If you're lucky enough to live somewhere with a backyard, you're probably also used to doing daily battle with your local weeds. And if you think weeding a backyard is tough, imagine how challenging it is to keep an entire farm free of weeds!Herbicide-resistant weeds are setting up home on farms across Australia and the world, and can outcomp...

 This summer, a coalition of researchers led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reported the first-ever use of a fibre-optic cable network to eavesdrop on whales in the Arctic. Now they suggest these networks be used to establish a low-cost global ocean-earth observatory.The more-than 1.2 million km of fibre-optic cables tha...

 In partnership with Sydney Water, UTS researchers have built an innovative remote-controlled robot to traverse the pipes beneath our feet and identify dangerous concrete corrosion.Concrete corrosion in sewers is a significant global challenge. Due to ageing infrastructure, and increasing sewage temperatures (caused by urbanisation), the risk ...

 In 2022, a record number of arctic foxes were born in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The inventory, in which researchers at Stockholm University have a leading role, shows 164 new fox litters.As recently as the turn of the millennium, the arctic fox was close to extinction in Sweden and Norway. There were then only 40–60 individuals. The fjällrä...

 Monkeys, apes and lemurs are cute, familiar and lovable. But an estimated 60% of all primate species are listed as vulnerable, threatened or endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a network of environmental organisations.You've probably heard about the main problems, like deforestation and the loss of hab...

 A team of researchers led by Silvia Di Angelantonio of the Vittorio Erspamer Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Nanotechnologies for neurosciences laboratory, coordinated by Giancarlo Ruocco of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), in collaboration with Columbia University, has published an article in the journal Cell Repo...

 Oleic acid, the main component of olive oil, offers properties that help prevent cancer, Alzheimer's or reduce cholesterol. The beneficial health effects of olive oil, commonly attributed to its minor components, such as polyphenols, have already been well established by science. But little attention has been paid to oleic acid, which ac...

 Yale researchers have a new theory to explain some of the geochemistry of "hotspots" — magma plumes from deep in the Earth that erupt at the surface.Hawaii and Iceland are tourist hotspots — and it turns out they're popular with geochemical travelers as well.A new Yale study suggests that throughout Earth's history, natural processes propelle...

Bushfire-generated alluvial fans in southeast Australia – a Holocene record of changing bushfire activity and climate change (Dr Philip Marren)Funded by the Australian Institute of Nuclear Sciences and Engineering (AINSE, 2014); University of Chester QR Award.Post-bushfire debris flows are a common occurrence in many mountainous landscapes. Alluvia...

 New international research reveals warming in temperate regions leads to species gains at sea, but not on land.The research, led by scientists from the Universities of Helsinki and St Andrews and Radboud University in the Netherlands, in collaboration with other international researchers, and published in Nature Ecology and Evolution today (M...

 Researchers have found a long-searched for giant carbon reservoir buried in the Southern Ocean between Tasmania and Antarctica. The reservoir is the result of a dramatic carbon drawdown 34 million years ago that transitioned Earth away from a hothouse planet into the ice-capped one it is now.A huge amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide—up to 6...

 Creatures of the sea hold many mysteries, not least of all fish. Far from being silent entities of the ocean, some species of fish have been recorded singing, and their songs can help researchers to understand more about their biodiversity and ecosystems.Associate Professor Robert McCauley and Research Fellow Dr Miles Parsons from the Centre ...

A deeper dive into our space researchWhat we don't know about space yet, that void of knowledge, makes up one of the world's most exhilarating areas of research. For over 60 years we've pioneered space research, having discovered the first known black hole in our galaxy. Leicester space pioneers have built over 90 instruments launched into space, i...

 Team Polar, a student team at Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e), took their first rover to perform research in the Norwegian snow in the first week of January. The team is dedicated to developing an independent rover that can perform Antarctic research. This is their first working prototype and the team is eager to set a benchmark for...

 Researchers at Rochester and Erlangen have taken a decisive step toward creating ultrafast computers.A long-standing quest for science and technology has been to develop electronics and information processing that operate near the fastest timescales allowed by the laws of nature.A promising way to achieve this goal involves using laser light ...

Over recent years since 2011 and apparently at random, super-groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) ranging from 20 to 200 have been observed in the coastal region of the Southern Benguela current between St Helena Bay and Cape Point on the west coast of South Africa. The sightings have been reported since then by several members of the...

Irreversible loss of the West Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets, and a corresponding rapid acceleration of sea-level rise, may be imminent if global temperature change cannot be stabilized below 1.8°C, compared to preindustrial levels. That finding was published in Nature Communications by an international team of scientists, including Fabian Schl...

Southampton researchers have developed the world's first robust method for estimating the value and mass of this space junk.A fully circular economy for space – removing space junk and reusing or recycling it – is a viable possibility to safeguard the future for satellites and space exploration, according to new research from the University of Sout...

 Griffith University's Head of ICT, Professor Paulo de Souza, says a highly anticipated funding announcement by the federal government to build a space manufacturing and test hub on the Gold Coast presents an incredible opportunity for space fans, students, researchers and the emerging industry as a whole."This is brilliant news for Australian...

An international team of scientists has proved that Mercury, our solar system's smallest planet, has geomagnetic storms similar to those on Earth.The research by scientists in the United States, Canada and China includes work by Hui Zhang, a space physics professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.Their finding, a first, ...