Working around the legacy of lead: how safe is your veggie patch?
A third of Australian inner-city vegetable patches have unsafe lead levels. Here’s a guide to carry on gardening.
Can games tell if you are impulsive?
A new computer game can assess people’s level of disinhibition.
On electric fish and dramatic pauses
Scientists reveal why pausing between words creates more impactful communication.
Exciting Australian discovery: the first complete dwarf emu egg
This small bird’s big egg sheds light on the extinct birds’ evolution.
The lawn reborn: gardeners on making grassy spaces smarter, smaller, wilder
Lawns have developed a bad reputation in Australia, but with a bit of rethinking they can have a positive influence
A simple approach to saving endangered species
Conservation tactic brings wallabies back from the brink of extinction.
Pollen patties could help save pollinators
Microencapsulated enzyme shown to prevent the lethal impact of pesticides.
Learning from temperature-sensitive bird species
Studying their response to climate change could help other birds.
Junk food linked to gut inflammation
Study shows how a diet high in fat and sugar impairs immune cell function.
How to respond to difficult or negative peer-reviewer feedback
A systematic approach to critiques and queries can help keep emotions at bay.
Disappearing ancient Indonesian cave art
Cave weathering is accelerating in pace with climate change, study finds.
Prescribed burning in numbat habitat under fire
Scientists warn strategic fires are killing native wildlife, including endangered numbats.
Glyphosate dangerous to beetles as well as plants
The herbicide could harm bacteria that insects rely on.
How evil are weevils? A guide to managing pantry pests.
Food infested with moths, weevils or other beetles can be a major nuisance, but experts say there’s no need to panic
Pretty flowers get more attention
But less attractive plants deserve to be studied too, scientists say.
How seals adapted to move through water
Collaboration of zoologists and engineers solves seal “evolutionary riddle”.
Sleep duration linked to heart disease risk
Both too little or too much sleep could be a health hazard, research suggests.
Kiwis don’t like noisy visitors
Loud sounds can generate abnormal behaviour in iconic birds in captivity.
Vasectomy: everything you need to know about getting ‘the snip’
While having a vasectomy can be daunting, it’s a simple, routine procedure to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
With heart failure, good nutrition could mean survival
Personalised dietary advice reduces risk of death for hospitalised patients.
Horses and donkeys engineer water for desert ecosystems
Surprise discovery suggests feral animals aren’t all bad.
