freelance science journalist and author
I recently took part in a panel discussion looking at traditional publishing versus e-/independent/self-publishing, as part of the Blue Lab Creative Industries Symposium. It was a useful exercise, in that it made me look at exactly why I have chosen – and intend to keep choosing – the traditional publishing route for my books. My … Continue reading The pros and cons of traditional publishing
From Monash Magazine, February 2015: Look at any landscape painting and there is a good chance that clouds will have a prominent presence. But the dazzling diversity of shapes and hues that captures the imaginations of artists is also what makes clouds so perplexing for meteorologists and climatologists. Clouds are still one of the least … Continue reading Climate science is in the clouds
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 17 March 2015: How many times have you been told that if you’re prescribed antibiotics, you must always finish the full course, even if you’re feeling better? The popular notion has always been that if you don’t complete the full course, you’re encouraging the development of antibiotic resistance. But in … Continue reading Antibiotics – when is enough enough?
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 1 June 2015: Time poor? Of course you are. Who isn’t, these days? We’re all desperately trying to cram two-days’ worth of activity into one, and it seems like everything has to have happened yesterday. Deadlines scream at you while yet another crumpled note from your child’s school gently nudges … Continue reading Time or money? Why you need both to be healthy
From ABC Health & Wellbeing, 14 May 2015: When it comes to healing the sick, we look to doctors. When it comes to preventing us from getting sick in the first place, many say we should look to governments. That’s because the vast majority of our biggest killers, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, lung … Continue reading Understanding what really makes us sick
From ABC Science, 5 June 2015: A highly resistant malaria parasite hijacks resources in immature red blood cells to defend itself against the impact of anti-malarial drugs, researchers have found. The study, by Australian and Scottish researchers, looks at how different species of malaria parasite behave inside the human body. Their findings, published today in … Continue reading Malaria parasite hijacks red blood cells to beat drugs
From ABC News in Science, 12 May 2015: Sea levels over the past two decades have risen faster than previously thought, suggests a new study that reassesses the accuracy of satellite data. The study by an international team of scientists, published today in Nature Climate Change , compares satellite records of sea levels made from … Continue reading Satellite data indicates sea level rise accelerating
From ABC Environment, 10 March 2015: THERE IS SOMETHING about extreme age that fills us with awe. It’s hard not to feel it, when standing in the presence of a huge eucalypt that has raised its branches to the sun since long before European settlement. Or when watching the silent majestic form of an immense … Continue reading Eight things in nature so old you’ll feel young
From ABC News in Science, 12 March 2015: A deadly strain of bird flu known to infect humans is spreading rapidly and silently through chicken populations across China. The findings, published today in Nature, raise fears of a bird flu pandemic, as the sheer size of this disease reservoir increases the likelihood of a mutation … Continue reading Silent spread of bird flu raises pandemic fears
From ABC News in Science, 5 March 2015: The discovery of a 2.8-million-year-old partial jawbone in Africa could rewrite the history of human evolution. An international team of researchers found the lower jawbone, complete with teeth, at the Ledi-Geraru site in the Ethiopian Rift Valley, and published the finding in a report today in the … Continue reading Fossil jaw found in Ethiopia a missing link in the human evolution puzzle
Bianca Nogrady 