freelance science journalist and author
From Ecos magazine, 7 October 2014: Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a land of diversity, home to hundreds of ethnic groups who between them speak 848 different languages. Its geography ranges from extensive coral reefs, to dense lowland rainforest, to snow-capped peaks more than 4 kilometres above sea level. It is one of the world’s … Continue reading Knowledge a key ingredient for PNG food security
From ABC Environment, 10 September 2014: Sparkles in your toothpaste. Exfoliating body scrub. Deep facial cleansers. When reading through the ingredients on your bathroom items, one item you wouldn’t expect to see is plastic. However, a significant number of personal care and cosmetic products contain tiny particles of plastic, called microbeads. Sometimes they’re added as an … Continue reading Microplastic beads: how your exfoliating scrub might be harming the ocean
From ABC News in Science, 14 July 2014: Declines in rainfall over south-west Australia over the last 40 years are linked to greenhouse gases and ozone depletion, new climate models show. And the trend is likely to continue according to research, published today in Nature Geoscience , that predicts a 40 per cent reduction in … Continue reading Rainfall decline in south-west Australia linked to climate change
From Ecos Magazine, 10 July 2014: As citizens living in a developed economy, we have a certain level of control over our health. Most of us have access to medicines, treatments and health services designed to cure our ills, or at least minimise pain. We also have access to information about dietary and lifestyle choices … Continue reading Hot and bothered: our health under climate change
From ABC News in Science, 9 July 2014: Plant-eating tropical fish species are causing serious damage to algae and kelp forests in sub-tropical and temperate regions around the world, an international team of experts warn. The findings come from a review published today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, which suggests that climate … Continue reading Tropical fish threaten kelp and algae
From ABC News in Science, 3 July 2014: Two dolphin species in north-western Australia are vulnerable to local extinction because they rarely mingle with their own kind outside their immediate location, a new study has found. The genetic analysis, published today in PLOS ONE, also identified one of the first cases of successful breeding between … Continue reading Vulnerable dolphins keep to themselves
From ABC News in Science, 25 June 2014: The unique damselfish practice of cultivating their favourite type of algae on coral reefs contributes to an increase in coral disease, Australian researchers have found. The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, also suggests that overfishing of other fish species may contribute to … Continue reading Damselfish ‘algal gardens’ harbour coral disease
From ABC News in Science, 24 April 2014: Citizen science has proven its worth by delivering better quality data on shark populations than conventional acoustic tagging methods, and at lower cost. Researchers from Australia and Palau compared data collected by professional dive guides in Palau with acoustic telemetry data from tagged sharks at the same … Continue reading Citizen science a winner for shark conservation
From ABC News in Science, 10 March 2014: Elephants are able to distinguish between friendly humans and those more likely to pose a threat, based solely on vocal cues, new research shows. The study, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examines the extent to which African elephants use human voice … Continue reading Elephants tell human friend from foe by voice
From ABC News in Science, 26 February 2014: Once creatures of the night, cane toads are now becoming active during the day to adapt as they move into semi-arid regions of Australia. Australian researchers used acoustic tags normally used to track fish movements and discovered that cane toads were accessing a dam during daylight hours, … Continue reading Desert cane toads no longer nocturnal
Bianca Nogrady 