What's new

Posts by Andrew Wright

Extreme weather News

by Andrew Wright, 1 May 2015 | 0 comments

Lightning above the sydney skyline

Written by Beth Askham How can we predict extreme weather events like the Sydney storm in Australia last week? The wild storm that hit Sydney was the result of a weather system called an east coast low.

Continue reading Extreme weather

Whale poetry Poem

by Andrew Wright, 30 April 2015 | 1 comments

Congratulations to all of the winners of our whale poetry competition. The following ten people have won tickets for two to the Humpback Whale 3D film at IMAX Darling Harbour.

Continue reading Whale poetry

What looks like coral, smells like coral? A fish News

by Andrew Wright, 9 January 2015 | 0 comments

two colourful fish swimming near coral.

Written by Beth Askham Sometimes smelling like your environment is the best way to blend in and hide from predators. On the Great Barrier Reef, the harlequin filefish shelters in coral branches overnight. Researchers have found that these fish not only look like coral, they smell like it too.

Continue reading What looks like coral, smells like coral? A fish

Blue is a Nobel colour News

by Andrew Wright, 17 October 2014 | 0 comments

Blue LEDs shine light onto a wall

What will make our future brighter? For thousands of years our lives have been lit by the Sun, by stars, by fire. Electricity brought new types of lights, ones we can summon at the flick of a switch.

Continue reading Blue is a Nobel colour

Watch out for mice about

by Andrew Wright, 26 September 2014 | 0 comments

a photo of a Mouse plague

Earlier this year, South Australia’s wheat growers in the Yorke Peninsula had one of the worst mouse plagues on record. Thousands of mice ate seeds that had been sown by farmers. The areas to the south and east of Australia are the worst places in the world for mouse plagues.

Continue reading Watch out for mice about

Bacteria under Antarctic ice News

by Andrew Wright, 19 September 2014 | 0 comments

Penguin on ice

Written by Caitlin DevorThere’s life under ice. Scientists found an entire community of bacteria living 800 metres under the surface of glaciers in Antarctica. These bacteria rely on each other to survive in the dark, isolated, subzero lake.

Continue reading Bacteria under Antarctic ice

Investigator of the ocean arrives News

by Andrew Wright, 12 September 2014 | 0 comments

Research vessel Investigator

Australia’s new Marine National Facility research vessel, Investigator, arrived on Tuesday to its home port of Hobart. The ship will soon take scientists and high-tech equipment to the watery parts of the world; to measure the weather, take samples from the sea floor and study marine life.

Continue reading Investigator of the ocean arrives

Suit up for space News

by Andrew Wright, 5 September 2014 | 0 comments

Astronaut in spacesuit with Earth in background

To boldly go out of the airlock, astronauts need to look the part. Donning a spacesuit protects astronauts from the dangerous conditions just beyond our atmosphere. The outer layer of NASA’s Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit is built tough from a blend of three fabrics. One fabric is the same stuff used in bulletproof vests. It…

Continue reading Suit up for space

Crystal clocks and atomic ticks News

by Andrew Wright, 29 August 2014 | 0 comments

Strontium atomic clock

One of our readers requested an article about time keeping devices, and it’s a great time for the topic. Scientists set a new record in clock precision early this year with an atomic clock that ‘ticks’ 430 trillion times in a single second. Vibrations on your wrist Most wristwatches and wall clocks today use a…

Continue reading Crystal clocks and atomic ticks

Cool collections News

by Andrew Wright, 16 May 2014 | 0 comments

3D models of insects above the actual insect specimen.

This Sunday, 18 May 2014, is International Museum Day. To celebrate, we’re taking a look at the Australian National Biological Collections managed by CSIRO, which are being unlocked for digital access by community.

Continue reading Cool collections