The ‘Holy Grail’ of fruit fly traps has been launched , dramatically boosting Australia’s potential for agricultural production in what is already a multibillion dollar industry. Griffith University and agricultural product…
A populist tighter ivory trade ban is not enough to save Africa’s elephants
A disproportionate amount of the agenda at The 17th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) was dominated by African elephants and the…
Billions invested in Australia’s water reform – but is the journey over?
In the past 12 years, Australian governments have invested more than $13 billion in water reforms designed to tackle increasing water demands, ageing water infrastructure, inefficient water use and uncertain…
DNA reveals a new history of the First Australians
Understanding the history of Aboriginal Australians, their origins and how their population changed over some 50,000-plus years has always been an enormous challenge. Many Aboriginal people have their own origin…
EVENT: The Genomic History of Aboriginal Australia
On 6 October a public lecture and discussion panel was given at the Ship Inn in Brisbane with a selection of the authors of the recently published Nature paper, ‘The…
The world’s carbon stores are going up in smoke with vanishing wilderness
The Earth’s last intact wilderness areas are shrinking dramatically. In a recently published paper we showed that the world has lost 3.3 million square kilometres of wilderness (around 10% of…
What we have in common with corals and their unexplored microbial world
Ever had a gut feeling that you have something in common with a coral reef? Well, you do. Both humans and corals rely on microorganisms to function normally. Across all…
Tasmanian devils evolving rapidly to fight cancer
For the past 20 years, an infectious cancer has been killing wild Tasmanian devils, creating a massive challenge for conservationists. But new research, published today in Nature Communications, suggests that…
Can buying up fishing licences save Australia’s sharks?
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) recently raised over A$200,000 to buy shark fishing licences in Queensland’s waters. They estimate the licences, for operating nets in and around the Great Barrier…
EVENT: Making the most of the innovation agenda: Science, technology & innovation policy for economic growth
From the sheep’s back to the resources boom Australia’s economic drivers are constantly changing. We are now in the information age where data has moved from a backroom process of…