Science and Technology
Advancing our world with audacious ideas
Science and Technology
Advancing our world with audacious ideas
You know you're swimming in it: worst beaches for microplastics revealed
Which Australian beaches are microplastic hot-spots? Citizen scientists working with Macquarie University’s AUSMAP project have collected more than 3 million plastic fragments from more than 300 beaches, helping track the pollution to its source.
Please explain: What is La Nina and does it affect me?
As NSW records its wettest and coldest November in over a century, eastern Australia is in the midst of a five-month long La Nina weather event, that will cause heavy rainfall, increased flooding and cyclone risk, Adjunct Fellow Andrew Gissing explains.
Flat-pack pods give wildlife a post-bushfire fighting chance
Flat-pack habitat pods developed by a Macquarie University scientist might be the salvation of small ground-dwelling animals trying to survive after bushfires.
Please explain: How does hydrogen power work?
VIDEO: Almost all the hydrogen fuel that the world uses is created from fossil fuels. Researchers are now racing to produce it from renewable sources, explains Dr Tony Jerkovic from the Department of Molecular Sciences.
Please explain: What is the metaverse?
Since Facebook rebranded as Meta, everyone’s talking about the metaverse. Not only will we live, work and play there, says Professor Deborah Richards, director of Macquarie’s Virtual Reality Laboratory, the metaverse may prove an unexpected force for good.
Please explain: What is a flower moon?
Come November 19, look in the right place at the right time and you’ll see the micro Beaver or Flower Moon. Professor Richard de Grijs, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, explains just what you'll be seeing.
Common disinfectant may lead to superbug mutation
Householders are being urged to reconsider their use of antibacterial cleaners in the wake of Macquarie University research findings that a commonly-used disinfectant may be promoting antiobiotic resistance.
Please explain: What's the difference between a tornado and a cyclone?
With tornadoes wreaking havoc in recent thunderstorms, Dr Tom Mortlock, an Adjunct Fellow in the Department of Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, explains what they are and whether we are seeing more of them.
Why city 'bin chickens' could be their country cousins' saviour
The Australian white ibis is maligned as a pest in our cities but is threatened in its inland habitat – so population control needs a national approach, new research suggests.
Please explain: Why are bird eggs different colours?
Biology PhD candidate Kiara L'Herpiniere is tracing the history of egg colours in Australian songbirds – and has found fascinating links between nest construction and egg colour.
The story of a tiny fossil that solved an evolutionary puzzle
Two Macquarie scientists a generation apart collaborated across continents to solve a puzzle about the origins of animal life on Earth. Their paper has just been published in Nature.
World first: Study confirms mistaken identity may explain why sharks bite humans
New shark-vision models show that many shark bites by great whites may be a case of mistaken identity, as surfing and swimming humans on the ocean’s surface closely resemble seals and sea-lions.