New Atlas

Science Audio available

Bold study claims humans may have arrived in Australia 120,000 years ago

Michael Irving March 15, 2019

It’s currently believed that Aboriginal ancestors made their way to Australia as long as 65,000 years ago, but new evidence may push the timeline back much further. If the Moyjil site does turn out to be human-made, it suggests that people have been living in Australia for as long as 120,000 years.

A bold new study suggests that Aboriginal Australians have lived on the southern continent for as ...

Science Audio available

Double denim: How old jeans might gain a new life as artificial bone cartilage

Nick Lavars August 9, 2018

Scientists have developed a method that reduces discarded denim to the building blocks for artificial cartilage, something that, with further development, could become an advanced tool for performing joint reconstructions in humans.

New research from Deakin University could see denim repurposed as artificial cartilage

Health & Wellbeing

Study finds "baby brain" to be a real and measurable phenomenon

Nick Lavars January 14, 2018

A new study is throwing further weight behind the phenomenon known as "baby brain," where pregnant women report an absent-mindedness and decline in memory. The study is claimed to confirm once and for all that baby brain is indeed a genuine ailment.

Scientists say further study is needed to better understand what causes baby brain

Health & Wellbeing

The "taste" of carbs may be making us fat

Ben Coxworth October 27, 2017

When it comes to the taste of foods, most of us assume that everything we eat is either sweet, sour, bitter, salty or umami. According to a new study, however, carbohydrates have their own unique taste. What's more, people who are particularly able to sense it are more likely to put on weight.

If you're good at detecting the taste of carbohydrates, you may be more likely to pack ...

Medical

Robotic surgery tech provides users with a sense of touch

Chris Wood September 30, 2016

A new system called HeroSurg, developed by researchers at Deakin and Harvard Universities, is set to increase what surgeons can achieve via robotic surgery, using a haptic feedback system to provide a sense of touch.

The headline feature of HeroSurg is its haptic feedback system

Environment

Sponge made from layers of nanosheets shows promise in soaking up oil spills

Nick Lavars November 30, 2015

Researchers in Australia claim to have found a promising material to help in cleaning up oil spills. They've developed a special porous material they say has the ability to soak up to 33 times its own weight in oil and organic solvents.

A new material developed at Deakin University could help in clean up efforts following oil spills

Health & Wellbeing

Cannabis-derived compound could form part of the obesity medication puzzle

Nick Lavars August 13, 2015

By combining compounds from cannabis and vitamin Researchers have uncovered a promising new approach to fat-busting medication. The team's work may pave the way for obesity treatments with fewer side effects than current medications and negate the need for invasive surgeries.

Pairing extracts taken from cannabis and vitamin A has shown promise as a drug to tackle ...

3D Printing

Researchers create world's first 3D-printed jet engines

Ben Coxworth February 25, 2015

Working with colleagues from Deakin University and CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), researchers from Australia's Monash University have created the world's first 3D-printed jet engine. While they were at it, they created the world's <em>second</em> one, too.

The world's first 3D-printed jet engine on display at the Avalon International Airshow (Photo: Noel McKeegan/Gizmag.com)

Environment

Brainless but not directionless, jellyfish swim against the current

Helen Clark February 5, 2015

Jellyfish blooms can seriously affect commercial fishing ventures and even cause the shut down of power stations when they form into giant "blooms" in the sea. Researchers at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, might be on the way to a solution.

Scientists have found that jellyfish don't always go with the flow (Photo: Shutterstock)

Medical

Blocking protein gateway in malaria parasite paves way for new drug treatments

Nick Lavars July 20, 2014

A study carried out by researchers from the Burnet Institute, Monash University and Deakin University has shown that blocking a gateway used by the malaria parasite to export proteins ultimately proves lethal for the disease, opening the door for the development of new types of anti-malarial drugs.

Blocking the pathway used by the malaria parasite to export proteins could pave the way for ...