Blog

Learn about the different parts of plants, as well as the science of preservation, by making your own pretty potpourri. Safety: Vegetable peelers are sharp. Ask an adult to help.

You’ve heard of rice and wheat. You may have heard of maize and quinoa. But have you heard of teff? This ancient grain has been feeding the people of Ethiopia for thousands of years. And thanks to the work of CSIRO, it might soon be feeding you too!

Plastic waste in our oceans is a big problem for marine fauna. Not only can it look like food, it seems some animals have developed a taste for the material. And that’s a problem.

Written by Mike McRae Around 15 years ago, a New Caledonian crow named Betty amazed scientists with her talent for tool-building. That was nothing – wait until your meet these clever cockatoos.

It was once thought octopuses were not very social animals. They seem to keep to themselves, only meeting to fight or mate. It turns out that’s not always the case. A social octopus should consider moving to Octlantis.

Written by Mike McRae An animal that smells of popcorn sounds more like a creature from a fairy tale than from reality. But the bearcat, found in Southeast Asia, is a real-life fantastic beast known for its unusual popcorn scent. The source of its smell, though, is hardly appetising.

How do you imagine time? Is it a road, with the future fading off into the distance? Or is it an ocean, slowly draining as we spend our precious seconds? Surprisingly, the way you imagine time might affect the way you experience it!

The rocks beneath your feet tell an amazing story. Back when dinosaurs roamed the land, all the continents of Earth were joined together in a supercontinent we call Pangaea. But it wasn’t to last. About 180 million years ago, Pangaea started to split apart – first into two, and then into smaller and smaller pieces.

Written by Julia Cleghorn While observing bonobos in the wild, researchers from Japan noticed an interesting and familiar behaviour. Older bonobos were grooming with their arms outstretched. While this might not sound particularly noteworthy, check it out in the picture here. Look familiar?

Interview by Nic Gill Double Helix talks to weed hunter and botanist, Laura Williams. Read on to find out about her research on Macquarie Island, a remote subantarctic island fondly referred to as ‘Macca’.