freelance science journalist and author
From The Guardian, 26 January 2024: Last year was the hottest year in recorded history. Global average temperatures over 2023 nudged towards 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and for two days in November, they reached 2C above those levels. With a hotter planet come more intense – and therefore more deadly – heatwaves. Extreme heat is already … Continue reading What happens to your body during extreme heat?
From The Guardian, 4 February 2024: The comedian and actor Hannah Gadsby quipped in her hit show Nanette that she identified as [pause for dramatic effect] “tired”. In a monologue that resonated with many hard truths, that one particularly struck home for me. The common refrain is so many of us are exhausted, have trouble … Continue reading Big brain boost? What science says about the power of nootropics to enhance our minds
From The Guardian, 18 February 2024: On a rainy night in London, a young woman walks towards the entrance of a sidestreet, smiling to herself as she recalls the evening spent with the friend she just farewelled at the train station. She’s about to walk down the poorly-lit shortcut that will take her back to … Continue reading Go with your gut: the science and psychology behind our sense of intuition
From Cosmos, 21 December 2023: “Where did you come from, where did you go, where did you come from, neutrino?” This 1880’s folk tune – Cotton-Eyed Joe – now popular with line dancers, could well have been adapted to be the theme of last week’s gathering of scientists from around the world who gathered in Sydney to … Continue reading Scientists agree on new group to search for dark matter
From Nature, 13 December 2023: Australian Indigenous communities from different regions in the north and centre of the country are some of the most genetically distinct people on the planet, according to a pair of studies published in Nature today. Indigenous Australian communities have the highest rate of genetic variation outside people in Africa. Hundreds … Continue reading Australian Indigenous genomes are highly diverse and unlike those anywhere else
From Nature, 13 December 2023: When it comes to renewable energy, India is lucky to have an abundance of natural resources. It is the seventh-largest nation on Earth, occupying around 2% of the planet’s land mass, and has a mainland coastline that stretches for 7,500 kilometres. Most regions experience between 250 and 300 sunny days … Continue reading Renewable energy for the subcontinent
From Nature, 13 December 2023: Faced with a skyrocketing rate of antimicrobial resistance, which is estimated to cause or contribute to millions of deaths around the world each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2017 created a classification system for antimicrobial drugs. The WHO’s system, AWaRe, places all available antimicrobials into three categories: access, … Continue reading The fight against antimicrobial resistance
From the BMJ, 16 December 2023: Australia has become the first country to ban engineered stone, a popular material for kitchen and bathroom benchtops, after documenting hundreds of cases of silicosis in workers in the industry who were exposed to dust from cutting the product. Work health and safety ministers approved a ban on the … Continue reading Australia bans engineered stone because of silicosis risk
From Nature, 28 November 2023: Scientists have reacted with alarm at a proposal by the Australian Department of Defence to control information sharing with foreign researchers, even those working in Australia. If it is passed, the proposed Defence Trade Controls Amendment Bill 2023 would affect scores of scientists working in Australia and have a chilling … Continue reading “My collaborations would see me jailed”: Australian researchers fear proposed new laws
From Nature, 21 November 2023: Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles is suing her employer, the University of Auckland, in New Zealand’s employment court. She alleges that the university’s management “failed in their duty to keep her safe in her employment” while, as a high-profile scientist providing public information about the COVID-19 pandemic, she was subjected to “vitriolic … Continue reading Microbiologist who was harassed during COVID pandemic sues university
Bianca Nogrady 