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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.

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. Eventually,…

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? You might have seen your parents, or grandparents, do the same thing when reading the newspaper….

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’. What do you like most about your work? I really love solving problems, which is the most important part of being a scientist! I also…

Some of Australia’s spiders have terrifying names. Funnelweb and Redback are names that scream danger. Even the helpful Huntsman Spider sounds like it could be out to get you. But not all spiders have scary names. How would you feel about meeting a spider called Sparklemuffin?

Double Helix magazine is looking for your science questions! Our Microscope column answers the thorniest science queries you can throw at us. Email us at Helix.Editor@csiro.au or via our contact details below and you could have your question published. Here’s a sample question to get you thinking. Aisha Goshti asks: Why does the Sun makes…

It’s really annoying to get bitten by a mosquito. Your skin often swells, and the bite can itch for days. But in many places in the world, that small bite isn’t just annoying. It can cause a life-threatening disease: malaria. Malaria is a very tricky disease. Once you are infected, it can take weeks before…

They’re bright red, a bit crunchy, and they don’t really taste like much. The standard tomatoes you can buy in a supermarket are a bit boring to eat. But if you’ve ever grown tomatoes yourself, you’ll know how sweet and full of flavour they can be. So what’s happened to the humble tomato? It’s not…