Author: Bianca Nogrady

Bianca Nogrady is an Australian freelance science journalist, broadcaster and author - www.biancanogrady.com - @biancanogrady

‘I hope you die’: how the COVID pandemic unleashed attacks on scientists

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From Nature, 14 October 2021: Infectious-diseases physician Krutika Kuppalli had been in her new job for barely a week in September 2020, when someone phoned her at home and threatened to kill her. Kuppalli, who had just moved from California to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, had been dealing with online abuse … Continue reading ‘I hope you die’: how the COVID pandemic unleashed attacks on scientists

Direct air capture sucks carbon right out of the skies

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From Wired UK, 4 October 2021: Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher were, in the latter’s words, “young, motivated and maybe a bit naïve,” when they decided in 2009 to set up a company based on technology that could capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The two mechanical engineers, who met while studying at ETH Zürich, … Continue reading Direct air capture sucks carbon right out of the skies

Most fossil-fuel reserves must remain untapped to hit 1.5 °C warming goal

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From Nature, 8 September 2021: Nearly 90% of economically viable global coal reserves must be left in the ground to have even a 50% chance of hitting internationally agreed climate-change goals, according to an updated model of limits to fossil-fuel extraction, published today in Nature. For a 50% chance of remaining below 1.5 °C of … Continue reading Most fossil-fuel reserves must remain untapped to hit 1.5 °C warming goal

First ancient human DNA found from key Asian migration route

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From Nature, 26 August 2021: The 7,000-year-old skeleton of a teenage hunter-gatherer from Sulawesi in Indonesia could be the first remains found from a mysterious, ancient culture known as the Toaleans, researchers report this week in Nature1. The largely complete fossil of a roughly 18-year-old Stone Age woman was found in 2015 buried in a … Continue reading First ancient human DNA found from key Asian migration route

Why severe sickle-cell pain has been neglected

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From Nature, 25 August 2021: “Dealing with pain is messy,” says John Roberts, an oncologist at the Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut. It can’t be measured objectively through biomarkers or visualized on a scan, the experience of it varies enormously from person to person, and it can be fiendishly difficult to treat. … Continue reading Why severe sickle-cell pain has been neglected

Gut microbiome may help or hinder defenses against SARS-CoV-2

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From The Scientist, 31 August 2021: hen SARS-CoV-2 first began rampaging around the world, it was thought to primarily affect the respiratory system. It soon became clear that the virus had more far-reaching effects, including on the gastrointestinal system and its bacterial symbionts. This came as no surprise to Siew Ng, a gastroenterologist in the … Continue reading Gut microbiome may help or hinder defenses against SARS-CoV-2

Australian research faces impending scarcity of lab rodents

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From The Scientist, 20 July 2021: iomedical researchers across Australia are reeling in shock from the sudden news that the biggest supplier of laboratory mice and rats in the country—the Animal Resources Centre—will close its doors in around a year, with no plans in place to ensure a continued supply of animals to researchers. Malcolm … Continue reading Australian research faces impending scarcity of lab rodents

Mice plague eastern Australia in record numbers

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From The Scientist, 13 July 2021: Just before Christmas last year, Julie Leven and her husband Des took their camper up to visit their son in northern New South Wales, Australia. Driving back at night to their home in Gilgandra, around 430 kilometers northwest of Sydney, they saw masses of white spots moving across the … Continue reading Mice plague eastern Australia in record numbers