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A ‘great and merciless thinning:’ the vanishing world of insects
Michael Malay | November 12, 2018Insect populations are plummeting around the world, due to pesticides, climate change and habitat loss, threatening the ecosystems which depend on them. Imagining the disappearance of species through literature can help motivate a real life fight for their survival.
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Drugs in our waterways, the bugs and beyond
Open Forum | November 8, 2018Medicines designed for humans are finding their way into our rivers and streams and are accumulating in insects and their predators with potentially damaging effects on the food chain.
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Saving the last of the Earth’s wilderness
Open Forum | November 2, 2018The world’s last wilderness areas are rapidly disappearing, and explicit international conservation targets critically needed to protect them.
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Modelling the tsunami threat to Sydney
Open Forum | October 17, 2018Whirlpools at the Spit, inundation of Manly Corso and major disruptions are possible impacts revealed in a first-of-its-kind study into the tsunami threat to all of Sydney Harbour.
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Scientists uncover volcanic lost world off the Tasmanian coast
Open Forum | October 12, 2018Scientists studying ocean productivity have uncovered a volcanic lost world teeming with marine life off the Tasmanian coast.
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How are we doing on a ‘Green New Deal?’
Edward Robinson | October 9, 2018As the IPCC publishes its new report on global warming of 1.5 degrees, we need a political and economic stock-take on the measures we’re taking to fight climate change.
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Protecting thirsty urban trees from ever harsher summers
Stephanie Choo | October 8, 2018Urban forests are great for keeping our cities cool, but as temperatures go up they need water to survive – and that’s where redirecting storm water to street trees comes in.
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Lilly Pilly fossils reveal snowless Snowy Mountains
Open Forum | October 8, 2018Leaf fossils discovered high in Australia’s Snowy Mountains have revealed a past history of warmer rainforest vegetation and a lack of snow, in contrast with the alpine vegetation and winter snow-covered slopes of today.
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Recycling goes to landfill while technology sits idle
Stuart Snell | October 6, 2018People are losing confidence in recycling and overwhelmingly want government to support better solutions, according to a new university survey.
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Stronger winds could trigger rapid change in Southern Ocean
Open Forum | October 5, 2018A new IMAS study has found that an increase in average wind speeds could lead to abrupt physical changes in the Southern Ocean, with significant implications for climate change.
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Engineering plants for a sustainable future
Staffan Persson | October 4, 2018Scientists have discovered the genetic master switches for a plant’s body mass production, creating the potential to produce new biomaterials and bioplastics.
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3D scanning reveals secrets of extinct starfish
Christy Hipsley | October 4, 2018Advanced digital imaging has ‘virtually dissected’ the Derwent River Seastar, confirming it as a new but extinct species without damaging the precious remaining specimens.