Flinders University

A new study has described the successful results in mice of a novel vaccine designed to prevent neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers suggest this "dementia vaccine" could become the “breakthrough of the next decade.”

In certain parts of the world, people such as surfers stand a real risk of being bitten by sharks. According to a recent study, however, a lightweight wetsuit fabric could greatly reduce the seriousness of injuries when such attacks occur.

A new gold-doped antibacterial nanomesh has been designed as a more effective alternative to pills or needles.

Sea snakes may be able to "breathe" underwater, thanks to a gill-like network of blood vessels in their heads.

An Australian sea snail secretes a purple goo to protect its eggs from bacteria. Could it protect us from cancer, too?

Palaeontologists in New Zealand have now uncovered the remains of Heracles inexpectatus, an extinct giant parrot that would have stood hip-high to most people and packed a beak powerful enough to crack open pretty much whatever it wanted to.

​For some obese people, the amount of exercise or dieting necessary to address their condition is just too extreme to maintain. There may be hope on the horizon, however, as scientists are working toward a drug that would allow patients to lose weight without exercising or making any diet changes.

​We've all heard about ancient insects getting preserved in amber (fossilized tree resin), with similarly-preserved items including dinosaur feathers, mammalian red blood cells and a bizarre spider. Now, for the first time, scientists have found an amber-encased prehistoric snake.

The field of optogenetics is all about using light to stimulate cells in the body. Now, researchers from Flinders University have used the technique to shine a light where the Sun don’t shine, stimulating nerves in the gut to relieve chronic constipation.

Using waste products of the petroleum and refining industries, researchers have created an absorbent polymer that can quickly soak up crude oil and diesel from sea water.

Industrial activity like coal-burning and mining has greatly increased the amount of mercury in our environment. Scientists have now developed a low-cost polymer that can soak up mercury in its most harmful forms, raising the prospect of a cheap and sustainable way to clean up the mess.

In the fight against disease, new weapons can turn up in some unexpected places. In this case, researchers have found a potential treatment for type 2 diabetes in the gut and venom of the world's only egg-laying mammals, the platypus and echidna.