freelance science journalist and author
Science reporting
From Australian Geographic, 17 June 2024 It was the early 2000s, and Trevor Barry had just enrolled in a graduate certificate of science in astronomy at Swinburne University of Technology. The fact he hadn’t completed high school, let alone a university degree, proved only a minor impediment to enrolment for the already accomplished amateur astronomer. … Continue reading Outback Starman
From The Saturday Paper, 8 February 2025: In less than three weeks since he took office, United States President Donald Trump has thrown the global powerhouse of American science and medical research into disarray. The impact is spreading to Australian researchers, whose concerns range from their access to funding and ability to collaborate, to the … Continue reading US censorship, funding cuts stymie Australian science research
One of the great privileges of being a science journalist is getting to talk to fascinating, passionate, engaged, brilliant scientists. So when the State Library of New South Wales, Australia asked if I was interested in being the interviewer for an oral history project they were interested in establishing, focusing on women in STEM in … Continue reading Women in STEM NSW oral history project
From ABC Science, 7 August 2024: A 700,000-year-old fragment of arm bone has shed light on the origins of the early human species known as the “hobbit”. The tiny piece of bone is from an early hobbit (Homo floresiensis) individual, which researchers estimate was just 100 centimetres tall. This was 6cm smaller than its descendants, … Continue reading Smallest adult human arm bone fossil so far discovered points to origins of ‘hobbit’
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 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 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 the Guardian, 8 January 2024: A good espresso coffee is sexy as hell. It flows out of the machine at a languid pace, initially dark and brooding, before shifting into a golden foam that would bat its eyelashes at you if it had them. Once settled in the glass, it breathes out and releases … Continue reading ‘Give the espresso a little swirl’: the very particular science of a good cup of coffee
Bianca Nogrady 