understanding the origin of mysterious fast radio bursts very brief but intense pulses of radio waves from outer space after a series of recent contradictory findings. While the...

We should broaden our view of science if it's to help make good public policy

Mar 09, 2016 22:14 pm UTC| Science Health

Actor and science advocate Alan Alda will address the National Press Club today, talking about the importance of communicating science to the public. Alda is in Australia to launch the new facility at ANUs Centre for...

How to make art out of the lightest material known to man

Mar 09, 2016 08:55 am UTC| Science

Imagine a ghostly replica of our world: a planet made only of sand, illuminated by a different star, surrounded by an unknown dreamy atmosphere that is different to anything you have seen before. It is a place where it is...

Discovery of carbon on Mercury reveals the planet's dark past

Mar 09, 2016 08:36 am UTC| Science

Mercury has been found to have a dark side with graphite, a crystalline form of carbon commonly found in pencils, being the source of the mysterious dark colouration of the planets surface. The study, published this...

Gone is the solitary genius - science today is a group effort

Mar 08, 2016 23:58 pm UTC| Science

Scientific discovery was once a mostly solitary endeavour and a common view was that genius was responsible for significant advances in knowledge. The Nobel Prize the ultimate prize for discovery reinforces this...

Dreaming big with biomimetics: could future buildings be made with bone and eggshells?

Mar 08, 2016 23:42 pm UTC| Science

As the world grapples with climate change, we urgently need to find ways of reducing our CO₂ emissions. Sectors which rely heavily on fossil fuels, such as energy and aviation, are commonly held to be the worst offenders....

Why '7' is the luckiest number

Mar 08, 2016 23:02 pm UTC| Science

Football teams have been wearing numbers since Arsenal experimented with putting their players in numbered shirts in 1928 (it didnt bring them much luck they lost 3-2 to Sheffield Wednesday). But it was Manchester United...