Author: Bianca Nogrady

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

Einstein’s ‘impossible’ hope: Light bending theory directly observed in distant stars for first time

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From ABC Science, 8 June 2017: Astronomers have used the gravitational warping of light, predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago, to measure the mass of a distant star for the first time. The team, led by Kailash Sahu of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, measured the mass of a white dwarf star … Continue reading Einstein’s ‘impossible’ hope: Light bending theory directly observed in distant stars for first time

Who were the ancient Egyptians? Mummy DNA reveals surprising clues

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From ABC Science, 31 May 2017: Mummies from ancient Egypt have revealed another secret — some of them share very little of the sub-Saharan African ancestry that dominates the genetic heritage of modern Egyptians. The discovery, published today in Nature Communications, suggests the African heritage evident in modern Egyptian populations may have been the result … Continue reading Who were the ancient Egyptians? Mummy DNA reveals surprising clues

Arctic peatlands may release potent greenhouse gas as permafrost thaws

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From ABC Science, 30 May 2017: Arctic peatlands may become a substantial source of a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide when they thaw, a new study suggests. The study by a team of Scandinavian scientists indicated that thawing permafrost could release nitrous oxide (N2O) — also known as ‘laughing gas’ — … Continue reading Arctic peatlands may release potent greenhouse gas as permafrost thaws

Smart city: using technology to tackle traffic and social isolation in Melbourne

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From The Guardian, 19 June 2017: Traffic congestion and social isolation are two concepts that don’t immediately appear to be connected. But in 2012, the Grattan Institute’s Social Cities report drew a direct line between inefficient urban transport and less time spent with friends and family. One estimate suggested every 10 minutes of commuting equates … Continue reading Smart city: using technology to tackle traffic and social isolation in Melbourne

Battery storage and rooftop solar could mean new life post-grid for consumers

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From The Guardian, 13 June 2017: To illustrate the impact of battery storage on the electricity network in Australia, Prof Guoxiu Wang likes to compare it to the invention of refrigeration. “Before people invented the fridge, we produced food, we consumed food immediately,” says Wang, director of the Centre for Clean Energy Technology at the … Continue reading Battery storage and rooftop solar could mean new life post-grid for consumers

How Australia can use hydrogen to export its solar power around the world

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From The Guardian, 19 May 2017: Nearly a century ago, British scientist JB Haldane saw an energy future in which wind power would be used to generate hydrogen; a fuel he described as, weight-for-weight, the most efficient known method of storing energy. He thought this future was four hundred years away, but the so-called “hydrogen … Continue reading How Australia can use hydrogen to export its solar power around the world

Australian funding agency announces new chief

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From Nature Index, 28 April 2017: The appointment of Sue Thomas as head of the Australian Research Council adds to a growing number of women at the helms of Australia’s key scientific agencies and funding bodies. Thomas, currently the provost and deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of New England, will take over from Aidan Byrne … Continue reading Australian funding agency announces new chief

Age discrimination: older Australian workers viewed as slow to learn

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From The Guardian, 20 April 2017: The trope of the older worker thrust back into the hurly-burly of working life made for great comedy in the 2015 film The Intern. But in reality this scenario isn’t always such a laughing matter. Older workers face unique hardships. Hampered by unfair stereotypes about their abilities, their role … Continue reading Age discrimination: older Australian workers viewed as slow to learn

Food security: the gene banks future-proofing Australian agriculture

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From The Guardian, 27 April 2017: n February 2018 the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the remote Norwegian Arctic will celebrate its 10th anniversary. Among the gifts it will receive are two collections of precious seeds and grains from the Australian Pastures Genebank and the Australian Grains Genebank, to be deposited into the vault as … Continue reading Food security: the gene banks future-proofing Australian agriculture

Seaweed on shortlist in co-culture trial

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From Fish magazine, December 2016: Native seaweeds could be the next big thing in Australian aquaculture, as businesses look to diversify their income streams and improve water quality at the same time. Researchers at the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) have been investigating integrated multitrophic aquaculture. This describes the co-culture of organisms where … Continue reading Seaweed on shortlist in co-culture trial