freelance science journalist and author
Science reporting
From ABC News in Science, 25 April 2013: Studying for an exam? Clench your right hand. Trying to remember a phone number? Clench your left. That’s the suggestion of a new study into the effects of fist clenching on memory. US researchers have examined the effect of single fist clenching on memory, based on the … Continue reading Total recall just a fist clench away
From ABC News in Science, 22 April 2013: Average temperatures around the world in the last thirty years of the 20th century were higher than any other time in nearly 1400 years. That’s the conclusion of the first climate reconstruction to examine global climate change from a regional perspective by an international network of climatologists … Continue reading Late 20th century hottest in over 1000 years
From ABC News in Science, 9 April 2013: After aeons of speculation, science has finally answered the biggest question of all – Does penis size matter? – with a resounding ‘yes’. Australian researchers have found that penis size is just as important as height when it comes to female assessment of male attractiveness, and that … Continue reading It’s official: penis size does matter
From ABC News in Science, 11 March 2013: The diseased arteries of ancient mummies are challenging modern assumptions about the causes of cardiovascular disease. Whole-body CT scans of 137 mummies from different countries, cultures and lifestyles spanning 4000 years of history has found evidence of hardened arteries in at least one-third of the mummies. The … Continue reading Heart disease a 4000-year old ‘serial killer’
From Fish magazine, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, March 2013: For a fish as prevalent and important as the West Australian Dhufish, its offspring have remained under the research radar for a remarkably long time. Endemic to Western Australia, the Dhufish (Glaucosoma hebraicum) is a favourite of recreational and commercial fishers. But, until recently, little … Continue reading The early life of the West Australian dhufish
From Fish magazine, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, March 2013: Genetic technology provides a powerful new tool to understand how wild fish populations live, grow and change, and help ensure the longterm sustainability of wild fisheries. Genetic technology has an enormous amount to offer the industry, from those in the fisheries right through to the … Continue reading Genetic technology in the management of wild fisheries
From Ecos Magazine, 25 February 2013: It’s difficult to imagine how anyone involved with saving the Tasmanian devil could find much cause for optimism. Devil numbers are plummeting so drastically that if nothing is done, they could become extinct in the wild within two decades. But conservation efforts recently reached a significant milestone that may … Continue reading Devil of a disease
From ABC Science, News in Science, February 18, 2013: Mesolithic hunter-gatherers living on a meat-dominated, grain-free diet had much healthier mouths that we have today, with almost no cavities and gum disease-associated bacteria, a genetic study of ancient dental plaque has revealed. The international team of researchers, led by a group at the Australian Centre … Continue reading Tooth decay bacteria evolved as diet changed
From ABC Science Online, News in Science, 10 October: Reconstructing dinosaurs from ancient DNA has been dealt a blow with a new study finding genetic material can only last one million years. An international team of researchers reached the finding after analysing DNA extracted from bones of the extinct New Zealand moa. They found that … Continue reading DNA dating study kills off ‘Jurassic Park’
From Scientific American, March 2009: Even in the teeming and varied world of bacteria, Wolbachia is something of a standout. Within its insect host, the bacterium acts as a gender-bending, egg-killing, DNA-hijacking parasite that is passed down from one generation to the next via the female to her eggs. Hosted by at least one fifth … Continue reading A bug for a bug for a bug
Bianca Nogrady 