freelance science journalist and author
From The Saturday Paper, 3 August 2024: The beaches of South America’s south-eastern and western coastlines are breeding grounds for sea lions. Every year, hundreds of thousands of these marine mammals converge in riotous crowds along the sandy and rocky beaches that stretch from Lima and Rio de Janeiro down to the southern-most tip of … Continue reading Authorities race to combat the threat of bird flu
From Nature, 12 July 2024: A New Zealand court has ruled that the University of Auckland breached its obligations to protect high-profile microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles from the intense abuse and harassment she experienced while providing public information about the COVID-19 pandemic. But the court did not find that the university had suppressed Wiles’ academic freedom … Continue reading Microbiologist wins case against university over harassment during COVID
From The Saturday Paper, 1 June 2024: Tuesday, May 7, was an ordinary, moderate autumn day in New South Wales; nothing to suggest a risk of excessive electricity use, price spikes or blackouts. Between 5.15pm and 5.20pm, however, the wholesale spot price of electricity skyrocketed from about $450 per megawatt-hour – typical for that time … Continue reading Fossil fuels are unreliable backstops in the energy transition
From Nature, 22 May 2024: As a vocal advocate of vaccinations for public health, Peter Hotez was no stranger to online harassment and threats. But then the abuse showed up on his doorstep. It was a Sunday during a brutal Texas heatwave in June 2023 when a man turned up at Hotez’s home, filming himself … Continue reading Harassment of scientists is surging — institutions aren’t sure how to help
From Nature, 20 May 2024: A ubiquitous household pest has unexpected origins. A cockroach that lives in human dwellings all over the world is known as the German cockroach — but it did not come from Germany originally. A study published today1 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that the creature … Continue reading The origin of the cockroach: how a notorious pest conquered the world
From the Guardian, 1 April 2024: There’s a meme featuring a confident, suave, smiling Henry Cavill – the actor best known for playing Superman – posing for photographers on the red carpet. Sneaking up behind him is wild-looking, maniacally gleeful co-star Jason Momoa. To me, this is the perfect metaphor for perimenopause. Cavill is at … Continue reading ‘I’m as baffled as the next ovary-owner’: navigating the science of treating menopause
From the BMJ, 5 March 2024: Fewer than one in 10 Australians now smoke tobacco daily, although rates of vaping in teenagers and young adults have almost tripled in five years, a survey of more than 21 000 people has found. Research by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare in people aged 14 and over … Continue reading Smoking rates in Australia drop below 10%, but vaping increases
From Nature, 27 March 2024: Posting about a research paper on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) doesn’t translate into a bump in citations, according to a study that looked at 550 papers. The finding comes as scientists are moving away from the platform in the wake of changes after its 2022 purchase … Continue reading Tweeting your research paper boosts engagement but not citations
From Nature, 5 February 2024: The planet has already passed 1.5 °C of warming, according to a new measuring technique that goes back further in time than current methods. At the 2015 Paris Climate Accords, nations agreed not to exceed 1.5 °C, a guardrail of climate change. “We have an alternate record of global warming,” … Continue reading The world has warmed 1.5 °C, according to 300-year-old sponges
From Nature, 8 March 2023: Andrew Mallett was training to be a kidney specialist at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital in Australia in 2011 when he met an 18-year-old man whose kidneys were on the verge of collapse. Struck by how unusual this condition was in an otherwise fit, healthy young person, Mallett asked … Continue reading The genetic revolution transforming kidney disease
Bianca Nogrady 