Natalie Parletta, PhD - Freelance Science Writer

Chips off the old block: most potatoes suffer depression

A large proportion of the world’s potato crops are suffering from severe depression, according to researchers.

Ag science gets the feminine touch

Fiona Simson’s election as the first female president of the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) in 2016 reflects the revolution under way in agricultural science.

Rice is a major source of arsenic exposure

Researchers have verified that rice – grown and cooked in water – is a key food source of inorganic arsenic.

Barbecued meat: avoid char and limit drips to reduce cancer risk

Barbecue-cooked meat represents a significant cancer risk, according to Danish researchers.

Mechanical engineers have revealed the extraordinary complexities involved in cooking perfect fried rice. Making an authentic stir-requires quickly tossing ingredients in a wok over extremely high temperatures up to 1200 degrees Celsius

Cosmos Magazine

Major study finds smaller role for genes in ageing

A surprising new study combined family trees from over 400 million people and discovered that genes play a considerably smaller role than previously thought in how long people live.

The Refresh

Human training for happier dogs

I should have known when she yanked me off of my feet, face first into the mud as we walked to the car. I was leaving a dog sanctuary on Cockatoo Lane in South Australian countryside with my new adopted dog, Gemma.

Health Agenda Magazine

Robots to the rescue

For people with autism, a chat in a cafe could be a confusing and overwhelming experience. You might be distracted by the multiple conversations taking place and the loud sounds of the coffee machine. You might not understand the non-verbal cues of the waitress or the expression on her face.

Essential Kids, Sydney Morning Herald

Harnessing the power of video games to teach children empathy

Violent video games have long been blamed for increased aggression and decreased empathy in the teenagers who play them – but thankfully the news is not all bad.

The QUO

Championing children to reduce food waste

If you were to visit a primary school in Sydney’s Canterbury-Bankstown area, be careful not to throw a half-eaten apple or banana away. You might be reprimanded by a “food fighter” –

The QUO

Conversations to save the planet

In an impassioned appeal, emeritus professor Robert Manne wrote in 2015, “unless by some miracle almost every climate scientist is wrong, future generations will look upon ours with puzzlement and anger

Ensia

Innovators look to “accidental crops” as a nutritious, environmentally friendly and free food source

Philip Stark was on a long run in the hills above Berkeley, California, when he started thinking differently about the wild green plants around him.

Cosmos Magazine

Researchers listen to their guts and go for glory

Inspired by acoustic sensing technology devised to pick up the munching sounds of termites, scientists have created a belt to record the internal gut rumblings that would normally cause embarrassment at dinner parties.

Cosmos Magazine

Turtles are disappearing – and that could spell disaster

These slow, gentle creatures have inhabited the Earth and its oceans for more than two million years. They’ve outlived the dinosaurs. But turtles have met their match in modern humans –

UniSA Enterprise Magazine

Secrets to staying young

Much like enjoying a vintage wine – something soft and rounded on the palette, warm, rich in flavour and mellow – our ideal of ageing is that it should be full of opportunities to relax, reflect and reap the rewards after a lifetime of hard work and family commitments.

Cosmos Magazine

A homing pigeon in high-tech avian flying headwear

If you’d looked to the skies in Oxford, UK, during the summer of 2016 you could have been forgiven for thinking you had spotted the world’s first bionic pigeons.

Cosmos Magazine

The Serengeti isn’t wilderness. It’s the product of livestock farming

Thousands of years of livestock dung have stimulated fertile and ecologically diverse wildlife hotspots in Africa

Cosmos Magazine

Solving the mystery of lost foals

Hairy caterpillars, bird-borne bacteria, and flying foxes share something in common – they all pose serious threats to the lives of horses.

Cosmos Magazine

When it comes to collective effort, laziness pays off

Humans have much to learn from ants, it seems. Researchers have now discovered from their behaviour how a busy work flow can be optimised – and surprisingly it’s not by everyone working harder.

Sydney Morning Herald, The Age

How your outlook can affect exam performance

High school can be stressful as school work and expectations mount – particularly when exams are looming. But students who believe intelligence can be developed may weather anxiety better than those who think it is a fixed trait, according to US research.

Cosmos Magazine

Weeds growing in poor city areas more nutritious than store-bought produce

Despite the odds, nature does her best to nurture us. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, have reported finding nutritious wild greens growing abundantly in poor urban areas of San Francisco