Category Archives: SCOM8014

Can we “science away” palm oil?

Credit: Permaculture (magazine) Yes, we can. Activist groups have been campaigning against palm oil for decades. What is less known though is that science has also been quietly working away, trying to find solutions to the myriad of issues that … Continue reading

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The Australian Housing Crisis: Possum Edition

Just like Australians looking to get into the property market, possums are facing their own unique housing problems. Possums rely on large tree-hollows to make their homes, but these hollows can take over 100 years to form.  Combine this with … Continue reading

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Watching mammoths go extinct

A new study of mammoths has discovered startling amounts of mutations accumulated in the DNA of a small population isolated on Wrangel Island off Siberia. This research has important ramifications for current critically endangered species. It is an unusually long … Continue reading

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A new solution to acid mine drainage

If your tap water looked like this, would you drink it? No? Then you may be surprised to hear that water like this exists in many places across Australia. The reason the water looks so unhealthy is because it has … Continue reading

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Don’t have a cow, man: Ditching dairy, beef and lamb aids in global transition to sustainability

Time to put down your meat pie and double caramel mocha decaf frappuccino – unless you ordered it on soy. New research out of Chalmers university in Sweden suggests giving up beef and dairy will allow the energy system to … Continue reading

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Water for the future. Do a reverse on reverse osmosis

Water is our most precious resource in Australia. Not natural gas, oil, coal or opals. Water. We must do everything to preserve it but sometimes, extraneous conditions make it hard. Many will remember the millennium drought which saw harsh water … Continue reading

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The war on undernutrition: Why supplements may be the superweapon we’ve been looking for.

Approximately 3 million children die every year due to malnutrition. The prevalence of this startling statistic remains one of the greatest failings of modern society. Nevertheless, new research suggests that we may have a secret weapon; an ace up our … Continue reading

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It’s getting hot in here… So what does this mean for the ocean?

One day, in the not-so-distant future, the movie Finding Nemo may be seen as an incredibly inaccurate portrayal of life under the sea. And it’s not because of the talking fish. With climate change heating up our oceans and creating … Continue reading

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Cancer conspiracies: Research to make you jelly

We’ve all heard the conspiracy – pharmaceutical companies are keeping a cure for cancer under wraps because treating cancer is more profitable. Now, I don’t tend to make a habit of sticking up for big business, but there are a … Continue reading

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Bottoms up! Melting the dark side of Antarctic ice shelves

Antarctic ice shelves are nature’s buttresses against sea level rise that would devastate our coastal civilisations. New research provides a clearer picture of how climate change will speed up melting of ice shelves from underneath. Antarctica’s land area is almost … Continue reading

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