Archived News for Research Sector Professionals

In the growing embryo, cells jostle for space by tugging and nudging their neighbours, and now there is a way to measure the tiny forces they exert on each other in the struggle for life.

Med-dispensing contact lens tested

Almost no-one likes putting in eye drops, and studies have shown that a number of factors make them a fairly ineffective way to dispense medicine – now a new device may end the age of ocular inconvenience and injury for many.

Mobiles called-in for tree blight fight

One university is taking a high-tech and democratic approach to biosecurity research, with the launch of a smartphone app to let citizen-scientists help stamp out tree disease.

Researchers join fight for midwives

University of Queensland researchers have stood in opposition to the reduction of services for pregnant women, supporting nurses in a rally at a Brisbane hospital.

Stats stacked to break belief in lefties

David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Abraham Lincoln and Leonardo da Vinci would not have been any less talented if they had been born right-handed, according to new research from two Australian universities.

Stone drips show monsoonal see-saw

Like counting age from tree-rings or calcium layers in teeth, scientists have used stalagmites to look into the history of the environment.

Survey shows range of reasons to keep kids from jail

A new study has shown the compounding risks for young people in trouble with the law.

A flexible future for children of the sun

The Sun is still seen by some as an inconsistent resource, but developments in the US will help grab a hold of its unending power supplies in a cheaper, more efficient and more flexible way.

Big role filled by tiny switch from old design

Engineers in the United States have taken a pre-World War II computer technology, made it so small it can no longer be seen, and put it in a box.

Funds to chase ground-breaking devices

Two engineers will embark on major research projects for cancer drug delivery and nano-sensors, thanks to funding from the Australian Research Council.

New polymer folds plastic for future use

A lively new polymer is being developed that can change its shaped based on internal programming.

Watery model allows best practice to float

A new model has been created to show, with enhanced clarity, the best ways for mining companies to manage water resources and other environmental assets.

A nose is a nose, for the most part

A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, but new findings suggest a rose smelled by any other nose would actually smell quite different.

Long play could bring rapid technological progression

One billionaire has made a strikingly optimistic investment, banking on an invention which does not yet exist.

Zinc finger laid on sickle cell reversal

Researchers are working on a way to re-enable the creation of a form of foetal haemoglobin, which could lead to a new therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD).

Consideration is the best way to easy retrenchment

An award has been given for a research project looking at how new jobs, the journey to work and the meaning of home play a role for men adjusting to being fired.

Difficult decisions have random basis

Crossroads are common on the path of life and everyone has different motivations for the direction they choose, but a new study suggests many of our choices are made by random fluctuations in the brain.

Experts say 'bird-brained' may be a good thing

Everybody knows someone with the memory of a goldfish or the grace of a boar, but it is important to note that we are animals too – and for the most part not that much smarter than our biological neighbours.

Program to keep lights bright at crucial time

One of the oldest challenges in the teaching profession is keeping students interested in maths and science - this is as true in Australian schools as it is in German ones, according to researchers in a new study aimed at boosting kids’ interest in the art of arithmetic.

Tablets help pupils wrap their minds around space

Schools today are quick to roll-out the tablet PCs in the hope of finding a key to unlock new levels of interest and engagement, but a new study has asked whether the push for hand-held tech in the classroom is a help or hindrance.