freelance science journalist and author
From ABC Science, Friday 13 October 2017: Mystery and intrigue surrounds the life and times of people who created the famous Moai statues on Rapa Nui off the coast of Chile — and a new study suggests they were more isolated than previously thought. While it is widely accepted that the remote island, dubbed Easter … Continue reading DNA shows no trace of contact between ancient Easter Islanders and South America
From ABC News in Science, 3 August 2017: Trapdoor spiders are reluctant travellers, but millions of years ago one species appears to have made an epic journey from Africa across the vast Indian Ocean to call Australia home. The Australian trapdoor spider — Moggridgea rainbowi — which is found on Kangaroo Island is famously provincial, … Continue reading Australian trapdoor spider may be a seafaring castaway from Africa
From ABC News in Science, 29 July 2017 A compound that may form cell wall-like structures has been detected in the dense atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan. The discovery, reported today in Science Advances, was made using the highly sensitive Atacama Large Millimeter Array radio telescope in Chile. Saturn’s largest moon has long been considered … Continue reading Molecule found in Titan’s atmosphere may form cell-like membranes
From ABC Science, 8 June 2017: Astronomers have used the gravitational warping of light, predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago, to measure the mass of a distant star for the first time. The team, led by Kailash Sahu of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, measured the mass of a white dwarf star … Continue reading Einstein’s ‘impossible’ hope: Light bending theory directly observed in distant stars for first time
From ABC Science, 31 May 2017: Mummies from ancient Egypt have revealed another secret — some of them share very little of the sub-Saharan African ancestry that dominates the genetic heritage of modern Egyptians. The discovery, published today in Nature Communications, suggests the African heritage evident in modern Egyptian populations may have been the result … Continue reading Who were the ancient Egyptians? Mummy DNA reveals surprising clues
From ABC Science, 30 May 2017: Arctic peatlands may become a substantial source of a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide when they thaw, a new study suggests. The study by a team of Scandinavian scientists indicated that thawing permafrost could release nitrous oxide (N2O) — also known as ‘laughing gas’ — … Continue reading Arctic peatlands may release potent greenhouse gas as permafrost thaws
From ABC Science, 23 February 2017: Seven Earth-sized planets, many of which could harbour life, have been discovered orbiting a dwarf star in our own galactic neighbourhood. The complex alien solar system hosts the largest number yet of detected worlds capable of having liquid water on their surface, a team of astronomers reported on Thursday … Continue reading Alien solar system of seven Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby dwarf star could be rich with water and life
From ABC Science, 15 February 2017: The discovery of a fossil of a pregnant marine reptile has provided the first evidence that an ancestor of modern-day birds and crocodiles gave birth to live young. The fossil of the long-necked Dinocephalosaurus, which swam the seas during the Middle Triassic period around 245 million years ago, was … Continue reading Pregnant reptile fossil suggests bird ancestors gave birth to live young
From ABC News in Science, 22 November 2016: The production of cement is a major source of carbon dioxide, but new research suggests the material that makes up our concrete jungles also plays an important role in reabsorbing carbon emissions. But as cement ages and weathers over time, it also absorbs carbon dioxide in … Continue reading Concrete products reabsorb nearly half CO2 released in cement manufacture
From ABC Science, 8 November 2016: You may struggle to see your computer screen as you get older, but we are not the only primates to suffer from declining vision as we age. The discovery, published today in the journal Current Biology, challenges the idea that we live longer after the end of our reproductive … Continue reading Bonobos suffer from failing eyesight as they get older
Bianca Nogrady 