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Make a reed switch Activity

by Mike, 10 June 2021 | 0 comments

By Mike McRae and David Shaw Attracted to doing some hands-on science? Why not use a magnet to create a ‘reed switch’?

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A Nobel mind map News

by Mike, 10 October 2014 | 0 comments

People in a shopping centre

It’s three in the morning. Nature calls. You stagger from your bed, squinting in the darkness as you blindly weave your way past a bookshelf, around the glass cabinet, and down the corridor into the smallest room in the house. Not only do the scientists John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser understand how your…

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The blind cavefish lost its clock News

by Mike, 3 October 2014 | 0 comments

Mexican cavefish

Getting out of bed some days feels like too much effort. If only night lasted all day, just like it does for the blind Mexican cavefish. Like the fish, you just might save some energy by living in an endless night.

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A fresh look at a foul-mouthed lizard News

by Mike, 20 January 2014 | 0 comments

Komodo Dragon

January has been a busy month for CSIRO’s dragon experts, so we thought you might also enjoy reading about a living dragon found in the real world: the Komodo dragon!

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This is a hold-up Activity

by Mike, 4 October 2013 | 0 comments

Inverted plastic cup containing green water, with a card pressed beneath to keep the water in.

Written by Justin McGuire This activity may splash some water around, so try it over a sink or outside.

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Microscope: Punk plants News

by Mike, 3 October 2013 | 0 comments

Stylised picture of a half green and half purple tree

Welcome to Double Helix magazine’s Q&A section – Microscope. We take a close look at small questions full of big ideas. Q: What makes some plants have purple leaves? The Helix reader, Sudashree from South Australia

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Microscope: Higgs boson News

by Mike, 26 September 2013 | 0 comments

A table of the standard model in particle physics.

Welcome to Double Helix magazine’s Q&A section – Microscope. We take a close look at small questions full of big ideas. Q: I would like to know how a Higgs boson gives other particles their mass?

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Microscope: Rainbow weight News

by Mike, 5 September 2013 | 2 comments

Stylised picture of a rainbow on a set of scales

Welcome to Double Helix magazine’s Q&A section – Microscope. We take a close look at small questions full of big ideas. Q: What is the weight of a rainbow?

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Microscope: Fire vs lava News

by Mike, 29 August 2013 | 7 comments

Stylised image of an erupting volcano

Welcome to Double Helix magazine’s Q&A section – Microscope. We take a close look at small questions full of big ideas. Q: I want to know which is hotter, fire or lava? Or are they both the same?

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Double Helix – back to basics Activity

by Mike, 18 May 2013 | 2 comments

Adenine molecule marked with an A.

Two centuries ago, nobody knew much about what made a single fertilised cell grow into a human. Or – for that matter – a dog, a sea urchin, a worm or a whale. The problem was nobody could imagine how a microscopic bag of chemicals could possibly split in half again and again, yet still…

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