Bianca Nogrady

Female researchers in Australia less likely to win major medical grants than males

October 23, 2019October 23, 2019No Comments

From Nature News, 23 October 2019: Female scientists in Australia were less likely to win a major type of medical-research grants this year than their male counterparts, despite an overhaul of the country’s science funding that was supposed to address gender inequity. The funding imbalance occurred in the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) … Continue reading Female researchers in Australia less likely to win major medical grants than males

Build a better battery

October 9, 2019October 9, 2019No Comments

From Ensia magazine, 27 September 2019: For all their many virtues, wind and solar power have one major flaw: at some point, even in the windiest, sunniest parts of the planet the wind stops blowing and the energy-giving rays of the sun disappear over the horizon. So as the world works to decarbonize its energy … Continue reading Build a better battery

POMS: where is the Pacific Oyster industry now?

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019No Comments

From Fish magazine, September 2019: When Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS) all but wiped out southern Tasmania’s Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) farms in February 2016, there was a very real fear the industry, nationwide, was facing long years in the wilderness. The devastating impact of POMS on New South Wales growers in 2010 – Australia’s … Continue reading POMS: where is the Pacific Oyster industry now?

Artificial intelligence shakes up drug discovery

September 11, 2019September 11, 2019No Comments

From The Scientist, 1 May 2019: Australia’s government drug safety watchdog sounded the alarm about the oral antifungal agent terbinafine in 1996. The drug, sold under the brand name Lamisil by pharma giant Novartis, had come onto the market in 1993 for the treatment of fungal skin infections and thrush. But three years later, the … Continue reading Artificial intelligence shakes up drug discovery

Australia’s shark status update

June 5, 2019No Comments

From Fish magazine, June 2019: One of the more heated debates to stir the blood of Australian shark experts has been the question of the health of the nation’s Greynurse Shark (Carcharias taurus) populations. In 2003, experts from the east coast were calling for the species to be listed as critically endangered. But their colleagues … Continue reading Australia’s shark status update

The push for blue carbon

June 5, 2019No Comments

From Fish magazine, March 2019: The term ‘carbon farming’ usually conjures images of land-based agricultural and forestry initiatives. But there’s a new kid on the carbon-farming block, and it occupies the rich ecological niches that hug Australia’s extensive coastline. As an island nation, Australia boasts one of the longest coastlines in the world: nearly 60,000 … Continue reading The push for blue carbon

Navigating the world: why we all really need to get lost

June 3, 2019June 4, 2019No Comments

From the Sydney Morning Herald, 1 June 2019: ‘‘Get lost’’ is an insult most commonly flung around a primary-school playground. But according to science journalist M. R. O’Connor’s latest book, Wayfinding, it could be the very thing that holds the secret to our species’ intelligence, and its survival. ‘‘At a time of social change and … Continue reading Navigating the world: why we all really need to get lost

The biotechnologists making their mark on the international stage

May 30, 2019May 30, 2019No Comments

From Nature, 29 May 2019: Western nations claim much of the glory when it comes to biotechnology, but scientists elsewhere are making substantial progress. Meet five amazing biotechnology scientists working in Jamaica, Nepal, Malaysia, South Africa and Thailand. Read more.

Stem-cell and genetic therapies make a healthy marriage

May 20, 2019May 20, 2019No Comments

From Nature, 15 May 2019: Aside from a 20-second exposure to the outside world at birth, David Vetter spent his entire life cocooned in plastic. Afflicted by severe combined immunodeficiency or SCID, a hereditary disease that severely compromises or destroys the immune system, the ‘boy in the bubble’ was exquisitely vulnerable to infection. Eventually, a … Continue reading Stem-cell and genetic therapies make a healthy marriage

Inside Australia’s plan to survive bigger, badder bushfires

April 25, 2019April 25, 2019No Comments

From MIT Technology Review, 25 April 2019: The Blue Mountains are burning. I stand in the doorway of our home and take a long look around: the handmade rugs, the jumble of artworks, the shelves crammed with books, the scattered toys. The house is a tinderbox: wooden walls, doors, balcony, window frames, all built into … Continue reading Inside Australia’s plan to survive bigger, badder bushfires